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1: Rocky Road, HSAS, "He Will Understand" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-28, 18:27:50 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I attended Presidio Middle School. When the fog cleared, we had a view of the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge. On the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge was Marin County. At the time .......
2: General Asylum, Hmmm, there's a Guapo's in Arlington (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-28, 18:12:41 (162.205.183.92)
During the Spring 1975 semester, my dad had a work assignment in Washington, DC. We lived in Arlington, VA. But at the time, my mom was pregnant. So once that semester was over, my family moved back t .......
3: Vinyl Asylum, Oh no (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-28, 14:24:10 (162.205.183.92)
When I was in college in the early-90s, I thought it was interesting, how polarizing the Koetsu Pro IV was. I took a step back, bounced audio ideas off a friend, showed her some of the reviews, and he .......
4: Rocky Road, HSAS, "Missing You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-28, 13:52:37 (162.205.183.92)
Dig deeper, Sue! 40 years ago, we attended Presidio Middle School. From there, Lands End and China Beach were short walks away. Because we were in San Francisco, we heard about a side project, HSAS .......
5: Rocky Road, Icicle Works, "Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-27, 23:12:55 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I attended Presidio Middle School. After lunch was over, and we headed to our 4th period classes, the seagulls would descend on the asphalt yards. The new wave "Birds Fly (Whisper To .......
6: Rocky Road, Bon Jovi, "Legendary" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-27, 17:14:21 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, this rail at our old high school did not exist. Back then, my future wife loved listening to Bon Jovi's New Jersey , on her Walkman. And we had to (a) walk up/down stairs, or (b) trav .......
7: Cable Asylum, Yet, the BSCD2s of Journey's Greatest Hits I + II are excellent (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-26, 20:01:31 (162.205.183.92)
The BSCD2 sound quality of Journey's Greatest Hits I + II is excellent. We are not sure what happened, on the BSCD2 for Raised On Radio . We just wish that the Greatest Hits package had included " .......
8: Rocky Road, Rick Springfield, "Love Somebody" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-26, 19:25:20 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I was in 7th grade. I'd come home, and some of the neighborhood kids would be out in the common area. We loved getting amped to Rick Springfield's "Love Somebody." But he started to fade .......
9: Cable Asylum, The SBM remaster is still the best (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-26, 07:56:00 (162.205.183.92)
In comparison, the original CD is 2-dimensional, and grainier. Skip the BSCD2, above. It is lacking in breath, energy, openness, speed, and transparency. .......
10: Inmate Central, Donut Savant in Oakland (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-25, 20:02:36 (162.205.183.92)
Growing up in the 70s and 80s, we didn't have many places open overnight or early in the morning. But maybe you had a 24-hour donut shop. And that's why the stereotype arose, where cops took a coffee .......
11: Rocky Road, You saw Kansas?! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-25, 19:20:25 (162.205.183.92)
Did Kansas perform "Stand Beside Me?" In late 1988 and early 1989, my friends, then in high school, liked to go out and play sports. With too many short and nerdy girls, we always got crushed. But in .......
12: Rocky Road, Hall & Oates, "Adult Education" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-25, 18:05:28 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we were in junior high, when Hall & Oates came out with "Adult Education." It was about a high school girl, perhaps more knowing than her peers, learning about the adults at the schoo .......
13: Rocky Road, Dan Fogelberg, "The Language Of Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-24, 15:11:50 (162.205.183.92)
On the way to get bingsoo (shaved ice), we heard Dan Fogelberg's "The Language Of Love." Holy cow, it's been 40 years, since that was new. And when my classmates and I heard it, we thought that Fog .......
14: Cable Asylum, Forgot about the ground floor Radio Shack! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-24, 12:05:32 (162.205.183.92)
Thank you for the "now & then" photo layout. The car in front of the dry cleaners looks like something a lot of my friends' families used to have. The Market & Castro Tower had a rack of vinyl. But it .......
15: Cable Asylum, Kimber 12TC, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-23, 17:34:53 (162.205.183.92)
When the Fall 1986 semester commenced, the majority of my friends was actually and still male. However, I met Barbra, CT, Theresa, and Trina, who, that school year, would be my "core" female friends. .......
16: Rocky Road, Real Life, "Send Me An Angel" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-23, 12:46:10 (162.205.183.92)
Sigh, one of my lousy PAL baseball teams. Here, we were out at Larsen Playground, which was, for most of the year, foggy. Since we were always on the field (as opposed to being up to bat), I spent .......
17: Inmate Central, We didn't really go out on our own, until high school (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-22, 23:23:00 (162.205.183.92)
When we were in middle school, we were expected to come home, right away. But when I got to high school, it drew from all over the City, and no matter which routes I took, they all ate up the same am .......
18: Inmate Central, You were right by Wash! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-22, 21:35:55 (162.205.183.92)
I went to Presidio Middle, which was on Geary & 30th. After graduating from Presidio, most of my classmates simply went across the street to Wash. But alas, not I. Just a few of my old high school .......
19: Rocky Road, Quiet Riot, "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-22, 15:00:41 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I was on a PAL baseball team called the Pirates. Totally inappropriate for kids, we had a Marina District bar as our sponsor. You see, the mom of one of my teammates worked at that ba .......
20: Rocky Road, No one's allowed to take from UC Berkeley streams (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-22, 11:14:02 (162.205.183.92)
Many of my friends, relatives (including my wife), and now coworkers went to UC Berkeley. Yes, there still are crawdads in the streams which run through campus. However, we are not allowed to take .......
21: Critic's Corner, Tennessee Tuxedo and Inspector Gadget (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-22, 08:03:06 (162.205.183.92)
Growing up in the 80s, we saw the cartoons, Tennessee Tuxedo and Inspector Gadget. Don Adams was a voice actor, and that's how we backed into Get Smart. However, by this time, TV stations weren't airi .......
22: Speaker Asylum, I think they're up to generation 10 now (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-21, 18:55:52 (162.205.183.92)
When I've heard various ProAc Tablette models, their owners usually have pulled them too far out from the back wall. From the times I have heard the Tablette models, they didn't have the "boom & si .......
23: Inmate Central, Daly City isn't as foggy as it used to be (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-21, 18:41:08 (162.205.183.92)
Some American bison are still housed in the western part of Golden Gate Park. When I was growing up in te 80s, I had PAL baseball near here. In those days, it was always foggy, all the way down to .......
24: Rocky Road, Missing Persons, "Give" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-21, 17:58:03 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I had neighbors, who were undergrads at UC Berkeley. When they'd come back home, they'd introduce "their" music to me, my brother, and those our age. To us little kids (none of us was .......
25: Music Lane, Joy Williams went to school in Santa Cruz Co. (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-21, 16:48:54 (162.205.183.92)
Santa Cruz's beaches, and for good reason, tend to get the attention. But Joy Williams lived 8 miles north of the main beach, in the hills of Felton. And then, she actually went to high school in .......
26: Rocky Road, John Mellencamp, "Pink Houses" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-21, 16:28:21 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses" was a hit. My schoolmates and I knew that some San Francisco homes were painted pink. But because of the persistent fog, everything just looked...gray. .......
27: Rocky Road, Mr. Mister, "Hunters Of The Night" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-20, 18:01:57 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, while we were in middle school, Pacifica was always fogged in. But the climate has changed, and the fog forms later, and isn't as thick. Anyway I met up with an old classmate, in Pac .......
28: Rocky Road, Paul McCartney, "So Bad" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-20, 17:54:37 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, Paul McCartney's "So Bad" put us to sleep. While my schoolmates thought it sounded pretty, we couldn't stand the awful lyrics. My classmate Rachel cracked, "It's called 'So bad,' because .......
29: Music Lane, Bikini haul had a major impact (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-19, 22:22:53 (162.205.183.92)
In some of my product reviews, this story has been told. When the Spring 1990 quarter was coming to an end, my friend and classmate, Kim, left me her home phone number. She told me that, before I w .......
30: Inmate Central, He turns 18 later this year (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-19, 20:12:05 (162.205.183.92)
In the blink of an eye, my son has gone from an infant to a high school senior. I was a freshman in college, when I turned 18. During spring break, while home in San Francisco, I got an Adcom GFA-5 .......
31: Rocky Road, Shalamar, "Dancing In The Sheets" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-19, 20:03:02 (162.205.183.92)
Shalamar were a creation from Soul Train. When 1984 came around, Jody Watley was no longer in Shalamar. From the movie, Footloose , Shalamar contributed "Dancing In The Sheets." Because of the stre .......
