A few years ago, I had a phone call from a marketing organization. I was asked, as a member of the audiophile press, to participate in a survey dealing with the "images" of various brands of loudspeakers.
Although LPs remain, for me, the high-end medium of choice, I'm not terribly interested in today's high-end record <I>players</I>. Most of them, from the 1980s through the present, have been soulless, uninspired, me-too products that utterly fail to communicate the presence, momentum, and punch of recorded music. And in certain ways—expense, complexity, size, cosmetics—some have been, quite simply, ridiculous.
I’ve been digging Dexter Gordon’s 1963 album, <i>Our Man In Paris</i>, featuring Bud Powell on piano, Pierre Michelot (a JA fave) on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Look at how deep and cool Dexter Gordon looks on the cover, balancing a smoke between his fingers, lost in thought.
As a musician who has studied of all forms of acoustic and electric keyboard instruments, I have played the gamut of keyboards, from gems to disasters. I think the most significant keyboard developments of the 20th century were the Hammond organ, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and the Moog synthesizer. These instruments were notable not for their ability to replicate the sound of acoustic instruments, but for the new timbres and textures possible with them, which have since become permanent parts of our musical vocabulary. I have now played an instrument that may prove one of the most significant keyboard designs of the 21st century: the Yamaha AvantGrand N3.
Last January, John Atkinson wrote an enthusiastic review of <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/dynaudio_sapphire_loudspea…’s 30th Anniversary Sapphire</a> loudspeaker; impressed by its big-bottomed bass, neutral midrange, and stable stereo imaging, JA concluded:
In <a href="http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=rants&Numbe… forum</a>, it’s been determined that <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/329/index.html">Magnum Dynalab</a>, without a doubt, offers the best tuners on the market; and, while I don’t own a decent tuner and my time spent listening to the radio is dedicated almost entirely to frustrating Mets games and morning weather reports, I am now interested in Radio Happy Hour, with host Sam Osterhout, actors Matt Skibiak and Robin Reed, and music by Stephanie Davila.
Ah: Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino has fun when she’s with Ronald McDonald. Hmm. Here’s the video for Best Coast’s “When I’m With You,” directed by <a href="http://www.peteohs.com/">Pete Ohs</a>:
The <a href="http://www.eskucheme.com/">Eskuche</a> 33-1/3 headphone. On May 3, buy a pair of these and get a limited-edition <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/the_world_is_crazy/">Best Coast</a> 7” single. <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/38483-best-coast-new-video-new-single/">Pitch…; told me, via <a href="http://twitter.com/stereophilemag">Twitter</a>.
This week only, we can <a href="http://soundcloud.com/subpop/beach-house-the-arrangement">stream new music</a> from Beach House. “The Arrangement” comes from the A side of Beach House’s “Zebra” 12-inch, made special for <a href="http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home">Record Store Day</a> (this Saturday, April 17!).
<I>Photo:Jason Creps</I>