Album Art: Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me
Wild. Peacocks and stuff.
Stephen Mejias
The Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs
Just this morning, I was thinking about the Magnetic Fields, and specifically about how I haven’t really enjoyed their work since 1999’s inspired 69 Love Songs. While i had plenty of fine moments, I can’t stand to listen to it anymore. It strikes me as mawkish and false. Distortion bothered me from the very beginning. There was nothing to hold on to. And though I’m mildly interested in the new one, Realism, I'm not excited enough to add it to “the list.”
She & Him: Volume Two
Might as well add this one to the list.
Jimi Hendrix: Valleys of Neptune
These are previously unreleased tracks, with a previously unknown fire and happiness. I pried the advance copy from Robert">http://blog.stereophile.com/musicroom/robertbaird/">Robert Baird's kung-fu grip, and listened to it on the hi-fi. I don't want to say too much about it because our April issue will include a whole psychedelic feature on the topic, as well as a formal album review, so I'll just say this: I need it.
Four Tet: There Is Love In You
Any album named There Is Love In You is an album for me. Especially when it’s the new one from Four">http://www.myspace.com/fourtetkieranhebden">Four Tet, aka Kieran Hebden, 32-year old, post-rock/electronic DJ/musician/wizard.
Massive Attack: Heligoland
It’s been awhile since I last hooked up with Massive Attack. Heligoland is the unit’s fifth full-length studio release and, with collaborations from Damon Albarn, Hope Sandovol, Tunde Adebimpe, and Martina Topley-Bird, it has to be good. Right?
Wild Nothing: Gemini
Wild Nothing is 21-year old Virginian, Jack Tatum. Last year, he released a 7" single on Captured">http://www.capturedtracks.com/index.php">Captured Tracks, another one of those labels that just knows what I like. Gemini, his full-length debut, is scheduled to be released on May 18. You can listen to a few tracks at the">http://www.myspace.com/wildnothing">the Wild Nothing Myspace page.
Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me
Photo: Annabel Mehran
Gang Gang Dance: God’s Money
And, dang it, just when I thought it was safe to check my e-mail, it turns out that Gang">http://www.myspace.com/ganggangdance">Gang Gang Dance’s long out-of-print 2005 release, the highly acclaimed God’s Money, is available again—and on vinyl, hallelujah. A note from The">http://www.thesocialregistry.com/index2.html">The Social Registry, another one of my favorite labels:
Now on Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.33 No.2
The February 2010 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. What do you think of the cover? I like it more than any cover we’ve done since the">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/now_on_newsstands_stereophile… October 2009 issue, which featured the lovely Zu">http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/zu_essence_loudspeaker/">Zu Essence speaker. The styling of the current cover may seem a bit soft and feminine (for Stereophile), but I think it’s elegant and graceful, like the speaker it frames. Vienna Acoustics’ Kiss is a beautifully finished three-way design with an integral stand. It uses a 1" silk-dome tweeter coincident with a 7" proprietary Spider-Cone midrange and a 9" Spider-Cone woofer. Wes wanted to make out with it. Can you blame him? He wrote: “The Kiss was exquisitely capable of revealing the emotional core of every type of music I played through it.”