They're Back!

We are thrilled to announce the return of Patti, Louie and Nipper! While we’ve been digging the artistic covers over the last several issues, readers have missed Copper’s mascots (named for Patti Smith, Lou Reed and, well...Nipper) and we confess, so have we. That charming canine, his fun-loving owners and Bob D’Amico aka Cartoon Bob, the artist who brings them to life, lend Copper a distinctive identity. Well, they're back and here to stay. Just like the rest of us, who knows what further musical and audio adventures the tenacious trio might encounter? In this issue: Professor Larry Schenbeck remembers Mahler, and asks: why collect physical media anymore? Anne E. Johnson covers Mendelssohn’s piano and violin concertos and the Strokes, including their latest, The New Abnormal. Bob Wood takes 50 years to get an audio system he’s satisfied with. WL Woodward traces the career of bassist and studio cat extraordinaire Lee Sklar. John Seetoo concludes his series, Songs of Praise from Unlikely Artists. J.I. Agnew tells us how not to fix things. Tom Gibbs checks out new releases from Norah Jones, John Scofield, Steve Hackett and Brad Mehldau. In Confessions of a Setup Man I encounter some sinister stairways. Wayne Robins digs Dion’s new Blues with Friends album. Rudy Radelic wraps up his Tales of an Audio Forum Administrator series. Don Kaplan appreciates women composers of early music. Jay Jay French goes from hippie to glam rocker, and Ken Sander hangs with War and Wet Willie during a landmark event. We conclude with the new normal, a music-loving butterfly and an audio love supreme.