"Randy who?" I can't blame you for asking. Randy Bewley was the guitarist for the legendary Georgia band Pylon. In the photo above, that's Randy to the left, playing at Hurrah's in 1979.
We knew this day would happen, and oddly enough, the world is still spinning. Legendary music label, Atlantic Records just reported that digital music revenue has surpassed compact disc sales. Yikes!
The folks who shop at Wal-Mart aren't what people typically think of as audio- or videophiles, nor necessarily trendsetters. But, they do represent Main Street, America. So, when Wal-Mart speaks, we all listen.
What? You thought SACD was dead? How wrong you would be. At least at the CEDIA Expo, SACD was making a strong comeback showing. Maybe higher-end installer types are presenting more demand than lowly big-box store customers. In any case, the high-end audio format is certainly alive and well on the Expo floor in Denver.
As every car, airplane, and home audio device is adding compressed digital music capabilities, one company is taking a stand to stick to high fidelity.
Did you miss the Futuresonic 2008 Festival this year? If so, you also missed Aleks Kolkowski's seminar during the Urban Festival of Art, Music, and Ideas. Mr. Kolkowski is using a vintage record cutting lathe to create 45rpm records on your own recycled CDs. What a great way to recycle those old Milli Vanilli discs! He can also carve up your old DVDs too.
What's a "record store"? If you've never been to one, it's time for you to paddle away from your computer keyboard's virtual Amazon and enter the real world of bricks and mortar. And if you're, ahem, an older buyer who hasn't been to one in a while, it's time for you to remember the future. (Band? Nationality? Year? Famous guy who joined them later? Answers below.)
Our Best CDs of 2007 list will appear soonly in the Feb/March '08 issue (you may even find it posted on the site before that if you dig around some), but I wanted to take a moment and bulletpoint a ten-spot of discs I enjoyed in '07 that 1) didn't get on my personal Top 10 list (also posted) and 2) didn't get a full review either in the mag or on the site.