We were brainstorming how to present a bunch of information about the huge explosion of summer festivals this year the other day, and I had this idea that doesn't really fit this magazine (or any other, really), but that I still thought was funny. What if you predicted what festival Simpsons characters would end up at? After the jump, you'll get what I mean.

(more...)

Okay, so with having Diddy over for lunch (and having, you know, work to do), I haven't had as much time to spend with our new crazily, insanely, no-way-it-can't-cost-that-much expensive stereo as I wanted. All your suggestions were solid, so keep 'em coming. I'm definitely bringing in a bunch of Steely Dan next week. I've listened to a couple of recently remastered Talking Heads discs (Fear of Music and Remain in Light) and the brand new reissue of Beck's Odelay. My mind is pretty much unblown so far, although occasionally a detail will leap out in way I've never heard before. But it's also clear that different albums bring out wildly different things in this system. Stay tuned for more...

Unlike a certain coworker, I didn't get all teary-eyed when Christian Siriano won on Project Runway last night. (Stay strong, Andy Greene!) But I did watch, and when that crazy little genius won, it made me think – specifically, it made me think about what I could get for all that prize money. One thing you might want – if you aren't interested in, say, real estate – is sitting in our editorial conference room right now. A publicist who handles super-high-end audio equipment installed a $40,000 stereo yesterday for us to test for the next three months.

(more...)