And look who’s back: It’s Ariel Bitran! Ariel worked as our part-time editorial intern, enabling us to complete the 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions of the <i>Stereophile Buyer’s Guide</i>, before departing for a full-time gig with Mini-Circuits.
Today is my 10th anniversary with <i>Stereophile</i>. Hmm…on the way home today, maybe I’ll buy myself a nice beer. Or a record…
I have an <A HREF= http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/arts/music/08jazz.html? >article</A> in the Arts & Leisure section of this past Sunday’s <I>New York Times</I> about vinyl reissues of Blue Note jazz albums mastered at 45 rpm.
On Tuesday, September 14th—two days before my 33rd birthday—<a href="http://www.anti.com/artists/view/43/Grinderman">Anti- Records</a> will release <i>Grinderman 2</i>, the second studio album from Nick Cave’s heathen child, Grinderman. And we are in for a treat. The review will appear in our October issue, but I’ll just let you know now: The album is violent, powerful, horrifying, and hilarious.
A clever engineer with an interest in home audio says that the real obstacle to high-fidelity sound is the adverse and unpredictable way in which speakers interact with most domestic rooms. To address that need, he brings to market a loudspeaker that disperses sound in a new and original way. Controversy ensues. Controversy endures.
Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), the Prime Minister of Prussia who brought about the unification of Germany, was not a nice man. But he was no dummy, either. One of his most prophetic remarks was in response to a journalist's question about what Bismarck thought to be the single most decisive factor in modern history: "The fact that the North Americans speak English."
<B>Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden: <I>Jasmine</I></B><BR>
Keith Jarrett, piano; Charlie Haden, double bass<BR>
ECM 2165 (CD). 2010. Manfred Eicher, exec. prod.; Keith Jarrett, prod.; Martin Pearson, eng. DDD. TT: 62:54<BR>
Performance *****<BR>
Sonics *****
CD sales are down, online sales and streaming services are inching forward, and most record labels are in a world of hurt. What do record labels need to do to survive and thrive?
Why Not? One more shot of our favorite Muswell Hillbilly
It’s a truism that writers naturally do not want to swallow, but dammit it’s true: a picture like the one above can be worth more than a thousand words.