32: Rocky Road, Big Country, "Fields Of Fire" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-18, 17:57:31 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we started to hear Big Country's "Fields Of Fire." Not only was I in cool San Francisco, but I went to Presidio Middle School, which was shrouded in fog. Moreover, I played PAL baseba .......
33: Music Lane, Sharyn Maceren, "In The Sunlight" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-17, 22:53:08 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, I worked at a public high school on the Peninsula. One of the benefits was that staff openly talked about and shared music. And that's how I learned that Sharyn Maceren had come out w .......
34: Rocky Road, Madness, "Michael Caine" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-17, 22:30:38 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, after school, we'd go to Lands End. Among other topics, of course we'd talk about music. And when it came to Madness' "Michael Caine," we just did not know that was about. I could onl .......
35: Rocky Road, Madness, "The Sun And The Rain" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-17, 10:19:09 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, while we were students at Presidio Middle School, we had to rely on MTV, in order to hear Madness' "The Sun And The Rain." For the Bay Area, that was actually a rainy year, which made .......
36: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Yes and no (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-17, 09:04:15 (162.205.183.92)
On the Mark Levinson No. 431, the handle bars get in the way. So, much depends on (a) the spades, and (b) the leads. This is a Wireworld Platinum Eclipse speaker cable. Note that the spades are not .......
37: General Asylum, Simaudio 820S, Part 28 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-16, 17:30:30 (162.205.183.92)
A while ago, the owner of an audio store reached out to me. He explained, "As we came out of the COVID lockdowns, we decided to have a floorsample sale. One of the customers came with an armful of rec .......
38: Rocky Road, Berlin, "No More Words" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-16, 14:09:34 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1984. That was when some of my schoolmates' families had cable TV. Thus, they were able to watch MTV. And MTV was where we saw the Bonnie & Clyde music video of Be .......
39: Rocky Road, Genesis, "Illegal Alien" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-15, 18:00:21 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1984, when Genesis' "Illegal Alien" came out. This was from the mid-1990s, when ACS and I went to San Diego. My head is just sticking out above ACS' left knee. Any .......
40: Rocky Road, The Deele, "Body Talk" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-14, 16:22:02 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the Japanese Tea Garden. 40 years ago, we attended Presidio Middle School, which wasn't that far from the Tea Garden, located in Golden Gate Park. In 1984, more and more of us had been obtainin .......
41: Rocky Road, Staci Lattislaw & Johnny Gill, "Perfect Combination" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-13, 17:28:27 (162.205.183.92)
Sorry, we don't have any photos from 1984, which was when we first heard "Perfect Combination," by Staci Lattislaw & Johnny Gill. At the time, both of them were teenagers. My friend, Big Booty Judy .......
42: Rocky Road, Oh no (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-12, 21:46:44 (162.205.183.92)
When artists like Eric Carmen pass away, we know we are getting old, another step closer to going to the Other Side. When my then-fiancée and I were planning the wedding, we had a lot of fun, think .......
43: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Nah, just a product of time & place (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-12, 21:29:50 (162.205.183.92)
Posts I made 20 years ago get found, and if the audiophile finds my present email address, he'll ask about those old posts. Posts that connect the dots of life, music, and audio tend to garner the mo .......
44: Rocky Road, Irene Cara, "The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-12, 20:48:29 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago we attended Presidio Middle School, which was not far from the Legion Of Honor. Back then, the was not as the background for prom and wedding photography, as it is now. 40 years ago, .......
45: Rocky Road, U2, "I Will Follow" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-11, 17:35:55 (162.205.183.92)
Again, there's kind of a charm, to these old photos. In 1984, some of my schoolmates had cable TV. And thus they could watch MTV. And it was MTV, which aired the video for U2's "I Will Follow." The .......
46: Rocky Road, B. E. Taylor Group, "Vitamin L" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-10, 11:46:24 (162.205.183.92)
There's kind of a charm to these old photos, from our middle school years. 40 years ago, our families would take us through "derelict" San Francisco neighborhoods. I was with PAL baseball teammates .......
47: Cable Asylum, Kimber 12TC, Part 4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-09, 17:28:14 (162.205.183.92)
When the calendar flipped to 1994, San Francisco's Ultimate Sound moved to Union Square. They were on Grant, between O'Farrell and Geary. The ground floor store sold sports jerseys. A rickety elevator .......
48: Rocky Road, Stray Cats, "Look At That Cadillac" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-09, 14:58:50 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we were listening to the Stray Cats' "Look At That Cadillac." At the time, I was living in San Francisco's Fillmore neighborhood, which housed the last of an African-American communit .......
49: Rocky Road, Midnight Star, "Wet My Whistle" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-08, 15:14:03 (162.205.183.92)
This boombox is from the late-90s/early-00s. But back in 1984, we'd jam and groove to Midnight Star's "Wet My Whistle." It was more R&B, than their "Freak-A-Zoid" and "No Parking (On The Dance Floo .......
50: Rocky Road, Con Funk Shun, "Baby I'm Hooked" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-07, 17:59:21 (162.205.183.92)
Sorry, we don't have photos from 1984, when Con Funk Shun's slow jam, "Baby I'm Hooked," came out. We only heard it a few times then. But then, when we were at college dances (above, we were prepp .......
51: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Mark Levinson No. 326S, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-07, 00:43:25 (162.205.183.92)
A new-to-me audiophile reached out to me, and wrote, "You make 20-something posts on other products, but you don't do many on Levinson." He was interested in particular in the No. 326S preamp, explain .......
52: Rocky Road, Twilight 22, "Electric Kingdom" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-06, 17:31:25 (162.205.183.92)
Oh oh oh! 40 years ago, we attended Presidio Middle School, from which, on clear days, you could see the Golden Gate Bridge. When we heard and enjoyed Twilight 22's "Electric Kingdom," we assumed t .......
53: Rocky Road, Rufus and Chaka Khan, "Ain't Nobody" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-05, 17:32:13 (162.205.183.92)
I was recently with my old middle school friend, Tommy, on San Francisco's Union Street. He was reminiscing about those days, which, alas, were 40 years ago. He asked, "What is this neighborhood ca .......
54: Inmate Central, Another round of Endangered Species chocolates (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-04, 20:09:02 (162.205.183.92)
In my daily conversations with audiophiles, a common topic is, of course, the music. But after that, the 'philes like to talk about food. 3 or 4 complain about being borderline diabetic, which doesn't .......
55: Rocky Road, Yes, "Leave It" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-04, 18:45:37 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, Yes' "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was so popular, everyone overlooked "Leave It." At my parents' place, I apparently "left it": a box of my stuffed animals, which I had since 1984, when .......
56: Cable Asylum, XLO S3-1, Part 8 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-03, 17:11:36 (162.205.183.92)
A Mr. Larsen, originally from Oklahoma, but now retired outside of Fort Worth, TX, recently reached out to me. He wrote, "Everybody knows who you are. But I was trying to find someone local, who could .......
57: Rocky Road, 38 Special, "Back Where You Belong" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-03, 15:16:50 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1984. But back then, San Francisco's Embarcadero station was the end of the MUNI Metro line. Later, many of us would have to use MUNI Metro, to go to school and wo .......
58: Rocky Road, Naked Eyes, "When The Lights Go Out" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-02, 13:09:16 (162.205.183.92)
In 1984, we attended Presidio Middle School. Back then, not too many of my schoolmates had cable TV. And without cable TV, you didn't get to see too many music videos. Even if you did have MTV, Nak .......
59: Rocky Road, Ace Of Base, "Always Have, Always Will" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-03-01, 15:44:24 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, I used bowling trips, as an excuse for weekend getaways. But one time, I didn't have any bowling events, so we met up with friends who were living in L.A. There, we heard Ace Of Base .......
60: Rocky Road, Ace Of Base, "Don't Turn Around" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-29, 17:00:15 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I bowled regular leagues at San Francisco's Japantown Bowl. In addition, I participated in weekend events at other alleys which were mostly in Central CA. Instead of going with the gu .......
61: Rocky Road, Ace Of Base, "The Sign" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-29, 16:41:55 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, some my friends, then in the latter stages of their college stints, traveled out of the U.S. In the U.S., Ace Of Base's "The Sign" was becoming a hit. Ace Of Base were from Sweden, an .......
