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AUGUST 2007—NOTES FROM CHICAGO AND ELSEWHERE
We made a very brief trip up to Chicago over the week of July 4th. What a
pleasure it was to be in a city with good public transportation. The Metra
train service certainly made getting around easy.
The purpose of the trip was to visit CSI: The Experience at the Museum of
Science and Industry, which we all enjoyed. The actual “Miniature Killer”
model rooms used in the show were there on display; these are the ones Gil
has sitting in his office. Slightly larger models were used for the
photography.
We spent a day at the Museum where quite a bit has changed since we were
last there in 2000. In particular, the model train setup has been
substantially expanded. I would guess that it is easily twice as large as it
was. It has also been redone in HO gauge, which makes it feel absolutely
huge. At one end is a model of downtown Chicago. The trains leave there,
head across a prairie, over mountains, and arrive in a scale Seattle at the
other side of the exhibit. We counted nine trains running at one time but
there may have been more. Obviously, this exhibit impressed me the most.
Here are my notes regarding the audio portion of the trip.
Virgin Records’ downtown store is in the process of closing. Everything was
35% off when we were there. I bought a Bill Charlap Live at the Village
Vanguard CD. The CD lists for $18.99 but on close-out was only $12.34,
reflecting both a price that I will not pay for a CD and one that I will. I am
kind of ambivalent at seeing a store like this close. On the one hand, this
store stocked a tremendous number of CDs that you simply cannot get at
the local Target store. On the other hand, they retailed for $18.99. I have
to really want something badly to spend that kind of money. Would they
have stayed in business if the typical CD price was $14.99 or $15.99?
Would it have made any difference in the face of digital downloads? Am I
part of the problem?
I also stopped in Jazz Record Mart, “The World’s Largest Jazz & Blues
Shop.” I will take their word for it. The amount of both vinyl and CDs is
staggering. I wish I had had more time. www.jazzrecordmart.com
We strolled through Millennium Park where the Chicago Symphony was
rehearsing in the outdoor amphitheater. What a pleasant way to spend a
morning if you worked close by and could slip away for a few hours.
I never got to the Glenn Poor Audio Video store downtown, although I was
within blocks of it, but made what has become my usual stop at the store in
Champaign on the way home. I had a brief listen to the Esoteric SA-10
SACD/CD player. As I understand it, this is the SA-60 without any of the
video features; it costs slightly less as a result, $3,499, I believe. If I start
saving now, in two or three years, when they start turning up used, I might
have the money.
There is never enough time on these trips, regardless of how long we are
gone.
The July 23rd New Yorker has an interesting article by Oliver Sacks on
intense passions that appear from out of the blue (“A Bolt from the Blue”).
In this case, musicophilia caused by being struck by lightning—about as out
of the blue as you can get. I am not sure the article really explains precisely
what causes these passions, or if they are even totally understood, but it is
an interesting read and not very long. What does seem clear is that music
fulfills a craving in the brain that many of us have to greater or lesser
degrees. I find as I get older, the degree seems to be getting greater, no
doubt due to changes in my brain chemistry caused by aging. Check it out
while you are waiting at your dentist’s office.
I have been reading Songbook by Nick Hornby. It is a collection of short
essays on thirty-one songs and fifteen albums that have had significance for
him. I have never heard most of the songs or artists that he discusses but
the book is so enjoyable that it really does not matter. An example:
“When I was in my mid-teens, I used to go to a dance every single Saturday
night somewhere in my neighborhood, in order to meet girls, but of course I
never actually used to do any dancing. To go to a dance in order to dance
would have been like going to a theater in order to act…”
I hear John Cusack’s voice when I read this.
If you have not seen the American Masters: Les Paul—Chasing Sound on
PBS, you should find time to do so. It is just wonderful. If it is not being
repeated on your PBS station, I am sure you can view it online.
Despite the air conditioning running, my main system has been sounding
very good. I credit this to both the PS Audio power cords and also to the
Vampire phono plugs that noticeably upgraded my crossover connections. I
have had to push myself hard to do anything besides listen. If you have not
done so, check out the reviews of both of these components.
