The sound is reminiscent of Peter Gabriel’s earliest solo material—groovy, spacey, exotic, and lush, with lyrics to match: In “Gucci Mountain,” Standish sings, “I’m chewing bamboo off the coast of Casanova / The principles of leisure, the DNA of pleasure / Jamaica, Jamaica, don’t jinx me, Jamaica / Don’t stop me now…
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Conrad Standish and Tom Carlyon are formerly of the Australian noir-rock trio Devastations. While that band’s thoughtful, honest work could bring a listener to tears, Deleted Scenes, Standish and Carlyon’s debut as a duo, is much more interested in physical pleasures.
In today’s previous entry, I mentioned that Standish/Carlyon’s Deleted Scenes reminded me of Peter Gabriel’s early solo work. Fans of FX’s outstanding TV series, “The Americans,” will have noted that the season’s finale made fine use of Gabriel’s hit single “Games Without Frontiers.” That is, if those fans were already familiar with the song. I was not.
As I watched the tense closing scenes, with Ms. Little falling asleep beside me, I was struck by the song, its groove, mood, strange voice and lyrics, and the way it so perfectly complemented the show’s quiet action. The song was excellent…
On Wednesday May 8th, 2013, B&O announced the release of the H6 over-ear headphone ($399) and H3 in-ear monitor ($249). Long known as a lifestyle brand that embraces both excellent sound and excellent design, B&O’s H6 and H3s promise no different.
Nicolaj Shabtai, Category Manager for B&O Play, explained the products’ three priorities: "outstanding sound, design for life & style, and quality materials." Blueprinted by Danish designer Jakob Wagner, the elegant and plush H6 is available in both black and natural leather. The leather comes from free running cows in New…
Sony's Yuki Sugiura conducts the orchestra in Music Lovers' Reference Room
"Sensational" is an adjective far overplayed in "fine audio" circles (to borrow a phrase that Bob Levi of T.H.E. Show Newport Beach has been using). But I know of no better word to describe the jaw-dropping sound of a dCS/Boulder/Sony set-up at a May 4 demo in the Theater 2 room of Music Lovers Audio, San Francisco. With the assistance of a full complement of Transparent Audio cabling, save for an all-important active USB cable from Synergistic Research, the MacBook Pro/Audirvana-source system, featuring the Sony…
I wear polo shirts daily. Polo shirts keep things simple. Seven-time French Grand Slam tennis champion René Lacoste invented the “tennis shirt” in 1929 as an alternative to the traditional player’s outfit of white button-down and tie. The easy-to-wear “tennis shirt” rapidly expanded as official garb for polo players, golfers, and Homer Simpsons of America. Like the polo, the Logitech|UE 4000 on-ear headphone ($99.99) is accommodating to all in both fit and acoustic profile.
The Logitech|UE 4000s project music with impact and solidity. Bongos popped with body, as did tom-toms. Music…
It's mid-February as I write this and we're snowbound, thanks to Hurricane Nemo, but the buzz from the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show still resonates (footnote 1). On the surface, it was just another CES. Press-day conferences were, as usual, dominated by big mainstream companies that offer few high-end audio products. Why attend, unless you think you can track future trends that might trickle down to our little niche? Nothing of great interest could be found at the Las Vegas Convention Center—all the high-end audio manufacturers were exhibiting at the Venetian. There, almost everyone was…
But the BDP-105 has even more. In addition to the RCA/XLR jacks, the rear panel has three new digital inputs: S/PDIF on coax and TosLink, and USB B. These allow the '105 to be used as an audio DAC that can accept a wide range of audio formats. The coax and optical jacks can be used as you would those on any standalone DAC; they worked flawlessly. The USB B connector, unlike the three A connectors, makes the '105 into a USB asynchronous DAC and lets you enjoy high-quality sound from computer-based music streamers. With JRiver Media Center 18 on my laptop, this connection let me play my two-…
Sidebar: Contacts
exaSound Audio Design, 3219 Yonge St., Suite 354, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3S1, Canada. Web: www.exasound.com
Oppo Digital, 2629 Terminal Blvd., Suite B, Mountain View, CA 94043. Tel: (650) 961-1118. Web: oppodigital.com
"You see that empty space?" says Willie Nile, motioning toward a lot between buildings on Bleecker Street, an impish Irish grin flickering across his face. "They haven't built anything there yet because Anna Wintour lives around the corner. And that red-brick house over there, the one with the white door? That's where Dylan lived. I used to see Bob around the neighborhood now and again."
People talk revolution in the cafes
They debate right and wrong while they drink
There are buses there are cars there are shiny movie stars
There are starving artists standing on the brink…
"I met John the following week. I got into the wrong elevator bank and I was late for the gig. We recorded a session, maybe eight songs, something like that. He said to me, 'You've got something, but I think you need a little more experience, a little more seasoning. You're not quite ready for Columbia, but you have something.' I listen to those recordings now, and he was right. He also said, 'I just signed this kid out of New Jersey," which was Bruce. I told Bruce that story and he laughed."
The streets of New York
Unfold like a matchmaker's dream.
Day becomes night,
…