62: Rocky Road, Ivan Neville w/Bonnie Raitt, "Falling Out Of Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-28, 19:06:45 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, through word of mouth, we heard that Bonnie Raitt was hanging out in the Bay Area. She then appeared with Ivan Neville, on "Falling Out Of Love." That song further cemented our love o .......
63: Cable Asylum, Kimber 12TC, Part 3 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-27, 22:29:50 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, maybe my relatives' dog is singing "Waimanalo Blues." Not wanting to bake in the Hawaiian heat, the dog found shade, while my relatives went shopping for local Waimanalo vegetables. To cool .......
64: Rocky Road, Tiffany, "Radio Romance" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-27, 19:13:00 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, The Sharper Image was headquartered right here, in San Francisco. And one product type it turned into a household item was the shower radio. You see, until then, water and electronics .......
65: Rocky Road, Information Society, "Walking Away" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-26, 18:28:05 (162.205.183.92)
I recently met up with my old high school friend, ACS. She reminisced about the 1988-89 school year, when she was a sophomore. That was when she started to attend more of the dances. The Informatio .......
66: Cable Asylum, AudioQuest Lapis, Part 28 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-25, 18:22:39 (162.205.183.92)
I was barely into my freshman year at UC Santa Cruz, when the October 1989 Loma Prieta quake struck. To add insult to injury, a year later, this building [photo courtesy of UCSC Library archives] c .......
67: Rocky Road, New Order, "Round And Round" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-25, 16:09:18 (162.205.183.92)
In early 1989, New Order's "Round And Round" was popular in clubs and at dances. Interestingly, they did make a music video for it. And of course, it was nonsensical, and did not show any of the ba .......
68: Rocky Road, Anthrax, "Antisocial" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-24, 16:17:52 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, it's the audiophiles' anthem! In early 1989, Anthrax did a cover of "Antisocial." If it sounded a little quirky or off, that's on account of the original being in French. Anthrax's accessible v .......
69: Rocky Road, Metal Church, "Rest In Pieces (April 15, 1912)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-23, 15:28:59 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were high school kids, in San Francisco. John Marshall, the guitar tech for local rock band Metallica, joined Seattle's Metal Church. Thus, we knew about Metal Church's new album, .......
70: Rocky Road, 2 Live Crew, "Me So Horny" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-22, 18:59:05 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, my friends were nerd girls, some of whom were in our high school orchestra. Most played string instruments, and some knew basic piano. We had one or two who could play the clarinet, b .......
71: Rocky Road, Skid Row, 18 And Life" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-21, 17:24:55 (162.205.183.92)
In 1989, we turned 15, 16, and 17; not 18. The nerd girls were goody-goody. By putting fear of life incarceration, Skid Row's "18 And Life" kept them that way. -Lummy The Loch Monster .......
72: Rocky Road, Sa-Fire, "Thinking Of You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-20, 17:29:36 (162.205.183.92)
"OMG, I haven't heard that in forever," exclaimed my old high school friend. 35 years ago, at high school dances, Sa-Fire's "Thinking Of You" was one of the rare slow songs. While we awkwardly and .......
73: Rocky Road, Tesla, "Lady Luck" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-19, 21:26:48 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, as high school seniors, we awaited responses from the colleges we had applied to. Within the UC system, if you didn't get into Berkeley or Los Angeles, you went to Davis, which was/is .......
74: Rocky Road, Tesla, "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-19, 10:16:54 (162.205.183.92)
My daughter was partially named after Tesla the band. 35 years ago, Tesla came out with "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)." Although Tesla vacuum tubes existed, the car company did not. On "Heaven's Tra .......
75: Cable Asylum, Kimber 12TC, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-18, 23:25:12 (162.205.183.92)
In December 1997, the Bay Area did get some showers. The news kept saying that, on account of El Niño, even heavier rains would come. I was working off of Halidie Plaza, which was a very short wal .......
76: Rocky Road, Chris Rea, "Working On It" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-18, 17:25:47 (162.205.183.92)
Many of my coworkers go to the Pete's Hardware in Castro Valley. I had to go there, to pick up some flea/insect/ant traps. On the way, we actually heard Chris Rea's "Working On It." Most audiophile .......
77: Rocky Road, Boy Meets Girl, "Bring Down The Moon" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-18, 00:05:24 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, Boy Meets Girl's "Waiting For A Star To Fall" was a major hit. But we were so deep into the music, we knew about, played, and enjoyed "Bring Down The Moon." And of course, as high sch .......
78: Inmate Central, U:Dessert Story, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-17, 17:40:08 (162.205.183.92)
In 1993-94, I worked at Everett Middle School. It was essentially two looong blocks from San Francisco Stereo Plus. During that school year, I think my lone purchase from that store was an Adcom GF .......
79: Rocky Road, Van Halen, Feels So Good" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-17, 10:17:58 (162.205.183.92)
"You guys are off-key!" shouted my future wife, in early 1989. You see, we were out playing sports, when we were grooving to Van Halen's "Feels So Good." But my future wife thought that we were of .......
80: Rocky Road, Enya, "Orinoco Flow" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-16, 12:59:07 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, my friends would go along San Francisco's Bayfront, from the Presidio to Hunters Point. With Enya's "Orinoco Flow" playing, we knew that the Bay was where the Sacramento and San Joaqu .......
81: Rocky Road, Anita Baker, "Just Because" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-15, 14:48:07 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, the Bay Area was in a drought. But one day after school, it did rain. Some of my friends took Muni Metro across the City, and got off at Embarcadero station, which was then the end of .......
82: Rocky Road, Eighth Wonder, "Cross My Heart" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-14, 17:40:14 (162.205.183.92)
"Aw mom, I didn't need to know that !" 35 years ago, my wife and her friends loved Eighth Wonder's "Cross My Heart." It was mostly heard at dances. But no one had a boyfriend, so as individual, you .......
83: Rocky Road, Kon Kan, "I Beg Your Pardon" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-13, 17:18:11 (162.205.183.92)
Most audiophiles weren't in high school in the late-80s, so they missed out on dance music. But shhhh, here's an admission. As much as we liked the music, we weren't really all that comfortable at .......
84: Rocky Road, Lake Merced is why we wanted to be the Loch Monsters (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-13, 07:56:43 (162.205.183.92)
I'm c/o '89, the last graduating class, who can claim that it was the (admittedly racist) Indian, for all four years. When it came to naming a new mascot, we were already out of school. Because of .......
85: Rocky Road, Gray sands of Ocean Beach (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-12, 23:12:39 (162.205.183.92)
Chris Isaak supposedly lived in the Sunset, and liked to go surfing along Ocean Beach. We never did see hm. These photos at Ocean Beach were not during a winter. Rather they were in late July! F .......
86: Rocky Road, Tone-Loc, "Wild Thing" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-12, 19:51:01 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we'd go up to Twin Peaks. And of course, a common topic was music. And when it came to Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing," we, as rock music fans, recognized the Van Halen "Jamie's Cryin'" sampl .......
87: Rocky Road, Cambodian-Vietnamese War (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-12, 09:46:27 (162.205.183.92)
My old friend Michelle is primarily Vietnamese and Filipino, but she also knew she had some Chinese, Mien, and other SE Asian. Like me, Michelle had older relatives, neighbors and family friends, w .......
88: Rocky Road, Traveling Wiburys, "End Of The Line" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-12, 09:20:41 (162.205.183.92)
When we were growing up in San Francisco in the 1980s, we'd look for the outbound 38 Geary buses, which went all the way out to Ocean Beach (above). Not only was Ocean Beach the end of several Muni .......
89: Inmate Central, Boarded windows (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-11, 20:40:23 (162.205.183.92)
Where was your photo of the corner building with boarded windows taken? There's a certain real-world charm to it. My relative recently had to replace the metal frames on her bathroom jalousie windo .......
90: Tubes Asylum, The driver can have more impact on the sound (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-11, 12:15:08 (162.205.183.92)
I had an AudioPrism Debut, and then had it upgraded to Mk. II status. The gain and driver 12ATs do not have to be the same. That said, do try to have pairs, where the triodes match. In 2000, I was u .......
91: Inmate Central, Did you go to the windward side, and see Mokoli'i? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-11, 12:02:51 (162.205.183.92)
If you go to Kualoa Beach, you can see Mokoli'i (we won't refer to its racist colloquial name), which my cousin is partially obscuring, in the photo above. When you were on Oahu, looks like surf wa .......
