Grinderman 2, by Grinderman (don’t click that link), is October 2010’s “Recording of the Month,” and it’s available today. Go out and buy it, before it buys you. Bwhahahahahahahaha.
The two Big Eye IPAs I had enjoyed with dinner were doing the trick. I was feeling weightless even before stepping onto the ferry. Beautiful people crowded the front, holding onto railings and each other, while some sat inside the old, wooden frame. Lower Manhattan was soft, quiet, and blue, and two towers of light shot high into the night sky. Suddenly, imperceptibly, the unreal city became smaller and more distant: I hadn’t noticed that the ferry had departed. We could just as easily have been riding a magic carpet. Robert Baird and I were on our way to see John Prine at Governors Island, just a short ferry trip away from Ground Zero in Manhattan.
On the train this morning, deep into Aaron Copland’s classic, What to Listen for in Music, which Art Dudley discusses in our November issue, I read a bit about rhythms and polyrhythms. Copland is giving a brief history on the use and evolution of rhythm in modern Western composition, explaining how we got from basic two-four time marches to much more complex combinations of two or more independent rhythms in varying times. This is what I read:
Puma is Oystein Moen on keyboards and electronics, Stian Westerhus on guitar and electronics, and Gard Nilssen (also of Bushman’s Revenge) on drums. Half Nelson Courtship, an often unsettling piece of work and one that refuses to be ignored, is the band’s third album, and their first for the excellent Rune Grammofon label.
Each year, while proofing the data which makes up the Stereophile Buyer’s Guide, I come across new and interesting components. At this point in the proofing process, we’re deep into the analog gear, which of course comprises my favorite section of the book. So, while the task can be tedious and draining, it’s fun to discover new products. Here are just a couple that have caught my eye:
Today Klipsch announced the launch of their new Synergy Series loudspeakers. If recent reviews by Wes Phillips (of the $20,000/pair P-39F) and Erick Lichte (of the $4000/pair P-17B) can offer any indication of what to expect from this new Synergy line, we are in for a treat.
The September 2010 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. The cover shows an extreme close-up of the Audio Research VSi60 integrated amplifier, highlighting its beautiful tubes. I was very impressed by this amplifier’s looks, as well as what I (perhaps fancifully) perceived to be its contributions to a very fine systemat the 2009 SSI, so I was happy to learn we’d be featuring the VSi60 on our cover.
The move is going fairly well. I’m almost completely settled in. I didn’t feel like waiting for the movers, so I just moved myself. Because all Source Interlink employees at 261 Madison Avenue will now be on a single floor, some people lost their private offices. While some are now sharing offices, I took a cubicle. So I no longer have a view onto sunny decks, no redbrick walls, no green trees; the only thing I can see from my seat is a gray cloth partition.
Audyssey, a company specializing in room equalization technologies (ask Kal), has launched a sweepstakes for fans of high-quality sound. There are some cool prizes, including a Marantz NR1601 slimline home theater receiver and an 8GB iPod Touch. To participate, become a fan of Audyssey on Facebook and fill out a short questionnaire. For complete details, click here.
I’m so much more impressed by good, affordable systems than I am by those costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. I find it difficult to concentrate on music when I’m overwhelmed by the high prices of the gear delivering it. Price should never be the most impressive aspect of hi-fi.
Stephen Mejias
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