Stephen Mejias
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25 Years of Stereophile
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 04, 2011 • 22 comments
Sunday, May 1, marked John Atkinson’s 25th anniversary as editor of Stereophile—an outstanding and admirable accomplishment, and one increasingly rare in this fast-paced, ever-changing modern world.

John celebrated in typical fashion: He didn’t mention the achievement to anyone, but kept his head down, eyes buried in a great pile of ink-stained proofs, as we raced to ship our July 2011 issue to pre-press. Such effort and diligence should come as no surprise: It was John who transformed Stereophile, once a rough and rogue ’zine abiding by no particular publishing schedule, into the professional, dependable, influential magazine it is today.

I can’t imagine anyone working as hard or as purposefully as my boss, John Atkinson. Each day is an honor. The man sets a high and excellent example: I want to be just like him.

Congratulations, John! Enjoy that beer tonight. Or, uh, that tutti-frutti martini thing, whichever you prefer. After 25 years of service, I guess you’re allowed to drink whatever you want.

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Helado Negro: Canta Lechuza
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 26, 2011 • 2 comments
My review of Helado Negro’s Canta Lechuza will appear in our June issue, and the album hits stores on May 10th, but you can listen to the hazy, languorous tunes right now on NPR’s First Listen. Helado Negro (Roberto Carlos Lange, son of Ecuadorian immigrants) is interested in sound, texture, color, rhythm, and you can hear all of that stuff swirling around and bubbling about in Canta Lechuza.
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Now On Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.34 No.5
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 25, 2011 • 6 comments
The May 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I’m sorry: I don’t remember anything about the making of this issue. It seems like it happened a million years ago. It must have been traumatic. (I do remember making meatloaf. That was a lot of work, too.) But I can tell you what’s inside this issue.

Let’s take a look:

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Dan D’Agostino at Innovative Audio Video Showrooms
News, Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 22, 2011 • 6 comments
Recent open house events at Innovative Audio Video Showrooms have been outstanding: well-attended by curious and passionate audiophiles; featuring beautiful, high-quality gear; showcasing excellent music played back on vinyl, disc, and via computer; and with several industry leaders on hand to provide demonstrations and feed interesting discussion.

(The last time I visited Innovative for one of these events, I stayed far too long and walked out into a man-eating ice storm that nearly shattered my soul, but, even then, it was still worth attending the event.)

So, I’m definitely looking forward to next Wednesday’s event, in honor of Dan D’Agostino and his new Momentum monoblock power amplifiers. Guests will have the opportunity to learn more about D’Agostino and his latest product, while enjoying music in a special environment. Members of Innovative’s staff are friendly, intelligent, knowledgeable, and eager to share their eclectic tastes in music and gear.

Refreshments will be provided, the weather should be decent, it should be a good time. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your place: (212) 634-4444 or info@iavny.com.

Innovative Audio Video is located at 150 East 58th Street, New York, NY. I hope to see you there.

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Record Store Day 2011
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 13, 2011 • 9 comments
Oh, damn: Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 16th, and I won’t be able to participate. I’ll be in Atlanta, covering Axpona, but, if you’re free, you should definitely make a trip to your local independent record store and enjoy the festivities. As we all know, many record stores have shut their doors in recent years—for proof, take a look at this collection of sad and beautiful images—but, as some of the larger chains have faded away, many smaller shops have opened up, catering to specific tastes and genres of music, making the experience of record shopping even more personal, friendly, and satisfying.
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The Erotic Downbeat of Wild Beasts
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 08, 2011 • 0 comments
The elegant, languorous video for Wild Beasts’ “Albatross,” the first single from the band’s upcoming album, Smother, is filled with images that are like Wild Beasts’ music: surreal, delicate, physical, painful, and, at times, painfully lovely.

With its gentle dance rhythms, memorable melodies, and heavy, overcast skies, Wild Beasts’ 2009 album, Two Dancers, which was nominated for 2010’s prestigious Mercury Prize, continues to find a place near the front of my vinyl stacks. The girls like it, too.

