Photo by Karl Edwin Scullin.
Released back in May, Jenny Hval's Innocence is Kinky, endures as one of my favorite records of 2013. I've played it countless times, and, in a few days, when Hval takes the stage at NYC's Mercury Lounge, I'll finally have the chance to see and hear the songs performed live.
It's happening on a Tuesday night. And it's the late show. And I'm old. But I'm still going. So, you know that I consider this one important. (Wednesday is going to be rough.)
Maybe I'll see you there. For now, we can also enjoy Hval's quiet, lovely cover of Paul Simon's…
In the last 15 minutes, about 25 people have sent me a link to this article, so now I'll share it with you. For better or worse, whether we're discussing velour suits or Compact Discs, any discussion regarding death is most likely premature. I call for a death to the discussion of death.
Yet, here we go again, this time discussing "the death of the home stereo system." CNN reporter Todd Leopold paints it as the classic struggle between quality and convenience, and seems to think that convenience has finally delivered the knock-out punch.
Nothing Leopold says is necessarily wrong…
Roy Bird's UK-based Chester Group, which currently produces the New York Audio Show, has announced the acquisition of Montreal's Salon Son et Image. While the show will continue to take place in Montreal's Hilton Bonaventure in late March—March 28–30 in 2014—Sarah Tremblay, former co-producer of Montreal show with her husband, Michel Plante, will join the Chester Group team and assume overall management of both North American shows.
In addition, to avoid 2013's industry-taxing situation of the Montreal, Chicago, and New York shows taking place with only two or three weeks between each,…
Whether the subject is hi-fi equipment, films, restaurants, power tools, or condoms (see the April 2005 "Listening"), reviewing should be off-limits to the perennially unhappy. I'm reminded of that dictum by the flap over the recent film Identity Thief, which was savaged by reviewer Rex Reed—not because the film is weak, but because its star, Melissa McCarthy, is heavy. Reed, whose career as the Paul Lynde of film reviewing was punctuated by a starring role in a flop called Myra Breckenridge, mentioned in his review McCarthy's size not once but numerous times, thus exposing himself as a…
Reaction
Audio reviewing has gone through its share of unpleasant phases. The most notorious was, ironically, its boom era, when an unquestioning adherence to specsmanship—executed without contemplation, written without passion, and fixated on frequency response to a degree nearly suggestive of mental illness—succeeded in actually destroying all but the high-end segment of this hobby. Yet for me, an even rougher patch was that period of time in the early to mid-1980s, when high-end reviewing "stars" hitched their critical wagons to the pet theories of one or two designers, by which…
Sidebar: List of the Month
The Top Nine Stupid Audiophile Tricks
My attitude toward the Strangest Tweaks on Earth has long been motivated by a simple axiom: As long as insane amounts of money aren't involved, then surely there's no harm in trying. Yet even I have to admit that some efforts at improving sound are so patently dumb, so titanically ignorant of the way things actually work, that they wound the very concept of human intelligence: That's where the goddam harm is. Thus my list of the Top Nine Stupid Audiophile Tricks, in no particular order of imbecility:
1) Removing all…
The world is catching up with Darcy James Argue. Two years ago, he was known mainly for having the strangest name in jazz since Ornette Coleman. Now he's a double winner in Downbeat's 2013 Critics' Poll—the top pick for Best Arranger, and tied with Maria Schneider for Best Big Band Leader.
By no stretch is Argue "rich and famous." This is jazz, after all. But he's making it within the realm of his choosing, and the band he created—in its vibe and its music—has crossover potential.
His 18-piece ensemble, which he calls Secret Society, isn't your granddad's big band. The liner…
Last night, AudioStream.com's Michael Lavorgna and I attended Jenny Hval's performance at the Mercury Lounge on Houston Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side. Because we first made stops to: browse LPs and chat with Daniel at Other Music, enjoy cask-conditioned ales at d.b.a., and devour some incredibly delicious pies at Rizzo's, we were primed for a memorable evening of music.
Jenny Hval did not disappoint. My only criticism of the performance was the lack of people in attendance. Jenny Hval should be seen and heard by many. Then again, to see her so close, so intimately, was a distinct…
It ain’t easy being 59 and living with the fact that what are arguably your best records are now 30 years old. Okay, King of American from `86 is another career highlight. Yet to his credit, Elvis Costello has, unlike many of his contemporaries, thankfully followed the Neil Young model of still giving a damn about being artistically relevant, no matter how much lucre he has stashed or how young his children are. He continues to explore ways to cover new artistic ground and find new modes of musical expression. He remains open to almost any idea, any new way to showcase his voice. This…
In what may be a record period for audio show acquisitions. Connecticut-based trade show company JD Events has acquired AXPONA (Audio Expo North America). The announcement follows on the heels of UK-based The Chester Group's announcement that it has bought Montreal's Salon Son et Image, and gotten out of the way of AXPONA Chicago by moving its New York Show to a fall date in Brooklyn.
In its own words, JD Events "is dedicated to the creation of targeted and innovative industry-leading events that deliver results. The company brings together highly qualified buying audiences, education-…
