LATEST ADDITIONS

I was introduced to <a href="http://www.freewebs.com/scotchtapes/">Scotch Tapes</a>, “the worst hi-tech music label ever,” on December 9, by a <a href="http://twitter.com/stereophilemag">Twitter</a&gt; post from <a href="http://www.jagjaguwar.com/">Jagjaguwar</a&gt;. Oneida would be releasing a limited-edition <i>cassette</i> through Scotch Tapes. This was interesting news to me, first because <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/the_way_we_listened_then/">I’ve been fascinated</a> with the idea of a “cassette tape revival,” and second because Oneida is a well-established name in the world of underground rock bands. Why would Oneida release work on a format that had been all but forgotten by the music industry? Why cassettes?

My annual piece on the Best Jazz Albums of the Year appears in today&rsquo;s edition of <I>Slate</I> (for which I write a regular column, though usually on foreign and military policy). This time, I also drew up two lists of the Best Jazz Albums of the Decade&mdash;one for new recordings, the other for previously unreleased historical recordings (treasure troves of which were excavated this past 10 years). Readers of this blog may recall reading about most of these albums in this space.

The venerable British company ATC Loudspeaker Technology was founded in 1974 by Billy Woodman, and is famous within the professional community for developing the first soft-dome midrange driver, and for their well-regarded line of active (powered) studio monitors, the user list of which is a veritable <I>Who's Who</I> of mastering engineers. ATC loudspeakers are all still made in the UK, and were a favorite of the late <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/j_gordon_holt_19301502009">J. Gordon Holt</A>.

<B>Anouar Brahem: <I>The Astounding Eyes of Rita</I></B><BR>
Anouar Brahem, oud; Klaus Gesing, bass clarinet; Bj&#246;rn Meyer, bass; Khaled Yassine, darbouka, bendir<BR>
ECM 2075 (CD). 2009. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng. DDD. TT: 53:31<BR>
Performance ****<BR>
Sonics *****

Though the January 2010 issue of Stereophile will be hitting newsstands before the holidays, this is nominally the last issue of 2009. But already in October, on my return flight from Denver to New York following this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, it struck me that 2009 had not been a good year for the world of high-end audio. Yes, the worldwide recession has bit deep into the economic health of audio manufacturers and retailers, but in the past 12 months too many of those who have helped make our hobby great, and have helped promote our shared passion for listening to music with as high a quality as possible, have breathed their last.

<i>Where did I hide that Replacements record, dammit?</i>

Oh yeah: <a href="http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2009/12/09/this-christmas-just-g… having a holiday sale.