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Thursday, May 20, 6 to 9pm: <a href="http://www.meridian-audio.com/">Meridian Audio</a> and <a href="http://stereoexchange.com/">Stereo Exchange</a> will host an evening celebration to introduce the new Meridian Sooloos 2.1 music server system and Meridian 808.3 Signature Reference CD player. Wine and music will be served.
The Super Deluxe Mega Awesome Edition of the Rolling Stones’ classic <i>Exile On Main Street</i>, considered by some to be the greatest rock and roll album of all time—complete with two CDs, including ten previously unreleased tracks, two LPs, a DVD, and a 50-page book—is now available. Damn.
I’ve been reading Matthew Crawford’s <i>Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work</i>, which argues that an intimacy with manual trades may revitalize a connection to the material world lost to those who spend their lives in offices or cubicles, staring at computer screens for eight to twelve hours a day, unable to quantify exactly what it is that they <i>do</i>. I’m digging it. It aligns, in many ways, with a philosophy John Atkinson has shared with me: <i>Do doingfully.</i>
Oh, crap. This is good. Recently signed to <a href="http://www.4ad.com/ariel-pinks-haunted-graffiti/">4AD</a>, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are poised to release <i>Before Today</i>, their first full-length album for the acclaimed indie label, on June 8th. Whee!
I’ve been infatuated with Damien Jurado’s new album, <i>Saint Bartlett</i>, due to be released on May 25th from <a href="http://www.secretlycanadian.com/onesheet.php?cat=SC192">Secretly Canadian</a>. Its twelve songs take us on an emotionally powerful trip, from the drunken sway of “Arkansas” to the jaunty swagger of “Wallingford” to the heavyhearted confessions of “Kansas City.” Altogether, <i>Saint Bartlett</i> is deep and beautiful and addictive.
It was late last year, when the leaves and the temperatures started to fall, that I first became interested in Effi Briest, the hypnotic and alluring all-female band performing out of Brooklyn, NY. Their video for “Mirror Eye” was <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/effi_briests_mirror_rim/">a dizzying, hallucinogenic trip</a> that matched their sound and their sense of style.
On Thursday, May 20th, Seattle’s <a href="http://www.resolutionaudiovideoseattle.com/">Resolution Audio Video</a> (5459 Leary Avenue NW) will host an evening with renowned <a href="http://www.passlabs.com/index.htm">amplifier designer</a> and <a href="http://www.passdiy.com/index.htm">DIY advocate</a>, the long-haired and white-bearded Nelson Pass. This event should be really cool and interesting; Nelson Pass doesn’t make many big public appearances.
I…uh, I…I just don’t know what to say, but I’m definitely making this my new theme song.
Beautiful plus beautiful equals more beautiful. Phoenix pairs Grizzly Bear’s “Foreground” with Brian Eno’s “Discreet Music” and offers instructions for mixing in some chance operations. Click <a href="http://wearephoenix.com/grizzly_bear_remix/">here</a> and make magic.