<I>"Viagra couldn't cure our voltage droop!"</I>

<I>"Viagra couldn't cure our voltage droop!"</I>

<I>"Viagra couldn't cure our voltage droop!"</I>

<I>"Viagra couldn't cure our voltage droop!"</I>

Music lovers worldwide are mourning the passing of violinist Isaac Stern, who died of heart failure in a New York hospital Saturday, September 22. Stern was 81.

Record producer and <I>Stereophile</I> contributor <A HREF="mailto:jmrcds@jmrcds.com"&gt; John Marks</A> has informed us that classical violinist Arturo Delmoni has agreed to throw his considerable talent behind the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11141/">Audio Charity Auction</A>, organized in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed more than 6000 people.

Bringing old albums out of the vaults and onto the market as CDs is a pretty standard process these days. First you get the licensing straightened out, find the original cover art, and locate the first-generation master tapes. In a pinch, the safety copies of the masters can be used, but if these also can't be located, what next?

The terrorist attack of September 11 will likely worsen an already dark period for American retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by more than 14% in the week after the attack, the largest slide since the week of July 21, 1933. In the present circumstances, Americans are generally reticent to spend money, according to many reports, a situation that will affect manufacturers and retailers for months or years to come.

The official launch of <A HREF="www.xmradio.com">XM Satellite Radio</A> was set for September 12. But within hours of the September 11 attack on New York and the Pentagon, XM announced that it would be postponing its debut, which was slated to take place in Washington DC at its headquarters and broadcast studio complex.