The Sounds
"So how many records did you buy last night?" Elizabeth asked me.
Stephen Mejias
Totally Pumped
My first record cleaning purchases: A Hunt EDA carbon fiber brush for dry-cleaning (footnote 1), a MoFi brush for wet-cleaning, a couple bottles of MoFi fluid (Super Deep Cleaner for the really nasty records, and Super Record Wash for the plain old dirty ones), 100 Polyline inner sleeves (because of all the different options these were the least expensive per sleeve, but, at some point, I'd like to try the MoFi rice paper sleeves), and 100 4-mil outer sleeves (because 4-mil seemed just thick enough, and because I liked the packaging).
Wish List
I spent yesterday at my mom's house, celebrating my sister's 14th birthday. Uncles and aunts and cousins are scattered around the house, laughing and eating and shouting at the television screen as if someone is just going to die if the Celtics don't win this game. See me and my sister sitting side by side, somehow apart from it all: She's absolutely engrossed in Weird N.J., Vol.1 (I'm very proud of her), and I'm similarly rapt by Acoustic Sounds' "Under">http://store.acousticsounds.com/sale.cfm?sale=undertheradar">Under the Radar" list.
Like Candy
Still, I have a long way to go before I catch up with this">http://www.stlbeacon.org/arts_+_life/music/vinyl_records">this young music lover.
Doubts, Of Course
"I can't see anyone getting into analog without a record-cleaning machine."
—Michael Fremer, Stereophile, Vol.19 No.6, 1996
—Michael Fremer, Stereophile, Vol.19 No.6, 1996
Some Alternatives
I sent some crazed e-mails to my audiophile friends, all like: Dude, I'm at my wit's end over here. I can't make sense of any of it. I know so-and-so uses a VPI and what's-his-name uses a Nitty Gritty, but what's YOUR method? Huh, huh, huh?
VPI or Nitty Gritty?
And so, I turn back to the VPI. Or the Nitty Gritty.
Zapped Out
Well, ladies and gentlemen, our Zappa">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/zappa/">Zappa Plays Zappa DVD Sweepstakes is now closed. We will not accept any additional entries. I offer my sincere thanks to all those who participated, sending in colorful, encouraging, and often amusingly odd e-mails. Thank you.
Descarga.com's Vinyl Spring Clearance Sale!
My interest in New York City salsa and Cuban son was fueled in part by Descarga.comhttp://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/catalog?adYB2HaU;;654">Descarga.com<…;, an impressive resource for all things Afro-Latin. The Spanish word "descarga" means to unload, but, in musical terms, is Cuban slang for a hot and riotous jam session. You'd often hear about guys getting together in the streets or on the beach for a wild, time-stopping descarga. Providing in-depth interviews with musicians and producers, well-informed think pieces, hard-hitting reviews, and tons and tons of great music, Descarga.com is a great destination for music lovers.