Welcome to Copper #41!
The title isn't to announce a James Taylor retrospective---sorry to crush your hopes--- but is just what I see in today's weather reports. The Pacific Northwest, where I'm bound for a long-delayed vacation, is up in flames, along with many other parts of the tinder-dry US. Meanwhile, back in my former home of Florida...they've already had nearly two feet of rain, and Hurricane Irma is not even close to the state yet.
Stay safe, everyone.
I'm really pleased and excited to have Jason Victor Serinus back with us, with the first part of an intensive introduction to art song. Jason brings tremendous knowledge of the field, and provides plenty of recorded examples to listen to, and in the case of videos, watch. There are many stunning performances here, and I hope you enjoy this extraordinary resource. We'll have Part 2 in Copper #42.
Dan Schwartz is again in the lead-off spot with the second in his series of articles on encounters–this one, with Phil Lesh and crew; Seth Godin tells us how control is overrated; Richard Murison hears a symphony; Duncan Taylor takes us to Take 1; Roy Hall tells about a close encounter of the art kind; Anne E. Johnson introduces indie artist Anohni; and I worry about audio shows (AGAIN, Leebs??), and conclude my look at Bang & Olufsen.
Industry News tells of the sale of audiophile favorite, Conrad-Johnson; Gautam Raja is back with an amazing story that I think you'll really enjoy, all about Carnatic music, overlooked heritage, and the universal appeal of rock music; and Jim Smith takes another warped look at LPs. That Jim, always stirring things up....
We wrap up Copper #41 with another classic cartoon from Charles Rodrigues, and a beautiful Parting Shot from Vasilis Lakakis. Something Old/ Something New and Woody Woodward will both be back in the next issue.
Until then—enjoy!
Cheers, Leebs.