LATEST ADDITIONS

Frankly it's a bit nutty for me to be doing this review. First, as Publisher of this esteemed journal, my primary duties involve financial and personnel management, as well as a good bit of public relations; I don't need and am not required to perform the exacting tedium of product reviews. Second, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/221">Jim Thiel</A> and Kathy Gornik of Thiel are friends of mine. So what, you ask? Well, if this were going to be a uniformly positive review, I would therefore be ruled out as the reviewer; if it's to be wholly or partially negative, it will surely put a strain on one of my best audio friendships.

We were surprised to <A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/03/23/i_heard_it_…; in the March 23 <I>Boston Globe</I> that CBS Corp. had re-launched the <A HREF="http://www.cbsrecords.com/">CBS Records</A> label. Our memory isn't what it once was, but hadn't we read that same story last December?

Canada has targeted your iPod and hard drive. On March 7, CBC Records, the record label of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, announced a deal with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (<A HREF="http://www.iodalliance.com">IODA</A&gt;) that will make CBC's entire catalog of 400 active and archival classical, jazz, world, and rock titles available for download. The announcement comes just six weeks after major independent label and distributor Harmonia Mundi declared that it would <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/012907harm/">follow the same route</A>.

Amelia S. Haygood, the sound-conscious founder and president of record company Delos International, died on March 19 at the age of 87 after a 12-year battle with cancer. Survivors include pianist Carol Rosenberger, her closest friend and Delos vice president, artists and repertoire; Robert Haygood, her stepson; several nephews and nieces; and her extended family at the pioneering classical label she founded in 1973.

Despite the ongoing post-SXSW recovery problem, sorta like jet lag that will not go away, I managed to stagger forth and see two shows this week both of which were worth the trek.

Admit it, you've always wanted this to happen.

Bagheera flexes her claws at even the suspicion I might dream of petting her.

Huckleberry definitely feels no need for eternal vigilance.

Edward Tufte, information pioneer.