Stephen Mejias

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Stephen Mejias

Record Store Day 2011

Stephen Mejias Apr 13, 2011 First Published: Apr 13, 2011 0 comments

Oh, damn: Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 16th, and I won’t be able to participate. I’ll be in Atlanta, covering Axpona, but, if you’re free, you should definitely make a trip to your local independent record store and enjoy the festivities. As we all know, many record stores have shut their doors in recent years&#151for proof, take a look at this collection of sad and beautiful images&#151but, as some of the larger chains have faded away, many smaller shops have opened up, catering to specific tastes and genres of music, making the experience of record shopping even more personal, friendly, and satisfying.

Stephen Mejias

The Erotic Downbeat of Wild Beasts

Stephen Mejias Apr 08, 2011 First Published: Apr 08, 2011 0 comments

The elegant, languorous video for Wild Beasts’ “Albatross,” the first single from the band’s upcoming album, Smother, is filled with images that are like Wild Beasts’ music: surreal, delicate, physical, painful, and, at times, painfully lovely.

With its gentle dance rhythms, memorable melodies, and heavy, overcast skies, Wild Beasts’ 2009 album, Two Dancers, which was nominated for 2010’s prestigious Mercury Prize, continues to find a place near the front of my vinyl stacks. The girls like it, too.

Smother promises to fall even closer to my heart. From the press release:

Stephen Mejias

Kanibal Home Presents Rose Cottage (but no hi-fi)

Stephen Mejias Apr 07, 2011 First Published: Apr 07, 2011 0 comments

Kristen is hot. I mean, seriously: smoking, sizzling, flame-broiling, momma-said-knock-you-out, one-hundred-and-fifty-five-degrees-in-the-shade, incomprehensibly, unavoidably, uncomfortably hot. Yow! But, excuse me, that’s not what I meant to write about.

Let me start again.

Stephen Mejias

Wretches & Jabberers

Stephen Mejias Apr 07, 2011 First Published: Apr 07, 2011 0 comments

In support of National Autism Awareness Month, McIntosh Laboratory and songwriter/producer J. Ralph have come together to create a spectacular new album, the original motion picture soundtrack to Academy Award winning director Gerardine Wurzburg’s Wretches & Jabberers. The feature-length documentary, in theaters now, follows the paths of two men with autism, Larry Bissonnette and Tracy Thresher, as they travel around the world determined to increase autism awareness and refine our ideas of intelligence.

From the film’s dedicated web site:

Growing up, Thresher and Bissonnette were presumed “retarded” and excluded from normal schooling. With limited speech, they both faced lives of social isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When they learned as adults to communicate by typing, their lives changed dramatically. Their world tour message is that the same possibility exists for others like themselves.

Yesterday evening, I met with composer J. Ralph and McIntosh’s Global VP of Sales and Marketing, Linda Passaro, for an intimate listening session.

Stephen Mejias

Start Booming: American Express & Music Direct

Stephen Mejias Apr 04, 2011 First Published: Apr 04, 2011 0 comments

You might remember the American Express Plum Card advertisement that featured hi-fi and vinyl retailer Music Direct. The ad, which ran on mainstream television for several months, did a good job of introducing hi-fi and vinyl to a wider audience.

The new ad puts greater emphasis on Jim Davis’s passion for music, vinyl, gear, and sound, and describes the growth of his company, Music Direct. Notice that the pretty Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 loudspeakers, reviewed by me in our April issue and by Bob Reina in a future issue, are given good airtime.

Stephen Mejias

Beware the Devil Woman

Stephen Mejias Apr 01, 2011 First Published: Apr 01, 2011 0 comments

This one goes out to a very special lady. You know who you are.

Stephen Mejias

Now On Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.34 No.4

Stephen Mejias Mar 30, 2011 First Published: Mar 30, 2011 0 comments

The April 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. I’m especially excited about this one. In fact, I kinda wish I could create an enormous high-resolution, illuminated reproduction of the cover and drape it over one entire side of the Empire State Building. That’s how much I love this issue. Yesterday afternoon, I walked over to 4 Times Square and handed a copy of our April issue to my dear friend, Jaime, the photo editor for a very popular woman’s magazine. She was equally impressed.

You see those warm, happy colors and those delicious, little loudspeakers on the cover of our April issue? Those things make girls happy. And when girls are happy, dudes, the world is a better place.

Stephen Mejias

Cherish the Light Years

Stephen Mejias Mar 29, 2011 First Published: Mar 29, 2011 0 comments

I resisted at first, but Cold Cave's Love Comes Close became one of my very favorite records of 2009. The album also led me to one of New York City's darkest, spookiest, and most welcoming record shops, Hospital Productions, a fantastic source of underground noise, industrial, and experimental work on CD, LP, and, good-god-almighty, cassette.

Cold Cave's new album, Cherish the Light Years will be available in similarly fine record shops on April 5th, but Matador Records has provided a free stream, so you can listen now.

Stephen Mejias

David Comes to Life

Stephen Mejias Mar 25, 2011 First Published: Mar 25, 2011 0 comments

Yes!

I’ve been waiting for this, and now, as if the rock gods had heard my profane prayers, it’s here: The new album from Fucked Up, David Comes to Life, will be released on June 7th. On June 7th, immediately after work, you’ll find me at Other Music, buying the crap out of this album.

Stephen Mejias

Super Duper Rescue Heads

Stephen Mejias Mar 25, 2011 First Published: Mar 25, 2011 0 comments

What the world needs now:

“Super Duper Rescue Heads,” from Deerhoof’s latest album, Deerhoof vs. Evil, available now from Polyvinyl.