Stephen Mejias

In our July issue, I open “The Entry Level” by discussing some recent nights spent with my dear friends, Natalie and Nicole, dancing and drinking and laughing at our favorite local bar, Lucky 7, in downtown Jersey City. I go on to discuss the loneliness I sometimes feel when the night is over and the time has come to walk back home, beneath the pale yellow light of streetlamps and through the neon-puddled streets.

I know that sounds sad and all, but, come on, I’m writing about music. I’m trying to be evocative, emotional, musical. When I go on to mention that Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” plays over and over in my mind as I walk past Hollywood Fried Chicken, I’m obviously being silly, right? I’m mixing pathos and absurdity to create a fun and interesting read.

Everything I write is true, to some extent, but everything is not necessarily the stuff that makes up reality. I take scenes from my life and bend them, distort and manipulate them, leaving room for insinuation and ambiguity, in order to create compelling stories. I attempt to relate those stories to music and hi-fi. I do it for my own pleasure, and I hope it brings you pleasure, too.

(Don't worry: The stuff I write about sound, however, is all as accurate and straightforward as I can possibly make it.)

Anyway, I think it was my July issue column that got some people talking over at the Audio Asylum, the popular online forum for hi-fi enthusiasts. Regor Ladan started the tread. He wrote:

Natalie was either impressed by my impeccable taste in music or high on Brussels sprouts: At some point during the meatloaf dinner at my place (see last month's column), with a smile so wicked and dazzling it could knock a stylus from a groove, she asked if I would be the DJ at her next house party.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've loved everything you've played tonight."

Delighted, I tried not to show it. I turned from Natalie's brilliant smile to stare at the hi-fi, as if the hi-fi would be the guiding light for my next few moves. I was worried, of course, because worrying is what I do. I hadn't DJ'd since college, and while I'd been looking for a reason to set up a turntable and speakers at Natalie and Nicole's apartment, I hadn't exactly expected this turn of events.

"You want me to play LPs?"

If Fleet Foxes were to trade their acoustic guitars for synthesizers and drum machines, move from the grassy fields to the dance clubs, and lighten up a bit, they might sound something like When Saints Go Machine. The Danish four-piece’s debut album, Konkylie, is an alluring mix of pure pop, misshapen chamber, and electronic music. It is odd, lovely, infectious, and confounding&#151and I keep coming back to it.

David Gilbert from Italy sends this link to images of famous people (and beasts), from Bill Clinton to Chewbacca, spending quality time with their LPs. And Wes Phillips shares a wonderful Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, in which Calvin’s dad teaches his son a lesson about RPMs.

Every young audiophile could use a mentor. In my position here at the magazine, I am fortunate to have about two dozen of them. They give me inspiration, criticism, advice, the heebie-jeebies, and sometimes even gifts. Most recently, Uncle Art sent me a couple of really neat gifts: A lovingly used Dynavector DV10x5 high-output moving-coil cartridge and a tough-looking Rega torque wrench.

The video for Helado Negro's "Regresa" is like a snapshot of my awesome life: Taxidermy, dancing, making out, and Spanish vocals. The only things missing are meatloaf and Brussels sprouts.

Do you own any warped records? I do, unfortunately. It’s always a major disappointment to find that a promising new record is warped. You could take it back to the store, of course, but who’s got time for that? Most often, I wind up keeping those sad, warped records, but I rarely play them. No fun, no fun.

I’ve often wondered about the Furutech Disc Flattener, but $2000 is a lot of money to spend on what is, essentially, an accessory.

So, I’m anxious to learn more about the new Vinyl Flat Record Flattener ($129.95). From the website: