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Roy Brooks: The Free Slave; Amanda Monaco: Deathblow; Timo Vollbrecht: Bremen New York; Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra: Sleeping Beauty & On Jupiter.

Richard Ashcroft: Lovin' You; Chris Stamey: Anything Is Possible; Pigeons Playing Ping Pong: Feed the Fire; Joseph Kamaru: Heavy Combination 1966–2007.

For a lot of bands, the second album is intimidating. There are numerous examples of sophomore slumps, which sometimes lead to a band's quick end. Talking Heads didn't just avoid a sophomore slump; they scored their first top-40 hit and put their career on solid, sky-is-the-limit footing.

NuPrime calls the MCX-800AD ($3995) an "Immersive Audio Processor," but that's not really what it is, so I don't know why they call it that. NuPrime lists it on its website under both "Amplifiers" and "Multi-Channel DACs." So what is it, a floor wax or a dessert topping?

"The term 'sales' is an anachronism. Today, it's about streaming and ancillary income."—Randall Grass, general manager at Shanachie Entertainment.

If you like 1970s rock music, particularly hard rock music, something you love was recorded or mixed in a Record Plant studio. If you have a favorite live album from the '70s or '80s, it was likely recorded by a Record Plant Mobile truck.

The all-in-one stereo component occupies the same territory as those Italian restaurants that also serve sushi and Texas barbecue. Every instinct says it's a dubious overreach: Few chefs master two or more distinct cuisines. But then you experience that rare eatery that somehow nails the California roll, the carbonara, and the brisket, and you realize that dismissing it on principle could mean missing something that's genuinely excellent.