Music
Diggin the Gaps: How Ahmad Jamal Re-Tooled Jazz
By Colin FlemingMiles Davis wasnt exactly the most appreciative guy, but if you like your bile served straight you might want to check out his autobiography, which snipes and broods like few other tell-alls have done.
Read This
By George GrellaMusic fans are free to like what they like, while music critics, if theyre worth anything, have to be able to explain why they do or dont like something in a way that might convince someone else. In that sense, Alex Ross is a true music critic and worth quite a bit.
New! Improved! Mainstream! Conservative!
By David St.-LascauxIt takes courage, or perhaps pure foolhardiness, for a dilettante to review Philip Glass, his Avant-Garde Establishment Gray Eminence, especially in the realm of the classical.
Environmental Studies
By Dominic UmileI celebrated a minor triumph a few weeks ago when I restored disruption-free stereo playback at my apartment. Radio signal bleedover had been cutting into my personal turntable listening, but I stifled it with the help of a $16 preamp.
Outtakes
By Steve DalachinskySo, dear reader, its that time of year again, and here I am suffering in gay Paree while youre over there in New York having a wonderful winter sippin your lattes and, I hope, doing more than just reading this article.
The End of the End-of-Year List
By Katy HenriksenI do not consider myself a record collector. Stats are mostly lost on me. In other words, please dont ask me to be your partner in trivia because you think Ill be a huge asset when it comes to the music category: Despite the fact that I write a lot about music, I wont be much help.