I always look forward to <I>Stereophile</I>'s Home Entertainment Shows, where I scout out interesting new models of affordable loudspeakers. At <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007">HE2007 in New York City</A>, I was struck by the Silverline Audio room—not only by the sound I heard there, but by the way Showgoers reacted to that sound.
Our industry has again honored its own. The Consumer Electronics Association, sponsors of the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has announced 12 new inductees to the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. Awards will be presented October 21 at a special Hall of Fame Dinner, scheduled for the Four Seasons in Las Vegas as part of the CEA's annual fall Industry Forum.
Matthew Guerrieri (<I>aka Soho the Dog</I>) has a new installation of his ongoing series <I>Strauss and Mahler Re-Enact Your Favorite Movie Moments</I>. <A HREF="http://sohothedog.blogspot.com/2008/04/strauss-and-mahler-re-enact-your… episode</A> is <I>The Ten Commandments</I>. Read 'em all—they're hilarious.
A couple of nights ago, I got this big idea that I'd go shopping for some picture disc vinyl to go along with the component we'll be featuring on our July cover. (Hint: It's not a speaker.) You know, I was thinking it'd be no problem to find Jimi Hendrix all lit up in a purple haze or, better yet, some new indie band dressed in skinny jeans and moccasins being chased by a puma, or something. But I discovered that new picture disc vinyl isn't all that easy to come by. Surprisingly, I found that today's picture discs come from three main sources:
To cheer myself up after the picture disc disappointment, I went ahead and bought <i>Attack & Release</i> by <a href="http://www.theblackkeys.com/">The Black Keys</a> and <i>Trouble In Dreams</i> by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/destroyer">Destroyer</a>. Of course, I couldn't buy only two albums. Two is an even number, you see. So, I also picked up <a href="http://www.lightintheattic.net/">Light in the Attic</a>'s beautiful <i>Betty Davis</i> reissue.
The gorgeous gatefold opens up to show watercolors of The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. In the left sleeve, you'll find a glossy lyrics sheet and a complete promo CD!
I'm not quite sure what's going on in the art here, but I can't stop looking at it. I love the colors. If music wasn't meant to be played, I'd hang this up on my wall.
When I first learned that Meridian had co-badged, with Ferrari, a $3000 table radio, I was tempted to cynically dismiss it as a marketing gimmick—an attempt by the audio manufacturer to leverage the brand loyalty of the Italian automaker to its own highly developed industrial designs. The problem was, that required that I dismiss everything I knew about Meridian and its singular head designer, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/906bob">Bob Stuart</A>.
D&M Holdings, Inc., the Japanese consortium that owns Denon, Snell, Boston Acoustics, McIntosh, Escient, and Marantz, is apparently on the marketing block. Rumors to that effect have been circulating since mid-March, although the company's <A HREF=" http://www.dm-holdings.com/960_ENG_ASP.asp">website</A>, in a press release dated 04/15/08, coyly says only: "D&M Holdings, Inc. notes that recent press reports concerning the potential sale of D&M shares is not based on any information provided by the company."
Truth is: I know diddly-squat about Frank Zappa. I've heard this and that, of course, and all I've heard has always been intriguing, but, for no good reason, I've just never taken the time to dive into Zappa's world. Perhaps it's because his world seems so enormous and wild and foreign. His world is full of barking pumpkins and utility muffins and Sprechstimme and other things I can neither imagine nor pronounce. I mean, even his name is strange. Like an exclamation, like a shot of electricity. Zappa! Say it three times, and something bad might happen. <i>Zappa! Zappa!</i> (No, don't!)