Andrew Porter

I picked up a copy of the New Yorker for a long train ride to NYC recently.
Haven't read it in a long time. Boy I miss Andrew Porter.

Musical Broccoli

I have been forcing myself to listen to the Shostakovich string quartets but only because I'm told I'm supposed to like them if I have any kind of musical taste.
Sort of the opposite of Puccini - you love it but you feel guilty afterwards.
Anyway, I give up. I'll get some of my ever shortening life back. But not the money for the CD's. Thank God I have more money than years left.

A Talking Head on the Long Tail

The current issue of Wired features a good article by David Byrne about the current state of the recording industry. While offering little new insights or predictions, it is an excellent primer on the spectrum of distribution models in use with examples from the industry and an assessment of the pros and cons of each.