92: Rocky Road, Laaz Rockit, "Holiday In Cambodia" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-11, 11:44:30 (162.205.183.92)
In the early-80s, Bay Area band Dead Kennedy came out with "Holiday In Cambodia," which tried to focus the spotlight on the brutal genocide by the Khmer Rouge. 35 years ago, in early 1989, another .......
93: Cable Asylum, Kimber 12TC, Part 1 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-10, 22:52:30 (162.205.183.92)
When 1994 began, I was living at home, working two part-time jobs. Without much money, I had to get bang-for-the-buck audio products. Kimber Kable's 4TC and 8TC speaker cables seemed to fit the bill. .......
94: Rocky Road, Exodus, "Low Rider" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-10, 18:45:47 (162.205.183.92)
When we were in preschool in the mid-70s, War came out with the iconic "Low Rider." And then, in 1989, the East Bay's Exodus, who always tried a variety of covers, also did one for "Low Rider." But .......
95: Rocky Road, Exodus, "Cajun Hell" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-10, 10:44:28 (162.205.183.92)
For one brief, shining moment, with "Toxic Waltz," the East Bay's Exodus ruled the local rock scene. Then my friend and schoolmate, Matthew, said that he was leaving S.F., for New Orleans. His mom .......
96: Rocky Road, Breathe, "All That Jazz" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-09, 13:11:30 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we went up to Golden Gate Heights, and discussed Breathe's new song, "All That Jazz." While we liked the song, we had never made a connection between Hollywood (CA or FL!) and jazz. N .......
97: Rocky Road, Boys Club, "I Remember Holding You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-08, 15:38:41 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Lake Merced. 35 years ago, we'd hear the Boys Club's "I Remember Holding You" at school, and then walk across the street, to Lake Merced. Each year, our Valentine's dance was Sadie Hawkins;" th .......
98: Rocky Road, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "Got It Made" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-07, 17:16:58 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I was over at a schoolmate's house, and we heard what was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Got It Made." I have no idea, which Bay Area radio station played it, but "Got It Made" hasn' .......
99: Rocky Road, Starship, "Wild Again" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-06, 17:27:43 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, before we were to go on a Bay ferry ride, we went to Tower Records, where we heard Starship's "Wild Again." It was from the movie, Cocktail . When we got on the ferry, the wind was wi .......
100: Rocky Road, Kenny G & Smokey Robinson, "We've Saved The Best For Last" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-05, 17:51:00 (162.205.183.92)
One of my old friends from high school was back in S.F., and she reminisced about those days. 35 years ago, Kenny G & Smokey Robinson's "We've Saved The Best For Last" was an adult contemporary hit .......
101: Rocky Road, Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers, "If We Never Meet Again" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-04, 14:22:16 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I went with some fellow high school friends to Stanford University. We didn't think we'd get in, so I don't believe any of us applied. However, on that trip, we heard Tommy Conwell & .......
102: Rocky Road, Judas Priest, "Crown Of Horns" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-03, 09:36:08 (162.205.183.92)
When we were teenagers in the 1980s, we had braces. Thus, that was your "heavy metal." And we got to hear and see heavy metal band Judas Priest in their heyday. Well, not only do our teenaged kids .......
103: Rocky Road, Joe Satriani, "The Crush Of Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-03, 09:15:58 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, in early 1989, guitarist Joe Satriani, originally from New York, was living in Berkeley, CA. By then, the perception was that Satriani was a "Bay Area guy." From his EP, Dreaming #11 .......
104: Rocky Road, Traveling Wilburys, "Last Night" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-02, 09:08:30 (162.205.183.92)
In early 1989, we'd go to SF's Palace Of Fine Arts, which was more of a (a) tourist attraction, and (b) stopover, while waiting to get into the nearby Exploratorium. Nowadays, it is where you go fr .......
105: Rocky Road, Living Color, "Cult Of Personality" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-02-01, 15:44:35 (162.205.183.92)
In high school, I had a friend/classmate, Keith. Personality-wise, he was typically reserved, cautious, calculating. In sports, he was better and more comfortable, when things were structured and o .......
106: Rocky Road, 'Til Tuesday, "(Believed You Were) Lucky" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-31, 14:37:56 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were in the middle of a drought. So of course, when my friends wanted to go out and play softball, it rained. And only enough to wet the field, not provide any drought relief. Oh w .......
107: Rocky Road, Pet Shop Boys, "Left To My Own Devices" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-30, 17:19:25 (162.205.183.92)
"I'm pretty sure that [fuschia bag] was a Le Sportsac," says my old schoolmate. In early 1989, we started to hear the Pet Shop Boys' "Left To My Own Devices." And when it came to "devices," the mea .......
108: Cable Asylum, Kimber Silver Streak, Part 7 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-29, 20:40:03 (162.205.183.92)
In 1993-94, I was back at home, and had two part-time jobs. Combined, they totaled about 30 hours per week. So while I didn't have money, I did have time. My friends didn't have money, either, but .......
109: Rocky Road, Giant Steps, "Into You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-29, 18:07:06 (162.205.183.92)
If you knew my friends back in high school, you would have found that their core music was "lite rock," or Adult Contemporary. If you did not see us in school itself, you'd have to come out, and pl .......
110: Inmate Central, Sacramento's 16 Degree Coco Cane Juice (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-29, 12:16:17 (162.205.183.92)
Plenty of my relatives and high school classmates went to UC Davis. So it makes sense, that they stayed nearby, and now live and/or work in Sacramento. Most of the time, it's hot as hell, so you need .......
111: Inmate Central, More Alter Eco chocolates (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-28, 14:19:16 (162.205.183.92)
During our senior year (1992-93) at UC Santa Cruz, my Econ classmate Sachiko and I were study buddies. For one class, she and I partnered on a report on Odwalla, which then had offices on the tiny .......
112: Rocky Road, Bobby Brown, "Roni" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-28, 13:37:33 (162.205.183.92)
Uh oh. 35 years ago, Bobby Brown's "Roni" wasn't really something you listened to at home, or on the way to and from school. But when it was played at dances, this was when you copped a feel, or e .......
113: Rocky Road, NKOTB, "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-27, 16:14:36 (162.205.183.92)
Uh oh. 35 years ago, "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by NKOTB (New Kids On The Block) was a "hang out at large malls" anthem. However, since we lived in San Francisco, we did not really have large m .......
114: Rocky Road, Phil Collins, "Two Hearts" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-26, 16:16:05 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, 35 years ago, when the Spring 1989 semester had started, the popular girls often had a separate bag for hair accessoriess. But the nerd girls lugged around books, didn't have the space or stren .......
115: Rocky Road, Skid Row, "Piece Of Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-25, 16:01:32 (162.205.183.92)
Our freshman year of high school was coming to an end in late May/early June 1986. One fine Friday afterschool, my friends, instead of dispersing to go home, wanted to take the field, and play ball .......
116: Amp/Preamp Asylum, A day without sunshine (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-25, 10:36:58 (162.205.183.92)
Some of my former Property Management coworkers from the late-1990s and early-2000s are not just still in the industry, but still with the same companies. That was when high-end audio got bloated, .......
117: Rocky Road, Debbie Gibson, "Lost In Your Eyes" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-24, 17:43:36 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the Palace of Fine Arts. 35 years ago, when we were in high school, cameras could not take action shots. Nowadays, with our kids in high school, we simply bust out the smartphones, and take goo .......
118: Rocky Road, House of Lords, "I Wanna Be Loved" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-23, 23:35:18 (162.205.183.92)
"Damn, mom, stop touching my boobs!" The mom, Lotus, and I grew up in the same Fillmore District apartment complex. But, common for S.F., she and I never went to the same schools. In early 1989, Lo .......
119: Inmate Central, Yes, because (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-23, 13:44:48 (162.205.183.92)
When you are in a drive-thru line (In-N-Out is popular, with long lines), you are wedged between two cars, with no escape. So muggers come up to all these "sitting ducks." 'Round here, like in other h .......
120: Inmate Central, Bluebird is only open for a few hours (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-23, 13:00:09 (162.205.183.92)
...and only for dinner. Before 4:00p, you can order online, and schedule a pickup time. They only have enough (oven) capacity, and do not make extra dough. Bluebird sometimes run out of pizzas (esp .......
121: Inmate Central, I'm two stops from that Oakland In-N-Out (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-23, 11:07:40 (162.205.183.92)
Ever since COVID shut down a nearby roller hockey rink and Hockey X Superstore, I haven't really gone to that area of Oakland. We do occasionally volunteer at the nearby Alameda County Community Food .......
