Copper

Fat Malcolm. Malcolm was fat. This was a rarity in the undernourished Glasgow of the mid-fifties. Virtually all of us kids in elementary school were rail-thin. But Malcolm was short... Read more...

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

It’s hard to believe – or maybe not – that we first heard about the pandemic a year ago. A year. No wonder many of us are feeling more stressed... Read more...

Playing the Back Holes

One of my favorite motorcycling buddies, Ralph, invited me over yesterday to listen to his stereo system. Although he’s retired, he refuses to grow up and is still obsessed with motorcycles and music, just... Read more...

Once in a Lifetime?

How often do you get the chance to listen to stratospherically priced audio equipment in your own home for an extended period without shelling out a penny or inconveniencing a... Read more...

Taylor Swift: The Making of folklore

If Andy Warhol were alive today, he’d be rolling out his celebrity silkscreens of Taylor Swift, in Life Saver candy colors like those of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elvis... Read more...

EveAnna Dauray Manley of Manley Labs, Part One

EveAnna Dauray Manley is the president of Manley Laboratories, Inc., makers of high-end consumer and professional vacuum tube audio equipment. The company’s audiophile products include the Steelhead RC and Chinook... Read more...

Beastie Boys: Licensed to Thrill

The experimental music scene in New York City in the late 1970s was transfixed by British punk innovators like Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Among the American bands... Read more...

Herbie Hancock: A Lifelong Musical Voyage

Born in 1940 to working-class parents in Chicago, piano prodigy Herbie Hancock performed Mozart with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11. His classical ear was turned toward jazz by... Read more...

Line Array

The Story of a Vintage Piano, Part the First

In previous issues I have gone into some detail about disk recording, tape recording, the technical challenges of accurate reproduction, audio electronics, vacuum tubes and even professional recording facilities. But,... Read more...

Inside an Audio Legend: Abbey Road Studios

Since 1969, the name Abbey Road has become synonymous in the world of popular culture with The Beatles’ swan song album of the same title. To Londoners, it is a... Read more...

Bend Me, Shape Me: Collecting Flexi Discs

When I was working at Goldmine magazine we tried again and again to get a record label to sponsor a flexi disc in the magazine. We first became interested in pitching the... Read more...

Half-Price Hi-Fi

Half-price high fidelity! No tools required! OK, a few. 1957 ad Courtesy of Ray Chelstowski. With a rig like this, we'd never leave the house. 1948 Admiral ad. Crank it... Read more...

Glorious Symmetry

This is one of several spectacular vaults of York Minster, the huge Gothic cathedral that took centuries to build in the walled city of York, England. Read more...

Outstanding Female Artists: Recommended Listening

Welcome to the second edition of Be Here Now, a new column/playlist where we compile inspired new music for busy folks who would like to discover outstanding contemporary artists. Here is... Read more...

Wrestling With Rock and Roll

In 1984 Ian Lloyd of the band Stories calls me and says, “I have an offer to do a concert in San Juan. Do you want to handle it?” (I... Read more...

Unlucky Man

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