Klipsch’s New Synergy Series
Today Klipsch announced the launch of their new Synergy Series loudspeakers. If recent reviews by Wes Phillips (of the">http://www.stereophile.com/audaciousaudio/klipsch_palladium_p-39f_louds… $20,000/pair P-39F) and Erick Lichte (of the">http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/klipsch_palladium_p-17b_lo… $4000/pair P-17B) can offer any indication of what to expect from this new Synergy line, we are in for a treat.
Knowing
On this occasion, however, John had not come over to tell me to run. Rather, he had come to tell me where to go: “Good work, but I think you’ll have to steer more towards audio,” he suggested.
Kokomo Wednesday
On the train this morning, a pretty girl sitting directly in front of me, with a large purse in her lap, and connected to it, an iPod. Earbuds to her pretty, little ears letting loose the music, the most appalling of all songs ever to hit the Top 40: The Beach Boys' "Kokomo."
Kompakt's Pop Ambient 2011
I’ve been listening to Kompakt’s excellent Pop Ambient 2011 compilation, which opens with ANBB’s arresting “Bernsteinzimmer” from their album, Mimikry, and ends with Thomas Fehlmann’s interpretation of Gustav Mahler’s magnificent Symphony No.1. This is heavy stuff, and it forms the perfect bridge from the chaos of Las Vegas and the Consumer Electronics Show to the cold misery of mid-January in New York City. There’s warmth in this music, and it has a sort of transportational power. Meaning: It gets me the hell out of here.
La Ley de la Jungla
Fiol's final work for the SAR label offers a lighter sound.
La Luz
La Luz: Marian Li Pino (drums), Abbey Blackwell (bass), Shana Cleveland (guitar), Alice Sandahl (keys)
On Tuesday night, while on their way to Seattle to play a show with Of Montreal, the four young women who make up the great new band La Luz suffered a frightening accident. Losing control of their van, they slid across black ice, and slammed into a concrete highway divider. The band managed to maneuver their van to the side of the road, where they called for help. Then, almost incredibly, while waiting for the police and a tow truck to arrive, their van was hit by a semi-trailer truck. The van, all of the band’s gear, and many of their belongings were completely destroyed.
To get a sense of the impact, see a photo of the van here. Fortunately, it was a 12-passenger van, and La Luz were using the entire back half as cargo space for their gear and belongings. The women were seated up front when their van was rear-ended by the semi-truck, sending them toppling into a ditch. Moments later, a third van slid across the freeway and collided into the semi! Aside from bruises, broken bones, and the major disappointment of having to cancel the rest of their tour, all members of La Luz are fine, as are the drivers of the other vehicles.
A message from La Luz’s official website:La Rumba Buena
I found out about Patato & Totico all on my own, and completely by accident. It happened during the height of my salsa fixation, just after I completed my">http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/101807mix/">my first Salsa Means Soul compilation. Searching the compact disc shelves at the Virgin Megastore for an album called Cuban Pearls, and specifically for a song called "Oriente" by Cheo Marquetti, I instead stumbled upon the Verve reissue of this 1967 work by famed congero Carlos "Patato" Valdes and vocalist Eugenio "Totico" Arango.
Lacking Profundity
We’ve reached the end of the week.
Lady Chairs and Fortune Lamps
Lamps and Stuff
My latest addiction is “Stuff I’ve Been Reading,” Nick Hornby’s column for The Believer. I know: It's very hipster/nerdy of me to be reading this stuff; you might even think I live in nerdy Brooklyn. But, I swear, I live in Jersey City, and I have completely sincere and profound reasons for reading The Believer and "Stuff."
Not only does it remind me of how much I admire and enjoy Hornby’s writing—he’s clear, deep, funny, and extremely likable even when he’s being snarky and clever—but it also fuels my passion for reading. And when I read, I feel like a better person: stronger, smarter, healthier, whatever. Profound, see?
When I read, I at least feel like I have something to say. When I read, I’m happy.
You should check it out. In the preface to Housekeeping vs. the Dirt, the second of four published collections of “Stuff,” Hornby reminds us that reading addresses many of our needs, none more important than simple pleasure. Read the books you like, and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn't enjoy Moby Dick or The Hunger Games or whatever.
There’s something to be learned here, even for you know-it-all audiophiles.