Last night, I sat on a bright yellow velveteen sofa eating red beans and rice while listening for three hours to blues and jazz from rare 78rpm records. I walked out feeling gospel-level raised up, with a head full of dreams and cultural memories.

Opinions vary, but like everything connected to The Beatles, charged arguments over Giles Martin's ongoing remastering of, and sonic tinkering with, the band's hallowed recording catalog are unending.

In the April 2024 issue of this magazine, a piece by Editor Jim Austin appeared in the "As We See It" space. It was titled "On assessing sonic illusions," and it has haunted me for more than a year. Jim's thesis was that a music recording is a "synthetic, whole-cloth creation ... a complete fabrication."

One winner will take home two extraordinary Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressings that showcase analog recording at its finest: Rock a Little by Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, each presented in strictly limited, reference-grade 45RPM editions. From the lavish, high-resolution textures of Rock a Little to the tape-like warmth, dynamics, and realism of Fleetwood Mac’s landmark 1975 release, this sweepstakes celebrates music made with ambition—and mastered for listeners who demand absolute fidelity. Enter for a chance to experience two iconic albums as they were always meant to be heard.

Punk rock was never meant to grow old. For their first three studio efforts, The Replacements epitomized the punk ethos. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), the EP Stink (1982), and Hootenanny (1983) are loud, bashy fun.