122: Rocky Road, Kaneohe and Kailua (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-22, 22:19:45 (162.205.183.92)
Because audiophiles come from all over the world, our differences are what make us strong and interesting. But then you come across others, who've lived in or been to the same places as you. I've a .......
123: Rocky Road, Glenn Medeiros, "Not Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-22, 17:04:05 (162.205.183.92)
In early 1989, we went to a gym. A handful of our girls spontaneously broke out, singing Glenn Medeiros' power ballad, "Not Me." It caused us guys to stop dead in our tracks. Our whole body tingled .......
124: Rocky Road, Glenn Medeiros, "Heart Don't Change My Mind" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-21, 15:19:54 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, since we were still in high school, we liked to check out various San Francisco fields/playgrounds, and play team sports. One time, we were to meet at West Sunset. On her way, one of .......
125: Rocky Road, Cameo, "She's Strange" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-20, 13:11:36 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we were in middle school. Cameo's hypnotic "She's Strange" made it okay to be, well, strange. My nerdy classmate Annie was wearing a Hotel California shirt (we wanted to play sports, .......
126: Rocky Road, Do you ever get to go back? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-19, 22:05:23 (162.205.183.92)
Throughout elementary school, I hardly went to Kailua, even though relatives lived there. My family would drive past Makapu'u and Sea Life Park. We'd go by Waimanalo and Lanikai, and go to Windward .......
127: Cable Asylum, Kimber KCAG, Part 13 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-19, 21:29:22 (162.205.183.92)
During Spring Break 1990, the $300 Adcom GFA-535 power amp was my entrance into "high-end audio." I was also a new subscriber to Stereophile. While I was still at home, the April 1990 issue arrived. .......
128: Rocky Road, Slayer, "The Antichrist" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-19, 13:16:32 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, you pretty much had to be a high school kid, in order to pick up on the burgeoning thrash metal scene. One of the leaders was L.A.'s Slayer. A popular live track was "The Antichrist," .......
129: Rocky Road, Metallica, "Jump In The Fire" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-18, 14:23:23 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, San Francisco's Ocean beach. 40 years ago, there used to be bonfires there. These would lead to the creation of Burning Man. In early 1984, we were in middle school. Older teenagers started to .......
130: Rocky Road, Eddie Money, "Club Michelle" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-17, 19:49:10 (162.205.183.92)
Ham San Francisco's Broadway. 40 years ago, we saw the video for Eddie Money's "Club Michelle." If you looked carefully, you could spot a few ephemeral senes of San Francisco, including Broadway. A .......
131: Rocky Road, Tracey Ullman, "Move Over Darling" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-16, 17:33:14 (162.205.183.92)
"OMG, look how young we were!!!," exclaims my old schoolmate, Penny. When 1984 kicked off, she was actually still in elementary school. Penny liked Tracey Ullman's "Move Over Darling." Had we not .......
132: Rocky Road, The Green Door (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-15, 13:24:00 (162.205.183.92)
I hear that San Francisco's the Green Door massage parlor has, after decades of being in business, closed. It was named after the Mitchell Brothers (who did business in S.F.) film, Behind The Green Do .......
133: Rocky Road, Duran Duran, "Union Of The Snake" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-15, 13:00:41 (162.205.183.92)
I was just at a Trader Joe's, where the stuffie is an octopus, not a snake. But played overhead was Duran Duran's "Union Of The Snake." Here in the Bay Area, plenty of Duran Duran songs get repeate .......
134: Rocky Road, The Police, "Once Upon A Daydream" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-14, 18:55:53 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we attended Presidio Middle School. There were a couple of record stores on Geary near Stanyan. No one had ever heard of the CD, much less seen one. We typically could not afford a fu .......
135: Rocky Road, The Police, "Synchronicity II" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-14, 12:23:22 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the southern entrance to San Francisco's Stockton Tunnel. 40 years ago, I was taking the westbound 2-Clement bus. As it passed the Stockton Garage, my Walkman pulled in some radio station playi .......
136: Rocky Road, Smashing Pumpkins, "Mayonaise" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-13, 14:02:55 (162.205.183.92)
1993-94 was hot and dry. In that grunge era, the Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream was a hit. Its "Mayonaise," without any double letters, was a band and fan favorite. But "Mayonaise" was never .......
137: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 19 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-13, 00:27:49 (162.205.183.92)
In the mid-2000s, an audiophile named Paul traveled the Midwest, to install and repair walk-in refrigeration units. He had all-Musical Fidelity electronics, and reached out to me about Nordost. He wri .......
138: Rocky Road, Smashing Pumpkins, "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-12, 15:25:57 (162.205.183.92)
5 years ago, I went on a Bay cruise with some of my former coworkers. The Smashing Pumpkins' "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)" sounded like we were back in the mid-1990s. That's partially due to Rick Ru .......
139: Rocky Road, Toad The Wet Sprocket, "I'll Bet On You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-11, 21:51:46 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, while working at a public high school, I had two colleagues who were also alums of my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. Since I graduated in 1993, I always missed Santa Cruz, always wanted t .......
140: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Haters will hate (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-11, 19:58:59 (162.205.183.92)
Unfortunately, sadly, and tragically, the haters have driven away untold numbers of people seeking more knowledge, and/or making contributions. For over 20 years now, my posts have been crafted so th .......
141: Amp/Preamp Asylum, The underwhelming DV-60 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-11, 08:58:38 (162.205.183.92)
You're better off, spending less, and just getting an Oppo universal disc player. .......
142: Rocky Road, Toad The Wet Sprocket, "California Wasted" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-10, 13:00:54 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, I was having the professional time of my life, working at a Mid-Peninsula high school. And one of the teachers had done her undergrad at UC Santa Barbara. Thus, she knew that Toad The .......
143: Tubes Asylum, Is the Debut II still working? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-10, 12:45:46 (162.205.183.92)
We loved our AudioPrism Debut II. For better treble extension, try Electro-Harmonix EL-34. For a cooler tonality, try Siemens (Germany) EL-34. For a more full-bodied sound, try GE 6CA7. If you like .......
144: Rocky Road, Testament, "Afterlife" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-09, 18:57:54 (162.205.183.92)
15 years ago, coworkers past and present had lunch in downtown San Francisco. I lamented that S.F. never had a lot of audio stores to begin with, and, for the past decade, became a B&M desert. Boom .......
145: Rocky Road, Maroon 5, "This Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-08, 17:36:08 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, my friends were getting married and having kids. Since my freinds were all over California, our trips were kind of like the "old days," except we flew. So it kind of sucked, if you we .......
146: Rocky Road, Britney Spears, "Toxic" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-07, 14:56:14 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, I was working in property management, We had an eclectic mix of commercial, parking, residential, hotel, music studio, and dorm properties. My office coworkers loved Britney Spears' " .......
147: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1136, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-06, 18:43:21 (162.205.183.92)
An audiophile named Lenny, originally from Corpus Christi, writes, "I hate you. You always make it seem like we're 20 years younger than we really are. So then I get up, and nope, my 70 year old back .......
148: Rocky Road, My Chemical Romance, "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough For The Two Of Us" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-06, 14:36:16 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, we saw the video for My Chemical Romance's "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough For The Two Of Us." In it, a guy looks for dates, and likes one. He tries to find her, but can't. So wh .......
149: Rocky Road, Steely Dan, "Pixeleen" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-05, 09:01:55 (162.205.183.92)
Steely Dan were known for depicting colorful characters. But 20 years ago, The Dan's "Pixeleen" expanded upon the cast of characters, and incorporated video game characters of that era. On a shower .......
150: Rocky Road, Steely Dan, "Blues Beach" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-04, 14:14:05 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, we kicked off 2004, by taking another road trip to SoCal. Since it was winter, Steely Dan's "Blues Beach" fit the bill. And we learned that "Gaviota," near Santa Barbara, was Spanish .......
151: Rocky Road, 98 Degrees, "To Me You're Everything" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-03, 17:53:42 (162.205.183.92)
While in Taiwan, my old college friend, Gwen, learned that 98 Degrees are working on a new album. To be released sometime in 2024, its tentative title is Full Circle . 25 years ago, Gwen's daughter .......
152: General Asylum, "Little peckers" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-02, 18:45:31 (162.205.183.92)
Hawaii has always had problems, controlling stray/feral cane toads, mongeese, mountain doves, and pigs. Well, now the islands are overrun with chickens. They cockadoodledo at all times of day. W .......
