Boulder's new $24,000 1021 is a case in point. An on-board computer buffers the data coming off the transport and manipulates everything in software. The large and easy-to-read front panel display has a small gray bar at the bottom to indicate how much data is ahead in the buffer ahead as…
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I'm still amazed at the sheer number of new high-end CD players announced at this show. Either someone didn't get the memo about the disc format's impending demise, or else we've entered that phase, as with turntables, that playback advances will continue to win new customers with big collections.
At the end of every CES, we struggle to find the underlying themes that bind the show to the industry and the world at large. The overwhelming theme this year was the economy. Attendance was down—the official estimate was 10% off of last year's, but everyone I spoke with snorted in derision at that figure.
How down was it? Halls were navigable, even on Saturday, the busiest day. Taxis queues were less than 10 minutes, down from up to an hour last year. And, while restaurants were crowded, I saw one manufacturer book at table for six at the wildly popular Bouchon for Saturday night…
When I was younger, in my teens and early twenties, it happened all the time. On a whim, I'd go out to a small rock venue, and be absolutely shocked, ignited, devastated by some young, unknown band. Afterwards, I was always too shy to speak to the musicians, but, if I had any extra cash on me, I'd be sure to head to the merch' table and pick up a demo, maybe even buy a button or t-shirt. The feeling was as intoxicating and brilliant as New York City's snow-covered streets on a sunny winter day. This band was now yours to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, from this day…
As soon as we pulled up, I knew that this was gonna be the highlight of my trip to New Orleans. When the door to Snake and Jakes Christmas Club Lounge swung open, I got tears in my eyes as I beheld the kind of unclean, unsafe booze shack that I've wasted many an hour in.
One glance told you that this place was trouble incarnate, a serious dive, which I took as a very good sign. A low slung, half–falling down concrete building with no sign and Christmas lights twinkling outside, this utterly depraved den (in a residential neighborhood no less) effortlessly radiated the kind of pure…
On Sonic Youth's 1992 album, Dirty, there is a song called "Youth Against Fascism," in which Thurston Moore lists a series of difficult political themes (racial violence, a poor economy, a lousy president, etc.) and follows each item with the refrain:
It's the song I hate
It's the song I hate
It's the song I hate
Basically, our man Thurston is saying he hates political songs, but he obviously feels that they are necessary. Political songs are so necessary, in fact, that even he needs to sing one.
This is not a political post, but this is the post I hate. I hate explaining things…
Art Dudley:
The fact is, a loudspeaker must be more than just sonically pure: It must be musically competent as well, inasmuch as it should communicate the momentum, flow, and sheer rightness of pitch relationships that distinguish music from sound. A very good loudspeaker should also convey the drama, scale, and sense of touch that contribute to holding the listener's interest...
AD's complete review of the Harbeth M40.1 loudspeaker, along with some interesting comments from Harbeth designer Alan Shaw, can be found here.
Michael Fremer:
In the mythical land of perfect recordings and utterly neutral playback gear, no preamplifier has a "sound." Neither do amps or speakers or phono cartridges. But in the real world we live in, every sound recording is a flawed replica of a live or imagined event reproduced by equally flawed playback gear.
MF's complete review of the glitzy MBL 6010 D preamplifier can be found here.
How great was it to hear all the music at the inaugural. Maybe music and the arts will once again be valued in the country. Maybe someone else than right wing country singers can get a tune in edgewise.
And how great was the rhinestone–trimmed bow on Aretha’s super tricked out, super swank hat!!!! She actually looked a little…ummm, thinner than I’ve seen her lately.
It was wonderful to hear “Simple Gifts,” though I did think that the John Williams arrangement could have made better use of the instrumental firepower that was present. Where was the soaring ending?
Best…
Hemispheres, the new two-CD album by guitarists Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, is the year’s first jazz masterpiece, a work of spontaneous lyricism as glittering and joyful as anything either has recorded (and, given their histories, that’s saying a lot). Hall, who’s 78, and Frisell, who’s 57 and something of a protg, both have a tendency toward doodling when they’re not anchored by a rhythm section. But Disc One—10 tracks of barebones duets (including Milt Jackson’s “Bags’ Groove,” Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War,” Hall’s anthemic “Bimini,” and several pure improvs)—are loose-limbered and air tight…
John Atkinson:
...no single aspect of the sound calls attention to itself, but there is instead a seamless presentation in which the acoustic objects representing instruments and voices are naturally embedded within the whole while retaining their individuality, just as happens in real life.
JA's complete review of the Cary CD 306 SACD Professional Version (whew!) can be found here.