Smother promises to fall even closer to my heart. From the press release:

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Wretches & Jabberers
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 07, 2011 • 3 comments
In support of National Autism Awareness Month, McIntosh Laboratory and songwriter/producer J. Ralph have come together to create a spectacular new album, the original motion picture soundtrack to Academy Award winning director Gerardine Wurzburg’s Wretches & Jabberers. The feature-length documentary, in theaters now, follows the paths of two men with autism, Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher, as they travel around the world determined to increase autism awareness and refine our ideas of intelligence.

From the film’s dedicated web site:

Growing up, Thresher and Bissonnette were presumed “retarded” and excluded from normal schooling. With limited speech, they both faced lives of social isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When they learned as adults to communicate by typing, their lives changed dramatically. Their world tour message is that the same possibility exists for others like themselves.

Yesterday evening, I met with composer J. Ralph and McIntosh’s Global VP of Sales and Marketing, Linda Passaro, for an intimate listening session.

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Kanibal Home Presents Rose Cottage (but no hi-fi)
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 07, 2011 • 0 comments
Kristen is hot. I mean, seriously: smoking, sizzling, flame-broiling, momma-said-knock-you-out, one-hundred-and-fifty-five-degrees-in-the-shade, incomprehensibly, unavoidably, uncomfortably hot. Yow! But, excuse me, that’s not what I meant to write about.

Let me start again.

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Start Booming: American Express & Music Direct
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 04, 2011 • 2 comments
You might remember the American Express Plum Card advertisement that featured hi-fi and vinyl retailer Music Direct. The ad, which ran on mainstream television for several months, did a good job of introducing hi-fi and vinyl to a wider audience.

The new ad puts greater emphasis on Jim Davis’s passion for music, vinyl, gear, and sound, and describes the growth of his company, Music Direct. Notice that the pretty Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 loudspeakers, reviewed by me in our April issue and by Bob Reina in a future issue, are given good airtime.

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Beware the Devil Woman
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Apr 01, 2011 • 0 comments
This one goes out to a very special lady. You know who you are.

Now On Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.34 No.4
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 30, 2011 • 3 comments
The April 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I’m especially excited about this one. In fact, I kinda wish I could create an enormous high-resolution, illuminated reproduction of the cover and drape it over one entire side of the Empire State Building. That’s how much I love this issue. Yesterday afternoon, I walked over to 4 Times Square and handed a copy of our April issue to my dear friend, Jaime, the photo editor for a very popular woman’s magazine. She was equally impressed.

You see those warm, happy colors and those delicious, little loudspeakers on the cover of our April issue? Those things make girls happy. And when girls are happy, dudes, the world is a better place.

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Cherish the Light Years
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 29, 2011 • 5 comments
I resisted at first, but Cold Cave's Love Comes Close became one of my very favorite records of 2009. The album also led me to one of New York City's darkest, spookiest, and most welcoming record shops, Hospital Productions, a fantastic source of underground noise, industrial, and experimental work on CD, LP, and, good-god-almighty, cassette.

Cold Cave's new album, Cherish the Light Years will be available in similarly fine record shops on April 5th, but Matador Records has provided a free stream, so you can listen now.

David Comes to Life
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 25, 2011 • 9 comments
Yes!

I’ve been waiting for this, and now, as if the rock gods had heard my profane prayers, it’s here: The new album from Fucked Up, David Comes to Life, will be released on June 7th. On June 7th, immediately after work, you’ll find me at Other Music, buying the crap out of this album.

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Super Duper Rescue Heads
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 25, 2011 • 7 comments
What the world needs now:

“Super Duper Rescue Heads,” from Deerhoof’s latest album, Deerhoof vs. Evil, available now from Polyvinyl.

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Yo La Tengo at Maxwell’s, With Some Very Special Guests
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 24, 2011 • 0 comments
Last night, Yo La Tengo performed at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey. All proceeds from ticket and merchandise sales went directly to Peace Winds Japan. In addition, the band matched all merch sales, except for that money spent on their friend Amy’s delicious cookies, joked lead guitarist Ira Kaplan. “We’re not crazy.”
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