153: Rocky Road, Placebo, "Pure Morning" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-02, 17:22:22 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, I was working in property management. Because the video or Placebo's "Pure Morning" depicted a suicidal person about to jump, it was restricted or even banned. The music is distorte .......
154: General Asylum, The Cable Cooker is the gift which keeps on giving (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-02, 08:07:30 (162.205.183.92)
In spring 2003, my colleagues and I bought an audiodharma Cable Cooker. We thought it'd see a burst of initial activity, followed by occasional use. Oh how wrong we were! For 20 years, our Cooker h .......
155: Rocky Road, The Flys, "Got You (Where I Want You)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2024-01-01, 15:02:40 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, we didn't need any further motivation or inspiration, but we loved hitting the coast, and The Flys' "Got You (Where I Want You)" didn't hurt the cause :-) You see, the Wayne Isham-dir .......
156: Rocky Road, Cardigans, "My Favourite Game" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-31, 16:24:14 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, our Zoomers are coming back from their holiday road-trips. Unlike our generation, they have cellphones, internet access, and map apps. 25 years ago, we heard the Cardigans' "My Favourite Game." .......
157: Rocky Road, Smashing Pumpkins, "Perfect" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-30, 15:30:46 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, our younger relatives and friends were in college. My brother had to return to his apartment, for the Winter 1999 quarter. There, we heard the Smashing Pumpkins' "Perfect." We're not .......
158: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 13 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-30, 14:52:34 (162.205.183.92)
In the early 2000s, an audiophile named Pete moved to Fort Worth, for a new job. His new home had hardwood floors, so he reached out to me about spikes and footers. But at the time, I was on vacat .......
159: Rocky Road, Keystone Berkeley closed when we were in junior high (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-29, 22:43:14 (162.205.183.92)
That would have been the early-to-mid 1980s. At the time, since we were in junior high, we only went to rock concerts, if/when our parents took us. And even then, my friends did not go to Keystone. If .......
160: Rocky Road, Goo Goo Dolls, "Slide" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-29, 11:45:05 (162.205.183.92)
In yesterday's The Offspring post, we mentioned going to San Francisco's Ultimate Sound in the late-90s. That store catered to entry-level high-end audio, so it made sense that it carried Adcom. Th .......
161: Rocky Road, The Offspring, "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-28, 17:50:39 (162.205.183.92)
At the end of 1998, I would go to San Francisco's Ultimate Sound, where I ordered, among other things, cables from Kimber and XLO. I'd then meet up with friends in Union Square. First of all, we we .......
162: Rocky Road, So that's where B&W ended up (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-27, 21:19:43 (162.205.183.92)
I consider my entrance to "high-end audio" during Spring Break 1990. At San Francisco Stereo Plus, I used monies saved from birthdays and Christmas, towards an Adcom GFA-535 power amp. In the 1990s, S .......
163: Rocky Road, Haven't been to House Of Music in ages (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-27, 20:33:55 (162.205.183.92)
In the 2000s, I think they were at the foot of the Bay Bridge. Then they moved to around the 9th Street Trader Joe's. I think more recently, they may have been on Brannan. But as long as I've known Ho .......
164: Inmate Central, Mermaid Caves, Oahu (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-27, 19:09:54 (162.205.183.92)
If you are in Honolulu, many people learn to swim at Ala Moana Beach. There, the reef keeps most waves away from the beach. Senior citizens (of which many audiophiles are) like to go to Ala Moana .......
165: Rocky Road, Hole, "Malibu" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-27, 18:23:35 (162.205.183.92)
So what did we do immediately after Christmas 1998? Some of us drove down to SoCal, to meet up with friends there. We did take 101, but did not stop off in Malibu. Sigh, the photo above (I think t .......
166: Inmate Central, Alter Eco chocolate bars (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-26, 19:49:22 (162.205.183.92)
At work, my department consists mostly of moms. I'm close with a few who don't eat a lot in quantity. So they are picky about quality. Be that as it may, one coworker really likes Alter Eco chocola .......
167: Rocky Road, New Radicals, "You Get What You Give" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-26, 17:18:46 (162.205.183.92)
So 90s. The day after Christmas 1998, my friend was stretching and doing poses. Since we had received gift certificates for Christmas, she suggested hitting the after-Christmas sales. And in those .......
168: Rocky Road, Rob Zombie, "Dragula" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-25, 13:48:34 (162.205.183.92)
Here at the end of 2023, Rob Zombie has kind of been forgotten. After all, it's been 25 years, or a quarter century, since his "Dragula" was a hit. Not that we needed further inspiration or motivat .......
169: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Dang it (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-24, 15:17:14 (162.205.183.92)
Because I faced the time-consuming and arduous cross-Bay commute home, I missed out on Stanford's early-evening lectures and concerts, many of which were free of charge. Many of these took place in Di .......
170: Rocky Road, Third Eye Blind, "Jumper" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-24, 13:25:31 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, I was still living at home in San Francisco. We were listening to "Jumper," by San Francisco's Third Eye Blind. Last night, I took my mom to Maiko Matcha, in SF's Japantown. She ca .......
171: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 18 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-24, 12:47:52 (162.205.183.92)
Mr. McGuire is an audiophile who works in Costa Mesa, and is looking forward to retirement. He recently emailed, "I've been reading you for 20 years. I've always respected your NorCal perspective and .......
172: Rocky Road, When listeners give feedback, take notes (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-23, 23:08:11 (162.205.183.92)
Yes, do save the emails you get from listeners. But I also have kept a little notebook, specifically for music-related topics (other notebooks are for audio products). Listeners often start with a gen .......
173: Rocky Road, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-23, 13:20:09 (162.205.183.92)
At the end of 1998, I was in audio hell. The Thiel CS1.5, an otherwise fine product, was not a good match for my crowded 15x15 room. Hearing Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve" .......
174: Rocky Road, Swing Out Sister, "You On My Mind (Live at the Jazz Cafe)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-22, 12:25:26 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, San Francisco's Japantown. During the Fall of 1993, I read Japanese music magazines, and learned about Swing Out Sister's Live At The Jazz Cafe . I luckily found the CD at a Tower Records. T .......
175: Rocky Road, 12/22/1993: Sepultura @Slim's (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-21, 18:04:38 (162.205.183.92)
My friends and I can't believe that it's been 30 years, since we saw Sepultura at Slim's in San Francisco. We had previously seen Sepultura at the much-larger Bill Graham Civic. In the smaller Slim .......
176: Rocky Road, Glenn Medeiros, "Someday Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-20, 17:54:21 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, our families had a 35mm camera. You had to use up the film (usually 24 shots), and then get it developed. Sigh, after all that, your photos turned out blurry, like the one of us at a .......
177: Inmate Central, Aw, monoblocks, not chocolate blocks :-) (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-19, 20:15:02 (162.205.183.92)
I don't have meaningful experience with Simaudio's 330A and 400M power amps, so I'm not at liberty to comment. Lots of readers are aware that the 740P and 760A are discontinued. Therefore, used sa .......
178: Rocky Road, Journey: Greatest Hits (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-19, 19:32:41 (162.205.183.92)
In 1983, I was at Presidio Middle School. Many of my schoolmates (or at least our families) bought Journey's mediocre album, Frontiers . We would not learn for a few more years, why it was so medio .......
179: Inmate Central, More flavors of Endangered Species chocolate (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-18, 22:00:51 (162.205.183.92)
When audiophiles reach out to me, a common theme is that, as we get older, we have less time left on this earth. So after all the years of working, sacrificing, and putting up with subpar things in li .......
180: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Chocolate fiends (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-18, 19:40:13 (162.205.183.92)
Had I not gotten into an alternative school, my assigned high school would have been Galileo, which is a block from Ghirardelli Square. But because of Ghirardelli, my family and neighbors had a propen .......
181: Rocky Road, Candlemass, "The Bells Of Acheron" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-18, 17:15:17 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Columbus & Broadway. It sort of represents where North Beach and Chinatown meet. 35 years ago, outside of school hours, my friends would go to Broadway Rock Accessories (on the NW corner of Bro .......
182: Amp/Preamp Asylum, My grandfather was fro Maui (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-17, 19:00:58 (162.205.183.92)
My maternal grandfather was from Kula, Maui, which is on the way up to Haleakala. That said, I've hardly ever been to Maui. This may have been the summer of 1991, from Lahaina. The other bit of lan .......
