Where Ne'er-Do-Wells Do Dwell

Unlike the Mets, the hi-fi, last night, was hot. Hot. I've read about this, how a system will have its good nights and its bad. But what sense does that make? How can a stereo sound on some nights better than others? It is not a living, breathing animal. It does not suffer from swings of mood or fits of poor judgement. It neither catches cold nor runs fever.

Does it? Does it?

Unlike the Mets, the hi-fi, last night, was hot. Or was it me?

This one will go like so many other hi-fi paragraphs have gone, only it will be mine, mine, mine:

I was sitting on the orange couch, feeling a little bit sick and a little bit sleepy, when I decided to give up on the bad television, and press play. Play. I didn't know what music the Exposure held. Held. A blink of blue light with a tinkle of strings and it was TV On The Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain. I was glad for this. Because Return to Cookie Mountain will land at the top of my list, if I were to make a list, of my year's favorite albums. And at about one-forty-two, when the chorus came in with

I know its strange: Another way to get to know you
You'll never know unless we go, so let me show you

I know its strange: Another way to get to know you
We've got till noon, here comes the moon

So let it show you, show you, now

the singers moved with the music, danced from the space between my two speakers, to land about two feet to my left and about one foot above where I sat, and, maybe (just maybe) even a little bit behind me — almost in my kitchen, actually. They were surrounding me and singing from my kitchen! And what's up with that? I've read about this, too, in Kal's column, how a good 2-channel setup can even wrap around you to create this surround-sound experience. But what sense does that make? And how?

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