Stephen Mejias

My problem is intensified a million times over by the fact that many of these releases are severely limited. I’m talking as few as 300 (or even just 250!) copies of a certain album are pressed on delicious vinyl, and that’s it. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Thank the holy lord up above that I live in the New York City area and I can get my hands on just about anything I want. A trip to Other Music or Hospital Productions takes just a few minutes. Of course, I could always purchase these titles online, but where’s the fun in that? Actually going to the record shop and finding a copy of the album is so much more special. It feels deserved, it feels won.

Although it was a really lovely autumn Sunday with soft blue skies, abundant sunshine, and a crisp breeze, I was still feeling rather worn out from shipping our December issue. Instead of finding a place to watch the Giants demolish the Raiders, I decided to stay inside and listen to records. I considered taking notes to accompany each album, but doing so would have felt too much like more work, so I opted to simply listen and deal with the subsequent guilt.

Cold Cave’s sound, look, and fixations on sex, love, violence, and death remind me of early Sonic Youth. The 12” single for “Love Comes Close” is due out on October 20, thanks to Matadorhttp://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2009/10/05/announcing-cold-cave-…;. Buy it while supplies last.

I listened to Ducktailshttp://www.myspace.com/ducktailss">Ducktails;’ Landscapes once&#151once!&#151and was disappointed by its apparent simplicity. I set it aside while many other albums came into my life and piled atop its strange, hot pink cover art.

To congratulate myself for getting our 2010 Buyer’s Guide out the door on time (pretty much), I zoomed out of here this past Tuesday night and headed straight to Other Music for some new records. I think the people who work there are starting to recognize me.

Lady Gaga wanted to create a headphone that would combine Dr. Dre's sense of sound with her own sense of style. The result is Heartbeats, which have a look inspired by the studded jackets Lady Gaga and her friends once wore.

I haven’t listened to Monster’s Beats, the large and flashy headphones branded by hip hop producer Dr. Dre, but I have noticed more and more people wearing them on the streets and in the subways, so I was definitely intrigued by Matt Calderone’s e-mail. The PR rep for New York City’s Dobbin/Bolgla Associates wrote: