LATEST ADDITIONS

The longevity of Blondie is proof of the triumph of substance over image. The new-wave icons made quite a name for themselves when they emerged as the platinum-blonde darlings of the New York scene in the 1970s, unabashedly buttressed by the can’t-look-away visual iconography of lead vocalist/songwriter Debbie Harry — but they also had a special knack for transmogrifying the aesthetics of punk, the tenets of bubblegum pop, and their own deep-seated performance chops into something new. The first phase of Blondie’s career is now properly feted in Against the Odds 1974-1982, a massive 10LP/1EP/1 7-inch 45 Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box set. Blondie drummer Clem Burke got on the line with AP editor Mike Mettler to discuss how the box set came together and why it acts as a “muse” for the band today, how the 7/4 shift in the back half of “Heart of Glass” gave an extra dimension to such an indelible No. 1 song, and how important producers Richard Gottehrer and Mike Chapman were in capturing the Blondie sound in the studio — and, of course, much, much more. . .

AP editor Mike Mettler asked ace reviewer Mark Smotroff to come up with a list of his Top 10 vinyl releases of 2022, and it was a much harder task than Mark imagined it would be. “Paring down all the vinyl releases I’ve reviewed in 2022 into a list of just 10 choices?” was Mark’s initial reply. Nonetheless, Mark soldiered on, and got his list in fine order. Read the first 5 of his 10 choices — archival releases, in this case, plus a few bonus extra selections — here. . .

All I want for Christmas is . . . more vinyl. Just ask Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken, who got his first real taste for wax during Christmas as a wee lad, when he received a literal cavalcade of 45s under the tree. In the spirit of the season, Smithereens vinyl fans can rejoice with the news that the four-man New Jersey-bred band’s October 2007 holiday-themed album Christmas With The Smithereens is out now in limited-edition 140g 1LP form, courtesy of Sunset Blvd. Records. Diken got on Zoom with AP editor Mike Mettler recently to discuss all those special 45s he got for Christmas back in 1962, the fine art of album sequencing, and why having Smithereens music on vinyl remains vitally important to the band’s legacy. . .

It’s a constant internal struggle we analog audiophiles face on a daily basis in terms of balancing our lofty hi-fi listening goals, system performance expectations, and overall playback aspirations with our concurrent desires to bring as many new converts into the analog fold as we can. Often, we find it downright difficult to manage these proclivities when it comes to separating the ideal from the real without giving off an air of superiority that leads us to appear to others as, well, a bit too exclusionary — all the more reason why a burgeoning new company like Dum Audio has arrived at the exact right place at the exact right time to help bridge that gap for us. Read on to find out how Dum Audio seeks to do just that with what they quite austerely call The Turntable and The System. . .