Stephen Mejias

Where did I hide that Replacements record, dammit?

I was unusually happy, and now I’m sad.

"Stephen, how come you like such pretty music when you’re in such a loud and raucous band?"

Throughout college, Michelle and I—along with our very good friend, Todd—played in a performance art/noise rock band called Genie Boom. We took the name from the sky-blue steel beast that you sometimes see at construction sites, or on highways, or—here in New York City—even on Madison Avenue; the same sky-blue steel beast that I once used to propel myself a hundred feet into the air to install all sorts of I-don’t-know-what along the tanks and pumps and whatever else that make up Firmenich, the chemical plant where I worked at the time. They make flavors and fragrances; much of what you taste and smell everyday comes from Firmenich. I spent four summers there, painting curbs and railings “emergency yellow,” watching flaming bits of iron fall from the welders’ gloved hands, finding beauty in how smooth a beveled pipe could be.

This morning we received our office copies of the October 2010 issue, which includes the latest installment of "Recommended Components."

This isn't "perfect sound," it's perfect life.

&#151George Reisch, Stereophile, Vol.20 No.9