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I’ve just glommed on to TV on the Radio, and let me tell all those who are as out-of-it as I am, when it comes to contemporary rock, the band is really very good. I first heard them play on Steven Colbert’s show, then bought their latest CD Dear Science (which the Village Voice and others touted as the best album of 2008), and I’ve listened to it since at least a dozen times. As I wrote a little over a year ago about Radiohead, after I first heard In Rainbows, it’s as harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated as just about any work of modern jazz—which is not to say that it’s like jazz but…
It's really serious. I mean, in the beginning, you might give yourself a $25 spending limit, knowing very well that you'll find a little spot on the floor, alongside several others who'll be furiously rifling through the dollar bins. You'll almost certainly come away with a nice little stack of a dozen or so beautiful vinyl LPs. And that's all you'll need, really. That's all you'll need.
But then, just a short while later, with a bit more knowledge and a lot more desire, you'll double your spending limit. Fifty dollars will seem like no big deal; a small price to pay for a…
It’s rare that a live concert captures the mind-bending joy of mainstream post-War jazz. (Recitals of the bebop repertory tend toward the worshipfully literal, like museum pieces.) But just such a rare experience was had last night at Smalls, the convivial (and, yes, small) jazz club in the West Village, where pianist Ethan Iverson played standards with a trio that featured Albert “Tootie” Heath on drums.
Heath’s presence was remarkable in itself. The youngest of the Heath Brothers (Percy, the late bassist of the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Jimmy, the much-alive tenor saxophonist once known…
The April 2009 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. The April issue is always a bear, but this one was a hungry, 15 foot tall, 2 ton Kodiak. It's kind of a miracle that it even exists.
The issue begins with an excellent "As We See It" from Steve Guttenberg. People are talking about it in the forum. Steve is in the middle of some audiophile soul-searching. Most audiophiles have been there. If you're just getting into audio, I can almost guarantee that you'll be there, too. It's just part of the process. Steve asks, "Would you really want a perfect hi-fi?"
In "…
Another South by Southwest is in the books. My 21st out of a possible 23 festivals. Let me start with three acts that were among the most prominent participants there in terms of appearances. It seemed like every time I turned around—day, night, those sunny, warm Austin spring afternoons when the free drinks flow freely and the good times roll—there would be Raul Malo, the Heartless Bastards and/or M. Ward playing yet another gig.
For me the jury is still out on Ohioan (now residing in Austin) Erika Wennerstrom, the singer/songwriter, guitar player and visibly–driven front…
The controversial Furutech deMag provided an obvious and immediate improvement to a new vinyl LP.
Mikey fremers with some connections while the imposing Wilson MAXX 3 loudspeaker looks on, darth-vaderishly. Better not screw up, Mikey.
Last Friday was an interesting day in the office. No one was here, but Ariel. Robert Baird was whooping it up at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, and John Atkinson and I would soon be on the road. It was the first day of spring, and snow was falling like mad.
At a little past 9am, JA would be climbing into the Land Cruiser, heading out from Bay Ridge, across Staten Island, over the Kill van Kull, all along 440, and into Jersey City, where I would be waiting for him. The drive from JA's place to mine would take a little over half an hour. Not bad at all.…