In my search for the perfect pint glass, I came across the Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Glass Pint Beer Glass. The 20.3 oz., 6.2″H, 3.5″W shapely crystal is lead-free (stronger than lead-versions according to Schott Zwiesel and dishwasher safe) and based on other prices around the web I think this Set of 6 for $17.99 deal may be in error since every other site I’ve seen lists this as being closer to the per glass price or a set of 6 for $80+. So get ‘em for $3 while you can (fyi – Dale’s Pale Ale tastes marvelous swirled sipped and gulped out of ‘em).

The Leica M9-P Edition Hermès – Série Limitée Jean-Louis Dumas comes with everything you see including the calfskin “ocre” leather-bound slightly re-designed Leica M9, a Leica Summicron-M 28 mm f/ 2 ASPH., a Leica Noctilux-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. and a Leica APO-Summicron-M 90 mm f/ 2 ASPH, a matching shoulder strap, and you keep it all in the Hermes camera bag.

Jean-Louis Dumas was the former president of Hermès and a fan of Leica (the kit also includes a two-volume book of his M-photos) so this represents a marriage made in mutual admiration. Limited to 100 pieces and priced at $50,000. If you want to skip the kit and just grab one of the three hundred M9-P Edition Hermès cameras which includes a silver-anodized Leica Summilux-M 50 mm f/1.4 ASPH, you’ll save yourself $25,000.

If every hard-core objectivist audiophile (all ____ sound the same, cables don’t matter, ad nauseam) owned the exact same gear, I’d be more inclined to take them seriously.

Sunday, May 6, 2012 NY Times Magazine. I don’t see the speakers but that rack is prominently placed amid très chicness. I bet they have Sonic Youth’s Nurse (the record).

This just in! Robert B. was kind enough to send me the mystery-solving piece of this hi-fi puzzle.

How cool would it be to flip your way through John Peel’s record collection? Very fucking cool, no? Cooler still would be to listen to whatever you found interesting (you’ll need a Spotify account but hey, its free). Well, thank The Studio for the experience and get yee to John Peel’s Record Collection where, “The first 100 of each letter of John’s collection will be released one a week from 1st May 2012 to 1st Oct 2012″.

Music legend John Peel’s record collection, one of the most celebrated in the world, is being made into an interactive online museum for the public.

His family have given exclusive access to the collection which includes 25,000 LPs, 40,000 singles and many thousands of CDs.

John Peel’s wife and Patron of the John Peel Centre for Creative Arts, Sheila Ravenscroft, introduces John Peel’s Record collection and explains how it was catalogued and how it is going to be made available on The Space, together with other material.

This picture illustrates that this guy:

A) doesn’t know shit about hi-fi
B) doesn’t know shit about music
C) all of the above
D) none of the above

Minuteman bass player Mike Watt lives in San Pedro, CA and spends most mornings biking, kayaking and taking pictures. This book collects some of those and mixes in some thoughts and poems from his tour diaries. I heard Mike on Soundcheck with John Schaefer and John sounded flummoxed. Excellent.

photo credit: Mike Watt

If you find yourself diggin Mike’s photo’s, I did-they’re quirky and filled with delight in the moment, you can buy an original from Track 16 Gallery.

I’m of at least two minds about this – happy, sad and other.

The best thing about Record Store Day includes friends, live music, free beer, and records.

I spent mine at In Living Stereo with friends listening to live music, drinking free beer, and buying records. That’s Robbers on High Street playing and they kicked ass in a jovial way.

Iggy is 2012′s RSD Ambassador!

Do you know Track Records? Not the reincarnation but the original whose first single was “Purple Haze” in 1967 in the UK? Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp (Terrence’s brother) founded Track Records in 1966 to put out records by The Who and Jimi Hendrix. Well, mainly. They released The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s first three LPs in the UK (yes, the infamous naked ladies Electric Ladyland cover was courtesy of Track Records) and if you ever find a copy of any you can afford you’ll want to buy it/them. Are You Experienced on Track Records is a very different record from the US version on Reprise. I prefer both.

Backtrack 2 (1970) is 1 of 14 Backtrack releases which were reissues/compilations that Kit and Chris put out in order to try and make money to foot, among other things, the lawsuit they lost over Jimi Hendrix records to Ed Chalpin (the amount of sheer bullshit business surrounding music makes it remarkable that we get to hear any of it). Anyway, Backtrack 2 is the only one I have so far but it’s a doozy. If you see it, I think you’ll be happy you bought it. I know I am.

Tracklist:

SIDE ONE

Under My Thumb, The Who
Desdemona, Marsha Hunt
Purple Haze, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Come & Play With Me In The Garden, John’s Children
If I Had A Ribbon Bow, Fairport Convention
Magic Bus, The Who

SIDE TWO

Something In The Air, Thunderclap Newman
Sing Songs Of Love, Cherry Smash
Pinball Wizard, The Who
Nightmare, Arthur Brown
Let Me Light Your Fire, Jimi Hendrix
The Last Time, The Who

Titles in italic are Mono !