Mike Mettler

We got on the line with iconoclast guitarist Richard Lloyd to discuss the vinyl-intended sonic template of his new laser-sharp solo album The Countdown, why Television’s seminal 1977 debut album Marquee Moon remains perpetually influential, and his take on creating sound in outer space.

The Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent, got on the line with us to discuss the sonic impetus for his new album The Music Made Me Do It, the never-ending importance of capturing the right guitar tone, and the connection we all have with where and how music itself ultimately originated.

“Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try.” That profound statement set the table for the visceral round of revelations John Lennon had in store for us on his second proper solo album following his departure from The Beatles, September 1971’s Imagine. Whereas “God,” the critical denouement on Lennon’s galvanizing December 1970 solo debut Plastic Ono Band, served as a gasp-inducing, barrier-breaking declarative manifesto, “Imagine” proffered more of a “what if” scenario that embodied an inclusively universal yet concurrently subversive scope.

Qobuz makes a play to own the U.S. hi-res music streaming market — but does it have the goods to pull it off?