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A gorgeous family of Shindo gear makes its home on a Box Furniture Co. rack ($3700), handmade in Brooklyn, New York.
The gatefold to Black-Man's Burdon. Possibly the greatest scene ever to decorate a LP jacket.
In Living Stereo is located at 13 East 4th Street, one door down from Other Music and just across from where Tower Records once stood tall. It's a great place for a hi-fi shop. To get there, you might take the 6 train to Astor Place, where you will climb right into a blur of so much height and movement and memory.
You've been here, on this corner, a million times before. There is the familiar Cube sculpture, standing in the middle of a busy intersection like a homeless person, surrounded by all sorts of traffic and spinning slowly, slowly, on one tired edge. The old Carl…
So the big day, September 9, Beatles Day, has come and gone and after being away on a brief trip, I returned this morning to a number of voicemails that began, “Are the Beatles reissues worth the money?”
I even had a call from one of my writers. For shame. No, not really. I fully understand times are hard and shelling out $179.99 (on Amazon.com) for the full Stereo Box enchilada may be too much for some. I have to say though that one hundred and eighty bucks for the entire Beatles stereo catalog in its U.S. configuration is pretty reasonable. The boxed set is very basic and no…
It was a bit of good fortune. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in late August. It was the perfect thing at the perfect time, like Hemingway in autumn or Whitman in winter or a lot of stuff I can't think of right now—nothing refreshing, but something comforting: chocolate after wine, the smell of someone familiar when you're feeling all alone, I don't know. Monica had just called to tell me that she was back from her trip; she wanted to meet for a drink. I know very well that Monica is not the right person for me, but sometimes the right person is not what you need, is not…
Thirsty for some new music? I have a hard time understanding people when they say they have nothing new to listen to. It seems like everyone's making complete albums available for easy streaming these days. Here are a few I've just sort of stumbled upon over the last couple of days:
Times New Viking's new album is called Born Again Revisited and can be streamed here. (I'm digging the slacker fist-pump of "These Days" and the DIY jangle of the title track.) You can also listen to Girls' Album there, or specifically here. ("Lust For Life" and "Hellhole Ratrace"…
The October 2009 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I hope you will enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. It was a lot of work, but it was also incredibly satisfying. The front cover is, in my opinion, our best and boldest of the year, which is appropriate because this issue not only includes our popular "Recommended Components" list but also pays tribute to Stereophile's founder, J. Gordon Holt, who passed away in July. It is indeed a special issue.
I love what graphic designer Natalie Baca did with the cover. Matching the bright, liquid…
This is weird: French hip-hop producer, Jean-Christophe Le Saout (aka Wax Tailor), is releasing "Say Yes," the lead single off his third album, In The Mood For Life, as a dual-layer compact disc/miniature-vinyl.
Huh?
Yes, it's a little black disc that can be played in your compact disc player or on your turntable. Has this been done before? I don't know. Maybe. I guess Wax Tailor loves both formats equally, and he wants you to love them, too. At the same time. This will either be seen as a godsend or a horrific torture device to certain audiophiles. Which sounds…
Me, in the middle of another intense stare-down with my computer screen. (The screen always wins.)
Hey, today is my birthday. And it's the blog's birthday, too. Yeah!
I am another year older and another year deeper in debt. In debt, that is, to all of the good friends I've made, people who've offered their encouragement and support, thoughtful advice, excellent musical recommendations, and love.
This blog means a lot to me. It drives my search for new and exciting music, and it connects me to readers and music lovers all over the world. Which is a pretty…
The Zeppelin Mini: It looks great anywhere—even in the kitchen—but you'll want to avoid potential early-morning accidents or you might end up buttering your iPhone.
"Small sounds beautiful," says Bowers & Wilkins. The heralded British loudspeaker manufacturer has announced a smaller, updated version of their striking Zeppelin iPod music system, simply named the Zeppelin Mini. It costs $399.95.
We had heard and enjoyed the original Zeppelin in the Stereophile room at CES 2008, The Year of the Music Server. We were impressed by the size of the sound…