These are 2005 Special Edition MiniDiscs from TDK:

Here they are with my trusty DR7:

They're a slight variation on the HO series. The bottom two discs are the standard TDK "Fine" series. They're good workhorse discs as they're somewhat inexpensive, and I can write directly on the colored surface. The TDK's are my first choice for field recording since they're the most durable and least error-prone brand I've come across.

The one on the top right is an old HiSpace disc. Pretty as they are, the …

This happy little nugget is from the new Tool record. A friend bought me a copy for my birthday, and I have to say, it's quite good. Listening to it through headphones, I noticed the drums (Danny Carey is a wonderful drummer, BTW) sounded "mushy," particularly the snare. The decay on the cymbals was muted as well.

I went ahead and ripped it, which was no small feat, since the CD is copy-protected. Thank goodness for Linux and cdparanoia. My hatred for copy-protection is a whole other topic, but I did …

I've gotten quite a bit of mail asking me why I haven't reviewed Untilted yet. To put it as plainly as possible, I don't think I will.

You see, before reviewing something, I'll listen to it in its entirety at least twice–closely, and to the exclusion of all else. That's really the only reliable (and honest) way to get a true feel for a record.

Unfortunately, I've been unable to do that with the latest Autechre because it's just plain unlistenable.

I've bested every intellectual challenge they've thrown at me, and I've found beauty in their worst moments, but this is …