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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."
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'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.
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.
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,…
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?
It's kind of crazy. I go to bed each night with a little bit of worry over the words I've let loose. Nouns and verbs and other linking bits, forming ideas and images meant to be pretty, meant to be funny, meant to be interesting. These words are linked to me, just as my name is linked to Stereophile, and it all comes with
So
Much
Weight:
The weight of almost forty-five years and hundreds of writers and thousands of reviews: The weight of loudspeakers and monoblocks: The weight of mountains, some sort of audiophile genetic memory. And so I worry. Did I say what…
Terry Teachout's Commentary essay on Malcolm Arnold suggests that it's time to re-evaluate the critical consensus that Arnold's music wasn't serious simply because it was, well, among other things, not hard on its listeners.
Last night, audiophile Al Marcy — oh, hell-kite! — did an incredible thing. He, with one swift comment, responded to every single blog entry I've ever posted:
Relax, Sado-Maso, this audio trip is great fun. OK, so somebody thinks money isn't stupid... bet they did NOT earn their's... I am looking forward to 60. My latest Heathkit A-7 uses 12A6 output tubes. Damn thing sounds fantastic. I am planning on fixing my other one. Mono is too good for mere mortals, right? Boy, you've got to carry that weight...
Remarkable.