LATEST ADDITIONS

The Internet audio forum <A HREF="http://www.head-fi.org/forums">Head-Fi</A&gt; is one of the few places on the Web where you can hang out with truly passionate audiophiles and not come away despairing at the state of current public discourse. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Head-Fi's regional and national meets have that same sense of relaxed solidarity. But what always strikes me at these events, such as the national Head-Fest 2007 get-together in San Jose on April 21 and 22, is just how darned sociable Head-Fiers are, considering they are celebrating an activity that is so intensely solitary.

On April 16, the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) denied an appeal of its decision to restructure the royalty fees for Internet radio. As we <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/031907internet/">reported</A&gt;, independent Internet broadcasters and the NPR called it a "stunning, damaging decision," predicting that it would price small operators and public broadcasting, which do not receive widespread commercial underwriting, out of business.

Iconic audio manufacturer Linn Products announced April 18 that the Scottish firm will "realign" its business strategy to create "a more focused range of even higher quality products, specifically aimed at the premium end of the consumer market."

Christian <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/041607listening/">recommended…; a great new band to me: <a href="http://www.thebesnardlakes.com/">The Besnard Lakes</a>. Listening to them reminds me of Brian Wilson and Pink Floyd and My Morning Jacket. There are shiny falsettos, dream sequences, and reverb-drenched solos. It's music that I want to share with my girlfriend. A Google search then led me to the band's record label, <a href="http://www.jagjaguwar.com/">Jagjaguwar</a&gt;. There, I found a happy surprise: entire albums &#151; freely flowing streams of music &#151; not only from The Besnard Lakes, but also from a couple of other interesting bands, <a href="http://www.odawastheband.com/Odawas/Main.html">Odawas</a&gt; and <a href="http://www.alexdeliverymusic.com/">Alex Delivery</a>.

After a week of rain and bad news, here comes the sun. I woke this morning, singing it.

Hendrix and Huckleberry&mdash;heavy party animals!

Queen Bagheera reigns on my parade.