Drake is now a walking corporation. Actually, he’s an entire industry. As he enters his career’s second decade, he’s invincible in a way unseen since Michael Jackson (to whom Drake frequently compares himself). He escapes every scandal unscathed: a secret kid with a porn star, accusations of sexual harassment, cultural appropriation, and using ghostwriters; Pusha T’s brutal diss track, and questions regarding contact with teen celebrities don’t harm the artist born Aubrey Graham. Just one of the above kills or greatly diminishes most stars’ relevance; Drake is so culturally omnipresent that he won’t go away anytime soon. Whenever he drops a somewhat mediocre lead single, I say “he’s struggling for relevance now, his reign is almost over.” And? Said single becomes an inescapable hit. The full-length project drops, and everyone walking the earth stops dead in their tracks to stream it. His music is meant to sound emotionally genuine, yet nowadays Drake and his OVO team carefully calculate his every word.
Few analogPlanet readers know the name but no doubt some do and I feel compelled to say a few words about my friend Victor Goldstein, shown here with Stereophile writer Jonathan Scull probably back in the late '80s when Victor was working with speaker manufacturer B&W (photo used without permission but I'm sure J10 will not mind). Goldstein passed away last night, a victim of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The Electric Recording Company announced today that it would release a limited edition version of Sonny Rollins' Way Out West cut as always using the original master tape.
You enter a record store and alphabetically dig through the rap LPs. You reach W: West, Kanye. All of the widely distributed Kanye LPs appear, but of his 2013 cinematic masterpiece Yeezus, a “FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY” copy appears. The jacket shows Virgil Abloh’s iconic album package design, a red-taped CD case, cropped and blown up to a 12” square. Yeezus on vinyl?! A promo? For real??? Uhhhh, no.
The print edition of today's New York Times includes an article titled "The Vinyl? It's Pricey. The Sound? Otherworldly", written about The Electric Recording Company by music critic Ben Sisario. To prep for the article he visited, bringing with him an ERC mastered Johanna Martzy Bach Violin Sonatas recording and a newly mastered CD version produced by Warner Music Korea. He wanted to compare on the kind of system ERC buyers might own. He also visited The Electric Recording Company in London.
Mack Avenue Music Group launches an all-sales-go-directly to-the artist event starting Thursday, April 30th, which is also International Jazz Day, running through May 3rd. Mack Avenue Senior Director of A&R Will Wakefield says, "Almost everyone I know—musicians, managers, venue owners and booking agents—are facing unemployment or worse for an unknown amount of time. We are keenly aware of what that means and wants to be there to help in whatever way we can and I think this is good start."
Hi-res streaming service qobuz just announced a now through May 15th offer of 21 CD resolution and hi-res titles you can download free. The music includes classical, jazz and "world".
Cambridge Audio’s $1699 Direct-Drive Alva (named after Thomas Alva Edison) is not the first “plug’n’play turntable, but it’s the first serious, well-engineered one that combines set up ease with high performance, both mechanical and sonic.
An added attraction is high resolution Bluetooth SBC [lowest resolution 320 bit MP3]/apt X/apt X HD [up to 24 bit/48kHz Hi-res] functionality that allows wireless connectivity to a Bluetooth loudspeaker or headphones.