<I>The mind of man, when he gives the spur and bridle to his thoughts, doth never stop, but naturally sallies out into both extremes of high and low.</I>&mdash;Jonathan Swift

<I>The mind of man, when he gives the spur and bridle to his thoughts, doth never stop, but naturally sallies out into both extremes of high and low.</I>&mdash;Jonathan Swift

<I>The mind of man, when he gives the spur and bridle to his thoughts, doth never stop, but naturally sallies out into both extremes of high and low.</I>&mdash;Jonathan Swift

<I>The mind of man, when he gives the spur and bridle to his thoughts, doth never stop, but naturally sallies out into both extremes of high and low.</I>&mdash;Jonathan Swift

In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//artdudleylistening/801/">my column</A> for <I>Stereophile</I>'s March issue, I criticized a handful of records for combining very good sound with very bad music. A few readers expressed dismay, wondering what gave me the right to call music good or bad, especially since virtually all music is loved by someone (its mother?). But as far as I know, the magazine received a total of zero letters wondering what gave me the right to call <I>sound</I> good or bad. Hmmm.

In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//artdudleylistening/801/">my column</A> for <I>Stereophile</I>'s March issue, I criticized a handful of records for combining very good sound with very bad music. A few readers expressed dismay, wondering what gave me the right to call music good or bad, especially since virtually all music is loved by someone (its mother?). But as far as I know, the magazine received a total of zero letters wondering what gave me the right to call <I>sound</I> good or bad. Hmmm.

In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//artdudleylistening/801/">my column</A> for <I>Stereophile</I>'s March issue, I criticized a handful of records for combining very good sound with very bad music. A few readers expressed dismay, wondering what gave me the right to call music good or bad, especially since virtually all music is loved by someone (its mother?). But as far as I know, the magazine received a total of zero letters wondering what gave me the right to call <I>sound</I> good or bad. Hmmm.

IPOs are jumping and the Nasdaq is up&mdash;some mid-summer economic indicators point toward a recovery, but you wouldn't know it from retail reports. Circuit City, Good Guys, and Harvey Electronics are singing the blues, while discounter Costco is whistling all the way to the bank.

Whether or not online file-trading has had an effect on compact disc purchases <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11643/">positive</A&gt; or <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11679/">negative</A&gt;, a new report published by the <A HREF="http://www.ifpi.com">International Federation of the Phonographic Industry</A> (IFPI) indicates that the real problem facing the music industry worldwide is that fewer and fewer of those CD purchases are of the real thing.