I’m thinking of sinking an insane amount of money into some new stereo hardware. I really want a pair of Magnepan speakers, and I really want a Crown amp. I don’t think panel speakers will sound too good with Entombed, but they’d sound great with this new Pat Metheny CD, or some Shadowfax or something. So I’m coming up with a list of all-purpose test CDs I could use while auditioning new gear. They all have to be familiar, but exhibit some weird quality I’d need to test. I think the list is something like this:

• Motorhead - 1916
• Chick Corea Electric Band - Under the Mask
• Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day
• Peter Gabriel - Us
• Mariah Carey - Mariah Carey
• Death is Just the Beginning II comp.
• Dismember - Indecent and Obscene
• Brahms - Piano Concertos (complete) (Philips)
• Frank Zappa - Civilization Phaze Three
• Frank Zappa - The Yellow Shark
• Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All (Au20)
• Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet
• Shadowfax - Folksongs for a Nuclear Village
• the digital domain test disc
• the Holophonics test disc

I think with those CDs, I could find new speakers that didn’t suck, or at least piss off the sales clerks.

It’s a beautiful day out, I’ve got a twenty in my pocket - what the fuck am I doing writing on here?