Kent Johnson
July 30, 2007
We made a very brief trip up to Chicago over the week of July 4th. What a
pleasure it was to be in a city with good public transportation. The Metra
train service certainly made getting around easy.
The purpose of the trip was to visit CSI: The Experience at the Museum of
Science and Industry, which we all enjoyed. The actual “Miniature Killer”
model rooms used in the show were there on display; these are the ones Gil
has sitting in his office. Slightly larger models were used for the
photography.
We spent a day at the Museum where quite a bit has changed since we were
last there in 2000. In particular, the model train setup has been
substantially expanded. I would guess that it is easily twice as large as it
was. It has also been redone in HO gauge, which makes it feel absolutely
huge. At one end is a model of downtown Chicago. The trains leave there,
head across a prairie, over mountains, and arrive in a scale Seattle at the
other side of the exhibit. We counted nine trains running at one time but
there may have been more. Obviously, this exhibit impressed me the most.
Here are my notes regarding the audio portion of the trip.
Virgin Records’ downtown store is in the process of closing. Everything was
35% off when we were there. I bought a Bill Charlap Live at the Village
Vanguard CD. The CD lists for $18.99 but on close-out was only $12.34,
reflecting both a price that I will not pay for a CD and one that I will. I am
kind of ambivalent at seeing a store like this close. On the one hand, this
store stocked a tremendous number of CDs that you simply cannot get at
the local Target store. On the other hand, they retailed for $18.99. I have
to really want something badly to spend that kind of money. Would they
have stayed in business if the typical CD price was $14.99 or $15.99?
Would it have made any difference in the face of digital downloads? Am I
part of the problem?
I also stopped in Jazz Record Mart, “The World’s Largest Jazz & Blues
Shop.” I will take their word for it. The amount of both vinyl and CDs is
staggering. I wish I had had more time. www.jazzrecordmart.com
We strolled through Millennium Park where the Chicago Symphony was
rehearsing in the outdoor amphitheater. What a pleasant way to spend a
morning if you worked close by and could slip away for a few hours.
I never got to the Glenn Poor Audio Video store downtown, although I was
within blocks of it, but made what has become my usual stop at the store in
Champaign on the way home. I had a brief listen to the Esoteric SA-10
SACD/CD player. As I understand it, this is the SA-60 without any of the
video features; it costs slightly less as a result, $3,499, I believe. If I start
saving now, in two or three years, when they start turning up used, I might
have the money.
There is never enough time on these trips, regardless of how long we are
gone.
The July 23rd New Yorker has an interesting article by Oliver Sacks on
intense passions that appear from out of the blue (“A Bolt from the Blue”).
In this case, musicophilia caused by being struck by lightning—about as out
of the blue as you can get. I am not sure the article really explains precisely
what causes these passions, or if they are even totally understood, but it is
an interesting read and not very long. What does seem clear is that music
fulfills a craving in the brain that many of us have to greater or lesser
degrees. I find as I get older, the degree seems to be getting greater, no
doubt due to changes in my brain chemistry caused by aging. Check it out
while you are waiting at your dentist’s office.
I have been reading Songbook by Nick Hornby. It is a collection of short
essays on thirty-one songs and fifteen albums that have had significance for
him. I have never heard most of the songs or artists that he discusses but
the book is so enjoyable that it really does not matter. An example:
“When I was in my mid-teens, I used to go to a dance every single Saturday
night somewhere in my neighborhood, in order to meet girls, but of course I
never actually used to do any dancing. To go to a dance in order to dance
would have been like going to a theater in order to act…”
I hear John Cusack’s voice when I read this.
If you have not seen the American Masters: Les Paul—Chasing Sound on
PBS, you should find time to do so. It is just wonderful. If it is not being
repeated on your PBS station, I am sure you can view it online.
Despite the air conditioning running, my main system has been sounding
very good. I credit this to both the PS Audio power cords and also to the
Vampire phono plugs that noticeably upgraded my crossover connections. I
have had to push myself hard to do anything besides listen. If you have not
done so, check out the reviews of both of these components.
Kent Johnson
July 30, 2007