Copper


It's No Contest

Issue 11THE AUDIO CYNIC

The long-running television show American Idol was often accused of single-handedly destroying American popular music. In its fifteen seasons AI (no, not “artificial intelligence”, although that might seem apropos) yielded...

John Hartford

Issue 12MUSIC TO MY EARS

One day about twenty-five years from now,When we’ve all grown old from a-wondering how,Oh we’ll all sit down at the city dump,And talk about the Goodle Days.Well you’ll pass the...

Stan White: Visionary? Or…?

Issue 12VINTAGE WHINE

This column is different from previous installments of Vintage Whine, in two ways: 1. Previous subjects were pretty well known—for anyone familiar with the history of the American audio industry,...

The New Old Way

Issue 11MUSIC AUDIO AND OTHER ILLNESSES

We can all remember those moments when everything in our systems comes together --- when everything just WORKS. The last time I recall it happening with real clarity was when...

Fully Armed

Issue 12FEATURED

Once we have established a firm base for our turntable, and have it revolving flutter- and wow-free, we need to add an arm and cartridge to decode all those tiny,...

What Is a Song?

AND OTHER ILLNESSESAUDIOIssue 12MUSIC

Warning: more Beatles content. Of course, they’re many people’s favorite band (including, obviously, mine), so it’s not a surprise, but there happen to be a number of Beatle-related events around...

The Boganyi Piano

Issue 12FEATURED

Born into a musical family in 1974, Gergely Boganyi was raised to be a concert pianist, and began amassing awards at an early age. At 19, he won Chopin and...

The Shock of the Old

Issue 12TOO MUCH TCHAIKOVSKY

What’s Old? In classical music, everything and nothing. Steve Reich is 80. Bach is dead; so are Cage and Satie, Ives and Varèse, Morton (Feldman) and Milton (Babbitt). So what?...

Is It Worth It To You?

Issue 12THE AUDIO CYNIC

During election season, we hear a lot of talk about “values”. We are not (thank goodness!) going to pursue the subject of personal values, the much-abused term that is at...

Cocktail Party

Issue 12QUIBBLES AND BITS

You will all know the old chestnut where, if you focus clearly, it is often possible to pick out one individual conversation from among the hubbub of a noisy cocktail...

Opening Salvo

Issue 11Opening Salvo

Welcome to Copper #11! Wherever you are, we hope it’s not as hot and dry as it is here in literally-on-fire Colorado. Here in mid-July, most folks are approaching some...

Read more

The ACK Attack and Un-common Knowledge

Issue 12MY TURN

In English-speaking circles, the term “common knowledge” refers to a thing that everyone knows, or at least, should have known when searching for the cause of some wretched decision. As...