Over in the <A HREF="http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3839&page=&…; Forums</A>, we've been having a conversation about the differences between music lovers and collectors&mdash;a conversation that has been considerably enlivened by the participation of my friend Jeff Wong, who is both.

No, it isn't a joke. Hey, if you're here, it's not like you're using the one you've got.

How could I have missed this Charles Rosen article? It was even published on my birthday. Aww, he shouldn't have.

Can one ever truly get enough of the spiced ham that is William Shatner?

If I needed a reason to check out the Decemberists beyond Stephen Mejias' recommendation, this interview would be it.

Not just for cooling tweeters any more. Strangely arresting.

On our regular visit to the Electronic Freedom Foundation's (EFF) <A HREF="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004340.php"><I>Deep Links</I></A> website last Friday, we were alarmed to learn of proposed US Senate broadcast flag legislation that includes provisions to limit fair use to "customary historic use of broadcast content by consumers to the extent such use is consistent with applicable law."

On Friday, January 20, five different friends forwarded Chris Morris' <I>The Hollywood Reporter</I> column on the closing of LA's Westwood Boulevard Rhino Records store. Established in 1973, the record store closed its doors on January 19 (although it staged a parking lot sale on January 21 and 22). Rhino owner Richard Foos blamed the store's demise on a number of factors, including pricing competition from national chains, the lack of demand for "a physical product," and "too many other things to do and too many ways to get your music without paying $18 for a CD."