Stephen Mejias

It was late last year, when the leaves and the temperatures started to fall, that I first became interested in Effi Briest, the hypnotic and alluring all-female band performing out of Brooklyn, NY. Their video for “Mirror Eye” was a">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/effi_briests_mirror_rim/">a dizzying, hallucinogenic trip that matched their sound and their sense of style.

On Thursday, May 20th, Seattle’s Resolution">http://www.resolutionaudiovideoseattle.com/">Resolution Audio Video (5459 Leary Avenue NW) will host an evening with renowned amplifier">http://www.passlabs.com/index.htm">amplifier designer and DIY">http://www.passdiy.com/index.htm">DIY advocate, the long-haired and white-bearded Nelson Pass. This event should be really cool and interesting; Nelson Pass doesn’t make many big public appearances.

I…uh, I…I just don’t know what to say, but I’m definitely making this my new theme song.

When asked how to create a good recording, John Atkinson will tell you to use good musicians in a good room. The people behind Benchmark">http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/">Benchmark Media Systems, makers of some of today’s most highly regarded digital audio converters, headphone amps, and mic preamps, agree.

My love for the Vivian Girls only grows and grows: I love them more today than I did yesterday, but not as much as I’ll love them tomorrow. Their 2009 album, Everything Goes Wrong, continues to sound fresh and exciting with each play on my turntable. And they’ve got a new 7-inch single available from their own Wild">http://www.freewebs.com/viviangirls/wildworld.htm">Wild World Records. Perfect for a sunny Cinco de Mayo like this one, the A-side has Cassie confessing, “I can hardly wait until the summer comes,” while Katy and Ali echo the feeling with handclaps and angelic backing vocals. The B-side is a cover of the Chantels’ “He’s Gone,” which I had the great and unforgettable pleasure of hearing performed live, a cappella, at">http://forum.stereophile.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/2149/passwor… Bamboo Beach in">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/what_happened_in_puerto_rico/… Puerto Rico.

Last night, on Later with Jools Holland, Joanna Newsom performed “81,” the lead single from her ambitious and inspired triple-LP, Have">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/bewitching_rewarding/">Have One On Me.

Whenever I’m at Tunes in Hoboken, getting my fingers all dirty on the vinyl LPs, I stop and stare at this one album, John Prine’s Sweet Revenge, and I wonder what it’s all about. Prine looks pretty bad-ass there in his convertible, decked out in so much blue denim, dark aviators over his eyes, a cigarette at his lips, the wind in his hair, legs crossed and flung out over the passenger side window like he’s seriously satisfied, like he really doesn’t care.