Summer's End

Summer's End

Written by Bill Leebens

Welcome to Copper #39!

For many of us, it's almost time for the kids to head back to school. For those of us who've passed those years, it's almost time to curse the congestion caused by all those damn schoolbuses.....

I'm happy to introduce another new feature to Copper, starting with this issue. Charles Rodrigues contributed cartoons with a perverse audiophile bent to Stereo Review for decades, actually starting way back when it was Hi-Fi Review (he also contributed some truly sick stuff to National Lampoon in the '70's, but let's forget that for the moment). We've secured the rights to reprint Rodrigues' Stereo Review cartoons, and will be reprinting one in each issue. For those who remember Rodrigues' work, enjoy! And for our younger readers who may not know him---welcome to the club!

Dan Schwartz leads off the issue with a tale of The Great Wall---no, not the one in China... the one used by the Grateful Dead; Seth Godin deals with the drama of a dead stereo; Richard Murison looks back at Shostakovich and Soviet Whack-a-Mole; Duncan Taylor tells about all the pesky decisions involved in his new recording venue; Roy Hall tells another interesting tale of his travels;  Anne E. Johnson introduces indie group Sunflower Bean; Woody Woodward looks at the influence of Syd Barrett; and I write about the cosmic weirdness of audio, and how the hipsters are screwing things up.

Industry News tells of yet another turn in the tale of Neil Young and Pono/Xstream/whatever;  Something Old/Something New examine's 1970's Nilsson Sings Newman; John Seetoo is back with an annotated interview with recording engineer Dennis Ferrante; I take a look around the California Audio Show; and Jim Smith looks at the thorny issue of spikes. We wrap up Copper #39 with another beautiful Parting Shot from Paul McGowan.

Until nest issue—enjoy!

Cheers, Leebs.

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