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Bad Example

In November's "Aural Robert" (p.154 in the print mag), music editor Robert Baird sees technological advancement as the major cause for the decline of the independent record store. He writes:

Like the 45rpm single and the LP before it, the Compact Disc is giving way to downloading.

He goes on to say, "An informal poll around the Stereophile office found that no one under 40 had even been in a record store lately, let alone bought a record."

Then, he quotes me!

"It's been so long," said assistant editor Stephen Mejias, "that I can't even remember the last time…

When Harvard Business School Press wouldn't let Robert Sutton title his book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't, he walked. Sounds like it was HBSP's loss.

How To Be Funny

Stop me if you've heard this one. . . .

Guitar Face

It is a well-known fact that a rock guitarist's ability to squeeze those really hard-to-reach notes out of a guitar is directly tied to the facial muscles. Over at WFMU's fabulous Beware of the Blog, Scott Williams has posted a tribute to the "guitar face."

Poor Rejection

Good morning. It's just about 11:30am, and I've received three calls from a reader — let us say his name is... Rich — who is interested in purchasing the $43,000, four-box, Zanden CD player reviewed in our November issue. I reckon, from the information Rich provided, that he is interested in the Zanden simply because we refer to it as "The World's Most Expensive CD Player."

And I'm all like "Wow." Don't you realize, Rich, that

"World's Most Expensive CD Player"

isn't really a compliment?

Rich, did you read the review? Did you get to that part…

I'm Thinkin' <I>Think Denk</I>

I've just discovered Think Denk (thanks to a link from Alex Ross' The Rest Is Noise). Billed as "the glamorous life and thoughts of a concert pianist," it's a good read—and Jeremy Denk is good company. Now I have to hear him play.

The Seven Stages of Owning an iPod

Drivl gets it about right.

Heh, heh. Drivl, get it?

Review Integrity

This is a great response to a bone-headed manufacturing ploy. Yes, it happens—a reviewer contacts a manufacturer for a review sample and the manufacturer responds, "Sure, as long as you guarantee good press."

At Stereophile, our response has always been, "Get over yourself—and call us back when there are no strings attached." (Actually, that's a mild translation of what we really say, but you get the idea.)

When Alienware pulled that trick on Hexus.net, Bob Crabtree took the backstage story online. Crabtree gives fantastic rant. Enjoy the ride.

Requiem For Tower

Tomorrow night, I'm going to attend a wake for Tower, an event held by ex-Tower classical employees where we will commiserate, dissect, and reminisce about the good old days.

One of the things I loved about working at Tower was that I was surrounded by people who knew even more about music than I did and who loved it every bit as deeply. The New York classical departments, headed by Tower's national classical manager, Ray Edwards, were phenomenal places to work, and the people Ray hired to staff his departments were gems.

Folks like Paul Hertzman, Paul Tai, Jon and Eric Feidner,…

Why Doesn't Batman Party With SpongeBob Squarepants?

I think it's because he's a dangerous psychotic who probably has about a zillion injunctions forbidding him anywhere close to children. . . . Wait, was that a trick question?