Stephen Mejias

Tomorrow is Record">http://www.recordstoreday.com">Record Store Day. Celebrate responsibly. Celebrate appropriately. It will make you feel good.

I ran into Lauren on the way home last night. Lauren is from Leicester, England. She is twenty-five years old, friendly, bright, and beautiful. It was a little before 9pm, and we were both just coming in from work. She complained about her hours. Lauren would prefer a nine-to-five job. These eleven-to-eight hours are taking up the best bits of her day. But it's a job. She's had it for only two weeks, but she's already looking for another. She doesn't know what she wants to do. By thirty-five, she hopes to be retired.

It is spring! Without doubt, it is spring. The skinny trees on Monmouth Street have suddenly bloomed all pink and purple and white, while the birds outside my kitchen window have learned to sing new songs. They make a wonderful racket in the morning. I like it. It makes me feel somehow closer to the world, to nature, to love and god and shit. This music of spring is a nice contrast to the sirens and jack hammers that normally make up a Jersey City morning.

Remember that">http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=35628&an=0… forum thread I">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/040108id/">I mentioned? It's still going on. It reminds me of one of the black and white films I watched in my avant-garde cinema class. Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean-Paul Sartre is staring into a mirror is staring into a mirror, with a with a with a knife in his hand knife in his hand, demanding demanding that the image that the image in the mirror mirror answer his questions his questions. He is outraged because the image in the mirror refuses to answer his questions. Answer his questions. Answer my questions! Demanding. Outrage!

Speaking of vinyl, Sonic Youth has announced the vinyl-only release of SYR 7, the seventh installment of their self-released improvisations. These long pieces are often entirely instrumental, and they are lovely, moving, and beautifully-recorded. The hypnotic artwork is by artist and filmmaker, Chris">http://www.visitordesign.com/">Chris Habib. In the past, the CD packaging for each release has mimicked a gatefold LP, with the CD simply sliding into an inner sleeve.

Here, in the "Elements" blog, I like to try to point out some of the fun, interesting, entertaining stuff that can be found in other parts of the truly vast and wonderful webworld that is stereophile.com. That's, basically, what yesterday's post was all about&#151that and my own emotional and psychological issues, which I like to throw in there to keep things exciting for you readers.

I've worked at Stereophile for eight years, and, in a time when people change jobs as often as they change cars or television sets, eight years is a pretty good stretch. In that time, I've taken part in some exciting and memorable things, from Home">http://www.stereophile.com/news/050205Day4/index.html">Home Entertainment Shows and Consumer">http://www.stereophile.com/news/010905ces3/index.html">Consumer Electronics Shows to the live recording of Attention">http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/907att/index.html">Attention Screen at Merkin Hall. But Stereophile is fifteen years older than me, and I missed so much.