183: Rocky Road, Death, "Left To Die" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-17, 17:02:30 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, just like old times. My old freind thrashed around, and cut her finger. 35 years ago, one of our friends bought Death's Leprosy . We'd play it via boombox, as we played team sports outdoors. " .......
184: Amp/Preamp Asylum, We've been trying different brands of chocolate bars (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-17, 09:59:05 (162.205.183.92)
If you do a search on Inmate Central, you'll find a little bit of information on brands like Chocolove, Endangered Species, and Hu. Since I am a Bay Area native, Ghirardelli and Guittard are two major .......
185: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 12 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-16, 18:29:38 (162.205.183.92)
So 1990s! While it had been around since at least the early-80s, the molten chocolate cake's popularity took off, during the latter half of the 1990s. In 1994, I went to the Roy's in Hawaii Kai .......
186: Rocky Road, KISS, "(You Make Me) Rock Hard" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-16, 14:43:08 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, North Beach Playground. At the end of 1988, you could find us here. A couple of us had bought KISS' Smashes, Thrashes & Hits , which included a new song, "(You Make Me) Rock Hard." Since North .......
187: Rocky Road, When In Rome, "The Promise" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-15, 17:00:47 (162.205.183.92)
Oh ho ho; the Emerson all-in-one boombox/mini-stereo. It was through electronics like this, from which we heard When In Rome's "The Promise," at the end of 1988. It was one of the synth-pop ditties .......
188: Rocky Road, Bobby Brown, "My Prerogative" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-14, 14:40:24 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have photos from 1988. But at the end of that year, I was a Homeroom Rep. My class officers had to finalize the venue contract for our senior prom. By winter break, we had to choose fr .......
189: Rocky Road, Steve Earle, "Copperhead Road" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-13, 18:00:18 (162.205.183.92)
My childhood friends did not drink alcohol, and we still do not drink alcohol. But we are always imbibing non-alcoholic beverages. While recently doing so, we overheard Steve Earle's "Copperhead Ro .......
190: Inmate Central, Hu Chocolate (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-12, 18:20:25 (162.205.183.92)
My old friend from high school, Jules, lives "down the street from me." She recalls, "We used to wolf down our food. I used to eat as much chocolate as I could. 'Cuz if I didn't eat it, my brother .......
191: Rocky Road, Traveling Wilburys, "Handle With Care" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-12, 17:58:03 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, our parents loved the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys. They consisted of Bob Dylan, George Harrison (Beatles), Jeff Lynne (ELO), Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. Our parents connected with .......
192: Rocky Road, Industry, "State Of The Nation" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-11, 17:38:06 (162.205.183.92)
"Just like middle school," exclaims my wife, upon getting a keychain/pouch. As a school kid in San Francisco 40 years ago, she would occasionally hear new wave music, such as Industry's "State Of .......
193: Cable Asylum, Kimber Carbon IC, Part 12 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-10, 21:52:54 (162.205.183.92)
In September 1990, my classmate Kim and I were both sophomores at UC Santa Cruz. She introduced me to her friend, Tuyet. Tuyet was from L.A., and had relatives who owned and worked in hair salons. .......
194: Rocky Road, Steely Dan, "FM" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-10, 16:20:07 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have photos from 1978, when I was 6 years-old. At the end of the year, my parents went out, somewhere in San Francisco. My babysitter, Jeffrey, had a twin sister, Henrietta. The latter .......
195: Rocky Road, Joe Jackson, "Memphis" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-10, 12:41:14 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1983. But during winter break 1983, my family took a trip to SoCal. There, we heard Joe Jackson's "Memphis," which supposedly was from a movie called Mike's Murder .......
196: Rocky Road, The Motels, "Punchline" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-09, 11:49:25 (162.205.183.92)
In 2018, we were in Portland, Oregon. We learned that that was where Martha Davis and The Motels were living. Furthermore, The Motels had a cool new-wave song, "Punchline." Love the keyboards, .......
197: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio W-7, Part 4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-08, 23:18:33 (162.205.183.92)
Mr. Keith, an audiophile originally from West Covina, CA, writes, "When your friend couldn't wipe her ass, I shouted YES, and wished I could high-five her. You see, ever since my neck, knee, and back .......
198: Rocky Road, Justin Timberlake, "Mirrors" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-08, 15:57:08 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, my former students were off to college. No, when I was in college, my dormies did not actually study in the bathroom(s). My former students were still listening to Justin Timberlake's .......
199: Rocky Road, Kansas, "Need To Know" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-07, 16:36:53 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, some of my friends were in grad school - something I should have done. During holidays 1998, one of them bought Kansas' Always Never The Same , which was done with the London Symphony .......
200: Rocky Road, Pet Shop Boys, "Liberation" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-06, 21:36:18 (162.205.183.92)
Since the end of 1993 was hot and dry, there was nothing to stop us from hitting California's coasts. Listening to the Pet Shop Boys' "Liberation" was, well, freeing. Like other gender-fluid or -am .......
201: Rocky Road, Joe Satriani, "Time Machine" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-05, 17:59:09 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I bowled in two leagues per week, at Japantown Bowl. Before and after, we liked to hang out at Japantown itself. The taiyaki (fish-shaped waffle with red bean filling) was a popular s .......
202: Rocky Road, Megadeth, "99 Ways To Die" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-04, 17:23:47 (162.205.183.92)
Here in the Bay Area, Fall 1993 was warm and dry. They few storms went to the north. So while we did have clouds, there wasn't any rain. From the Beavis and Butt-Head Experience came Megadeth's ob .......
203: Rocky Road, Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Monsta Mack" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-03, 13:50:44 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, there was actually a Beavis And Butt-Head CD. It included a song by Sir Mix-a-Lot, "Monsta Mack." It was a straight-forward ditty about sex, "keepin' Rush Limbaugh restless." -Lummy T .......
204: Inmate Central, Watercourse Way, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-02, 11:29:53 (162.205.183.92)
My wife has colleagues who work in Palo Alto. I used to work on the mid-Peninsula. But I recently had a 5-figure interconnect on the audiodharma Cable Cooker. Instead of mailing this cable to the S .......
205: Rocky Road, Extreme, "Where Are You Going" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-02, 11:02:56 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, my home alley was San Francisco's Japantown Bowl. But we had tournaments, travel league, and practices at other alleys. And that included Pacifica's Sea Bowl, which recently shuttered .......
206: Rocky Road, Megadeth, "Breakpoint" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-12-01, 15:15:02 (162.205.183.92)
Here in the Bay Area, the end of 1993 was warm and dry. No, my friends and I did not see the movie, Super Mario Bros. However, that soundtrack did spawn Megadeth's "Breakpoint." And when we went t .......
207: Rocky Road, Robert Plant, "If I Were A Carpenter" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-30, 17:01:59 (162.205.183.92)
In the latter half of 1993, my friends and I went on our first road trips, without parents/adults, from our homes in the Bay Area, down to SoCal. Initially, we took I-5 both ways. After those first .......
208: Rocky Road, Robert Plant, "29 Palms" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-29, 21:59:39 (162.205.183.92)
When I graduated from college in June 1993, grunge had taken over. And in rock, Coverdale-Page got a lot of attention. Thus, Robert Plant's Fate Of Nations for the most part got overlooked. Th .......
209: Rocky Road, Ratt, "I Want A Woman" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-28, 20:04:44 (162.205.183.92)
At the end of 1988, when Ratt came out with "I Want A Woman," we were still in high school. So no one was a man, woman, or adult. We would go to the park on California and Grant, and wonder if, in .......
210: Inmate Central, Chocolove, perhaps? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-28, 17:30:48 (162.205.183.92)
Another brand my coworkers, relatives, and friends like. .......
211: Inmate Central, Endangered Species Chocolate (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-27, 21:13:49 (162.205.183.92)
In addition to the music and audio, audiophiles like to bring up topics about food and drink to me. One Inmate suggested Endangered Species Chocolate. Shoot, I did not realize that this was one of the .......
212: Rocky Road, Roberta Flack, "And So It Goes" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-27, 19:34:28 (162.205.183.92)
The romantic highlight of my Winterball at the end of 1988 was Roberta Flack's "And So It Goes." My old friends have always loved lite rock, so they are still upset that "And So It Goes" does not g .......
213: Inmate Central, Loofah soaps (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-26, 22:30:35 (162.205.183.92)
When it comes to products, when audiophiles write to me, it's most often about cables. Within cables, it's more about line-level interconnects, than powercords and speaker cables. Now, we all understa .......
