Glam Metal and other stuff on my desk
"Young & Wild" is out now, plus some new gear I've been using
Let’s go through the pile of things people have sent me this year.
Young & Wild: American Glam Metal 1982-1992 came out today, and it’s the first release in what I’m hoping will be a long and creatively rewarding series of projects for Cherry Red Records.
I may have spent the ’80s hanging out with college radio bands and aspiring to look like I was in Echo & the Bunnymen, but I devoted a lot of personal listening time to the Spandex-wearing hard rock bands who dominated MTV.
Those bands had monster hooks and huge stacks of gang vocals in the choruses. More than a few of them stumbled when they wimped out and recorded power ballads composed by some outside writer, but their loud and goofy records hold up pretty well today.
Those loud and tacky glam bands were closer to the spirit of the ’60s garage bands than any of us Nuggets-lovers from the alternative rock end of the scene. Cherry Red let me chase that idea, and I think the liner notes written by me and Richard Anderson do a pretty good job of making the case.
Don't change that song, it's my favorite record
I’ve been doing some freelance A&R projects with the U.K. label Cherry Red, learning how to navigate the choppy waters of catalog licensing. I’m still working on what I hope will be a definitive history of the ’80s underground psychedelic revival scene, but the first one up was a bit easier to clear.
You can order a copy directly from Cherry Red at this link. Use the code YOUNGANDWILD10 and get 10% off. Also available on May 30th via Amazon or ask your local record store to order you a copy.
If you want to pad out your order to lessen the per-title shipping, here are a few of my favorites. The British one is my favorite of all, and the rest are some great examples of a new stream of titles that focus on American music. I’ve got Southern Rock and U.S. Underground Psychedelic music projects in the pipeline.
Think I’m Going Weird: Original Artefacts from the British Psychedelic Scene 1966-68
Pour a Little Sugar on It: The Chewy Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966-1971
I See You Live On Love Street: Music From Laurel Canyon 1967-1975
Cherry Red is one of the few labels still in the business of making genre-based historical collections that give context about the eras when the records were made. There are hundreds of titles to explore.
Questyle M18i portable DAC
Questyle is aiming at the very top of the dongle DAC market with the M18i and its $349 list price (available now for $299 with on-page coupon). It’s the best-sounding DAC I’ve heard in a unit this small, and it’s loaded with features that you won’t find on a cheaper DAC.
The DAC connects to your phone, tablet or computer via USB-C (or Lightning port if you buy an adapter cable) and takes over the digital-to-analog signal conversion from the source. There’s also a built-in amp to drive hard-to-power headphones, an internal battery so you won’t drain your phone’s battery during playback, and an OLED display to tell you the resolution of your audio source files.
It’s also capable of streaming Bluetooth to headphones or a speaker, which should improve the sound quality of what you’re streaming directly from your phone or tablet. “Lossless” Bluetooth fans will be pleased to know that the M18i supports the aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LE AUDIO, and 24bit/96kHz LDAC standards.
The stereo output comes from a pair of ESS ES9219Q mono DAC chips, an architecture designed to eliminate crossover between the left and right channels.
When I want to use by best headphones to listen to streaming music, I don’t usually want to sit at my desk or near my audio system to use my component DACs. The Questyle M18i is the best-sounding small DAC I’ve ever used, and it’s become my go-to choice since my (much larger) iFi xDSD Gryphon unit went missing. The iFi sound incredible but is heavier than my phone and almost as big. I think most people would prefer the M18i.
If you’re DAC-curious and $300 is too big an investment, I made some less expensive recommendations in my headphone buying guide a while back.
How to Buy Headphones, According to Me
A lot of people ask me about headphones and, since this may be the best week of the year to buy them, I’ve compiled a list of what I’ve been recommending to people and explain why I like them.
I also wrote about the Questyle M15C back in December 2024. It’s now available for $99, so it’s a great option for anyone who want to try a DAC even if it’s not really in the same league as the M18i.
Lenco disco ball record weight
I picked up the Lenco TTA-080SI record stabiliser (their spelling, not mine) at the CES show in Las Vegas this past January. Lenco adds a light-up RGB disco ball to the top of a 250g record weight for the kind of dumb but totally awesome thing that you either need really badly once you know about it or wonder why anyone would want such a thing.
Do you need a record weight? That’s an entertaining question, because the internet is loaded with people fighting about whether they’re an essential tool in the audiophile experience or perhaps a scam that will destroy your precious vinyls.
The idea is that the added weight reduces vibration from the turntable motor. I use one for warped records and, worst of all for me in the debate, I don’t really have strong feelings about them.
I do love the disco lights. They’re supposed to be on the market in the U.S. for around $50, but I couldn’t find a link to anyone who’s shipping them from here. You can find them if you do the search.
Peak Design Everyday Backpack
As part of my duties with Soapbox, I lug around a Meta Quest 3 headset so I can demo the company’s music performance app whenever I run into anyone who might be a good fit for the music revolution they’re leading over there.
The $279 20L Peak Design Everyday Backpack has solved all my EDC* problems. The outside is 400D nylon and the zippers and latches seem likely to last for decades. The whole thing has a really polished look.
If you’re in the NYC media business, you might point out that Peak Design stuff was fashionable ten years ago. I understand that I won’t win influencer points by recommending this bag because there’s definitely something less famous and more expensive if you’re looking to feel exclusive.
Peak designed this bag with Velcro shelves that can be adjusted for anyone’s personal collection of camera or audio gear, plus there’s a back pocket for a laptop. It’s perfect for a Meta Quest case and a pair of headphones.
The other strength for me is that there are enough pockets to make things like phones and notebooks accessible but the think is not designed with a bunch of compartments designed to fit one specific thing that I may or may not own. The Mag Latch on the top compartment stays closed but is still easy to open.
There’s a 30L version for $300 if you’ve got even more stuff to haul around. Both look very professional on the outside but the inside is utilitarian, flexible enough to adapt to whatever gear you need to carry.
I bought a cheap bag earlier this year to take to CES that I thought was going to be just fine, but the cheap nylon looked terrible and I could feel the strain on the seams after a couple of days. This is my favorite of the dozens of bags I’ve tried over the years.
*I love saying “EDC” and “everyday carry” because it makes me feel like one of those corporate lawyers who secretly believes he could have been a Navy SEAL if he hadn’t been too busy trying to run up the score on his LSAT.
73&Sunny Grip Stand remote case
I almost said no when the 73&Sunny reps asked if they could send their Grip Stand remote cases because accessories like these are usually underwhelming and overpriced. These are great, large enough to offer a comfortable grip and available in glow-in-the-dark silicone if you tend to lose your remotes in the seat cushions.
There’s also an interior pocket for an Apple AirTag or a Tile Mate tracker. I’m not using a track because Apple and Roku have now added tracking capabilities to their remotes. I didn’t talk about these with my friend Michael Brown at TechHive, so I was surprised when he published this rave review on the site. He was as surprised as I was about how good these things are.
The Apple TV version sells for less than $20 and the Roku version goes for around $14. I liked mine so much that I bought a replacement when my dog decided to use one as a chew toy.
8-track of the day
Cool recs
Cherry Red make beautiful reissues and compilations but are known for not paying the artists at least there’s royalties. Cool 8 track gawd I loved 8 tracks!!