Grace Notes

Have you ever wondered how you could get your son or daughter more involved in your love of audio equipment, music, or engineering in general? STEM is an important agenda item, but what can you do, right here, right now to spark an interest in your children? Bose has the answer. Instead of buying your children a pair of headphones or a speaker they’ll open and use, how about you all work together to build them up from a complete kit?

Who doesn’t love waking up on Thanksgiving morning and turning on the Macy’s Day Parade? It’s a tradition in our house, even as adults. The clowns, the floats, the marching bands, the performers, and of course, Santa. What could possibly go wrong with an almost 3-mile long moving performance that goes on live, with most of the nation tuned in to watch? Well, plenty.

These days, audiences want movies that are real and authentic. It’s a good thing stars want to make movies that are authentic as well. Here, we take a look behind the scenes and backstage at the fourth reiteration of A Star is Born, this time starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also directed. A timeless tale of an aging star in decline (in this case, Bradley Cooper’s Jackson Maine isn’t just an alcoholic, he’s also losing his hearing) crossing paths with Ally, a rising star, played believably by a stripped-down, fresh-faced Lady Gaga.

Ever get a pair of headphones that you love for their style or comfort, but you’re just not in love with the sound profile? Sonarworks True-Fi makes it easier than ever to get “reference” studio-quality sound for over 200 headphone models.

Next time you’re at a concert, look around. Want to know how to spot the audiophiles? They’re the ones with cotton balls and Kleenex sticking out of their ears. Anyone concerned with protecting their hearing knows how dangerous loud concerts and even movie theaters can be. Usually, the only options were earplugs that blocked frequencies unevenly, making it hard to understand lyrics and dialogue. Want to be a cool audiophile? Check out Decibullz Professional Filters, Earplugs, and Earphones.

And then there was one. Once as ubiquitous as McDonalds, with seemingly one on every block, the once-mighty Blockbuster has been reduced to a solitary store. Our heart goes out to the millions of high-school kids who lost their jobs. If only we had done as they asked, and rewound our tapes.

The Carters, better known as Jay-Z and Beyoncé, have just released Everything is Love, their first joint album, exclusively on Tidal. Jay-Z owns Tidal, and Mrs. Carter is a large shareholder in the music streaming company. While Tidal is facing accusations of late royalty payments, unreliable subscription counts and inflated streaming numbers, the power couple takes a hard stab at Spotify in the new album.