4 Record Stores in 1 Record Store Day

That's what my photographer son Tony and I accomplished last Saturday (April 19) on the first annual Record Store Day. As I announced here previously, RSD is an effort (spearheaded by indie-shop organizations) to remind people that, yes, record stores still exist. And on Saturday, some participating shops had specials, and some even had in-store appearances, such as the one you see above: The Parlor Mob at Jack's Music Shoppe. For more on that and the other three stores that Tony and I checked out, click below.

Garage Rock

Men need a place to be men — a place where we tinker with mechanical stuff, smoke cigars, drink bourbon, and listen to the manly music of our lost youth really frigging loud. Usually we have to go out to the garage if we want to indulge in these indulgences. Lucky for us, Axiom Audio’s new Garage Speaker makes our exile a little more tolerable.

No, They Don't.

[IN THE FOLLOWING POST, BLOGGER COREY GREENBERG TAKES HIS FINAL SHOT IN OUR POINT/COUNTERPOINT DEBATE: BLU-RAY — IS IT ALREADY OVER?]

Today's New York Times asks the question, "Blu-ray: Do Consumers Care?" but never answers it, which is par for the course for a newspaper that cares more about stupid [poop] than consumer electronics coverage, which the paper doesn't even bother to link to from its home page anymore. 

But here's your answer anyway: No, They Don't. And you know what else? This is a Very Good Thing. It means consumers are getting Smarter, even if only Fractionally, about the real reasons new formats get force-fed to us every other year.

Old-School MP3 Player

Have you been looking for a way to recapture the glory days of your youth that doesn’t involve Botox or having someone cut and paste your face back together? Do you want to return to the days of big hair, glam rock and synthesized sounds that were the '80s but don’t have the flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts needed for a quick trip back in time? The folks at ThinkGeek.com have you covered.

Kaleidescape price drop! Cash in your stocks!

Few products invoke the raw, carnal “I must have you!” lust like Kaleidescape. They invented the concept of the DVD movie server and then wrapped it in an interface that would get Steve Jobs hot and bothered. Let’s face it; their system is awesome. And I don’t care about that computer that you’ve Franken-modded together to kind of be like a Kaleidescape. Face it: It’s not a Kaleidescape.

Oh, but the sexy-sexy joys of Kaleidescape ownership has always come with a price. That price being a wallet clutching, credit card melting, take-out-a-third-mortgage-on-your-sub-prime-loan price tag that many found excruciating. Rejoice, for Kaleidescape has heard your cries and finally answered them in the form of a price drop.

Netflixynicism

Netflix just announced they'll soon begin charging an extra premium to subscribers who want access to Blu-ray rentals. Now, I'm a Netflix fan from way back — one of the first to write about it in the mags. Still on the 4 disc/month plan (and my family uses the [poop] out of it). But charging a premium for BD? The height of cynicism. Not the way to grow this thing, and Netflix knows this, which is why they're making this move. 

Who is Building Boxes for Netflix?

How's this for a logical reasoning puzzle? Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said during his company's earnings conference call earlier this week that Netflix is working with four companies to build devices that will play streaming video on a TV screen.

Here's what we know:
1) One of the four is LG. 2) Three of the four are major companies that sell millions of devices each year (one of the three is LG). 3) One of the four is a small company that will launch by the end of 2008. 4) Netflix wants its software on Internet connected Blu-Ray players, game consoles, TVs, and standalone set-top devices.

Pioneer and Panasonic Merge Plasma Panel Production

Fans of Pioneer's high-end Kuro line of plasma HDTVs have been aware for some time of the company's plans to outsource panel production to Panasonic.

It appears the final details of the deal are now being determined between the two companies. A merger between Panasonic parent Matsuhita's plasma business and Pioneer's plasma business will happen next year, and their research and production teams will combine into one unit, according to MarketWatch.

Questioning the History of HDTV

Enthusiast site Cdfreaks.com published a hit-or-miss list of ten things so-called high definition fans might not know about their favorite form of entertainment.

While not each item will make you feel like you learned something new (No. 9 says consumers are confused about the variety of formats and resolutions available. Really? No way.),  there's bound to be a factoid that leaves you scratching your head.

Movie Rentals, Sales Stay Hot While Economy Cools

Yesterday, researchers claimed that the poor state of the U.S. economy was the reason consumers are buying more small HDTV sets and fewer mid-size ones.  Of course, it is possible that they're simply buying second HDTVs for the office or bedroom.

Today, data shows that the U.S. economy isn't deeply curbing consumer spending on home video. This unstable economy isn't proving to be a very reliable scapegoat.