There has been a lot of Leonard Cohen talk going around the office this week. You will find out why when you receive your September issue of <i>Stereophile</i>. You will enjoy it, too, I am certain.

There has been a lot of Leonard Cohen talk going around the office this week. You will find out why when you receive your September issue of <i>Stereophile</i>. You will enjoy it, too, I am certain.

Here in the office, I am (like most jerks in the corporate world) constantly juggling several tasks at once. Sometimes these tasks seem to have absolutely nothing to do with one another, and nothing to do with the making of a magazine. So it goes. To keep everything from crashing down at my nervous, trembling feet, I scribble little reminders on yellow Post-it notes and stick them to everything around me: Post-it notes on my computer screen, Post-it notes on my telephone, Post-it notes on my calendar, Post-it notes on my stapler, etc.

A couple of months ago, I heard <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/128092">an interesting segment on NPR</a> about Sam Hillmer's <a href="http://www.myspace.com/representingnyc">Representing NYC</a> project. Hillmer, a NYC school teacher, partners his students with indie-rock musicians to create hip-hop albums. The children are given an opportunity to express themselves and gain real experience in the art of commerce, while the musicians get to contribute to the working-class communities they've recently moved into.

Musical Fidelity's founder, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/575/index3.html">Antony Michaelson</A>, arrived at my house to help me set up the two chassis of his sleek, limited-edition, $30,000 Titan power amplifier. (The task requires at <I>least</I> two people.) A week later, a representative of Musical Fidelity's US importer, KEF America, dropped by to listen and to deliver three of Musical Fidelity's new V-series products: a phono preamp, a DAC, and a headphone amp. All three fit comfortably into a small paper bag; the price of the three was $700.

Musical Fidelity's founder, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/575/index3.html">Antony Michaelson</A>, arrived at my house to help me set up the two chassis of his sleek, limited-edition, $30,000 Titan power amplifier. (The task requires at <I>least</I> two people.) A week later, a representative of Musical Fidelity's US importer, KEF America, dropped by to listen and to deliver three of Musical Fidelity's new V-series products: a phono preamp, a DAC, and a headphone amp. All three fit comfortably into a small paper bag; the price of the three was $700.