LATEST ADDITIONS

<B>IRON AND WINE: <I>Our Endless Numbered Days</I></B><BR>
Sub Pop 630 (CD). 2004. Sam Beam, Brian Deck, prods., engs. AAD? TT: 44:49<BR>
Performance <B>****</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B>

"There, that's where you should put the microphone, 5' from the end of my bow."

It's a beautiful drive, considering you're on a freeway. You take I-25 north out of Albuquerque, Sandia Peak to your right and the Jemez Caldera and Mount Taylor dimly visible in the distance to your left. As you broach La Bajada hill south of Santa Fe, the Sangre de Cristo range—the "Blood of Christ Mountains" described by Paul Simon in "Hearts & Bones"—appears before your windshield. You take the Old Pecos Trail exit to the City Different, but before you reach town you bear to the left, then take another left opposite St. Vincent Hospital. There, in a cul-de-sac, you peer up at the street sign: "Stereophile Way," it says (footnote 1). "Not just a street, but a philosophy," I kidded Larry Archibald when the city told him that he could name the road where the magazine's headquarters would one day be situated.

Its future as a format may also be debatable, but does DVD-Audio have the sonic goods? Have you been able to spend much time with DVD-Audio? If so, what do you think about the way it sounds?

Apple Computer is riding a wave that shows no sign of breaking.

Electronics retailers may be bouncing back from a long slump, according to a couple of recent reports.

As <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/011904roundup/index.html">promised</A&gt; earlier in January, <A HREF="http://www.wmg.com">Warner Music Group</A> has announced a major restructuring that it hopes will put it in better shape to compete in the "challenging business environment of today's music industry." The move comes after the recent closing of WMG's $2.6 billion acquisition by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and a group of investors.