
LATEST ADDITIONS
What recording from 2008 ended up at the top of your musical heap?
<I>Stereophile</I>'s annual "Records 2 Die 4" will be coming out shortly, but here's your chance to get a jump on the reviewers: What recording from the last 365 days ended up at the top of your musical heap?
Classic's Clarity Pressings
It’s fair to ask how many audiophile pressings of John Coltrane’s <I>Blue Train</I> do we need? Yet Mike Hobson of Classic Records makes a compelling case for this answer: one more. Classic is putting out a whole new type of LP, and though its technical tweak seems preposterous—a parody of vinylphilic obsession—it really does yield a substantial improvement; it makes the head spin.
Do Musicophiles Enjoy Audio?
Clouds Taste Metallic
It kind of happens intuitively, like breathing or crying or finding your way back home. Every year around this time, I scan my compact disc racks and watch as my hand reaches for The Flaming Lips' 1995 album, <i>Clouds Taste Metallic</i>. I put the disc in the player. I sit back. And I listen, and I remember.
On Newsstands Now: Stereophile, Vol.32 No.1 (January 2009)
The January 2009 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. Volume 32 Number 1 is pretty much bursting at the seams with radicalness. I received a voicemail from a long-time subscriber telling me so. It went:
A Bit of Bell's
We started the day with a bit of Bell's and a couple cups of coffee. Then, we started walking.
Stopping In Pubs
We walked and walked and walked—stopping in pubs along the way—and gradually became more and more lost.
Far Ahead
I often wanted to turn back, in fact, but Pete was so damn far ahead of me that I couldn't even get his attention. I kept following.
A Strange Surprise
When we finally reached the top, we found a strange surprise: The rest of our classmates were there.