214: Whiner's Woad, Loofah soaps (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-26, 22:30:35 (162.205.183.92)
When it comes to products, when audiophiles write to me, it's most often about cables. Within cables, it's more about line-level interconnects, than powercords and speaker cables. Now, we all understa .......
215: Rocky Road, The pandemic gave cover for Kansas to come out with this (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-26, 14:18:47 (162.205.183.92)
As a child of the late-70s and early-80s, I'd occasionally meet friends, here at Alta Plaza Park. We'd talk about bands like Kansas, The Police, Van Halen, and Yes. In 2020, when COVID caused the s .......
216: Rocky Road, George Michael, "Kissing A Fool" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-26, 14:02:54 (162.205.183.92)
At the end of 1988, we were preparing for Winterball, not proms. Selecting Winterball attire was always a dilemma for the girl. You could go with more muted, neutral, subdued colors. Or you could f .......
217: Rocky Road, Kansas, "Stand Beside Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-25, 13:05:01 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, North Beach Playground. In late 1988, my friends were here, playing softball. While we were up to bat, the boombox played Kansas' "Stand Beside Me." That song seemed to bring us together. You .......
218: Inmate Central, Maui Soap Company's shampoo (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-24, 22:59:27 (162.205.183.92)
Both sides of my family are from Hawaii, where heat, pool water (chlorine), red dirt, salt water, sun, UV, and waves take a toll on your hair. Thus, you pay greater attention to hair care products, .......
219: Rocky Road, Keith Richards, "Take It So Hard" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-24, 14:17:18 (162.205.183.92)
At the end of 1988, whether we played softball and football on asphalt or grass, we liked grinding it out, to Keith Richards' "Take It So Hard." Well, the ground often scratched and bruised us. In .......
220: Rocky Road, Aerosmith, "Chip Away The Stone" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-23, 10:22:49 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, North Beach Playground (now called Joe DiMaggio Field). If you came by during the 1988-89 school year, you could have run into me and my friends. This was just a short walk from the iconic Towe .......
221: Rocky Road, Sade, "Nothing Can Come Between Us" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-22, 17:36:32 (162.205.183.92)
After graduating from Presidio Middle School, most of my schoolmates simply went across the street, to Washington High (above). But I went to Lowell, whose dances were massive. So much so, those da .......
222: Inmate Central, Mochi Dough is often in or partnered with Bober Tea (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-21, 23:24:12 (162.205.183.92)
We (my friends, relatives, colleagues, and former students) haven't tried enough of Bober Tea's drinks. In time, we will, and maybe then I'll write a report. The segmented mochi donuts are often li .......
223: Inmate Central, Mochi Dough (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-21, 17:31:04 (162.205.183.92)
We are always on the lookout for treats and sweets. Our relatives in Sac suggested trying Mochi Dough. Mochi Dough is an American chain, with a plurality of stores in California. Compared to, f .......
224: Rocky Road, Level 42, "Heaven In My Hands" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-21, 17:18:39 (162.205.183.92)
In late 1988, when my friend Janet spoke, she sounded like a cat being strangled. Yet, when she sang, her voice was fine and even beautiful. One day after school, we walked over to the Stonestown T .......
225: Rocky Road, Randy Newman, "It's Money That Matters" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-20, 17:06:33 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Lake Merced. 35 years ago, Andy and Samuel, who were in my homeroom, walked along here. And of course, we talked about music. We discussed Randy Newman's then-new "It's Money That Matters." Acc .......
226: Rocky Road, Robert Plant, "In The Mood" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-19, 12:51:59 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the San Francisco Presidio. In 1983, it was an Army base. My friend recalls having a handful of classmates, who lived in the Presidio. Back then, residents didn't have cable TV, so we could not .......
227: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Not sure about the Sunfire preamp (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-18, 16:20:52 (162.205.183.92)
TAS Volume 20, Issue 108, Fall 1996 Here's the review of the Sunfire power amp. .......
228: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Had to keep the tubes away from our kids and parents :-) (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-18, 12:45:23 (162.205.183.92)
Oooo, I wonder how those Cary 45 monoblocks would perform, with some of the smaller speakers I've lived with (with or without powered subs). In the late-90s, I had the EL-34 based AudioPrism Debut, a .......
229: Rocky Road, Culture Club, "Church Of The Poison Mind" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-18, 11:41:01 (162.205.183.92)
When the video for Culture Club's "Church Of The Poison Mind" came out during the Fall 1983 semester, it inspired schoolmates to go in groups of 4. While my friend (and writing partner) Scylla was .......
230: Rocky Road, Genesis, "Home By The Sea" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-17, 13:28:30 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we were in 7th grade at Presidio Middle School. Sorry, we don't have any photos from then. On fog-free days, we had views of the Golden Gate Bridge. As a peninsula, San Francisco h .......
231: Amp/Preamp Asylum, RE: Low power = bad matches for CS2.4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-17, 09:14:01 (162.205.183.92)
Christmas 1996. The Thiel CS.5 was driven by a Classe' CA-100. For the same price, we should have gotten, as an example, the Sonus Faber Concertino + Stand Fixed. Christmas 1997. Thiel CS1.5 was .......
232: Rocky Road, Jennifer Warnes & Chris Thompson, "All The Right Moves" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-16, 17:41:38 (162.205.183.92)
Before home consoles, Nintendo made little hand-held video games. In 1983, most of us were in junior high, and we did have a few hand-held Nintendo games. At family gatherings, the grandparents had .......
233: Inmate Central, If you had joined us, you'd have plenty of company :-) (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-16, 17:01:43 (162.205.183.92)
My parents signed me up for PAL baseball in 1979. I was on the same team, until the end (8th grade). Our coach had this green-colored canvas barrel-shaped bag, which he had gotten from his Army days. .......
234: Inmate Central, Little things like that, LOL! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-16, 14:37:42 (162.205.183.92)
In the mid-80s, my PAL baseball team had a hard time, securing/reserving fields. So, our practices were held in Golden Gate Park. We played our home games in the San Francisco Presidio. One such fi .......
235: Inmate Central, The Pirates need to sign you and me (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-16, 13:59:52 (162.205.183.92)
I'm not sure what your favorite baseball position is, but pretend that you and I are 2B and SS, respectively. You need some killer walk-up music (we know it's not going to be disco!), and the .......
236: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Bad matches for CS2.4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-16, 13:28:20 (162.205.183.92)
We had the Thiel CS2.4, and threw hundreds of thousands of dollars of electronics and cables at it. The Conrad-Johnson MV-55 (above) was too "chewy-sounding" for the Thiel CS2.4. The MV-60SE had m .......
237: Amp/Preamp Asylum, BRM-1 Remote (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-15, 19:25:39 (162.205.183.92)
The guy hasn't said much about the 791 (or 740P, for that matter, 'cuz he didn't want to influence me). But he has gushed about the 791's included BRM-1. He says it is Bluetooth, not infrared. Therefo .......
238: Rocky Road, Rainbow, "Street Of Dreams" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-15, 12:46:48 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we attended Presidio Middle School. After school, we could take the 38-Geary bus, and end up at Rainbow Records at Stanyan, or Record Factory at Parker. At this time, Ritchie Blackmo .......
239: Rocky Road, S.O.S. Band, "Just Be Good To Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-14, 16:12:14 (162.205.183.92)
Oh ho ho. We originally bought that rattan chair in 1983. Back then, we did not have cable TV. Therefore, we could not watch MTV. However, via FM radio and Soul Train, we learned about the S.O.S. B .......
240: Music Lane, Couldn't break free (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-14, 10:37:44 (162.205.183.92)
At the Nashville conference, we had a full slate of activities. Almost all meals were included. So we could not break free. But that trip cemented the fact that there is a huge untapped market, based .......
241: Rocky Road, The plan was created in 1996 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-14, 07:58:23 (162.205.183.92)
Congress formed the Presidio Trust, which had to partner with the National Park Service, to make the Presidio self-sustaining by a certain date. The Presidio actually beat that goal, by a good number .......
242: Amp/Preamp Asylum, I'm trying to get quotes... (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-13, 19:39:13 (162.205.183.92)
...from a Simaudio dealer, who reached out to me. He had some very interesting feedback (especially regarding the store's customers), and I'd like to quote him. Meanwhile, because of the Simaudio 740 .......
243: Amp/Preamp Asylum, The Simaudio 791... (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-13, 19:08:29 (162.205.183.92)
...is why I've been given a guy's old 740P to review. I myself do not have any experience with his 791, so I'm not at liberty to comment on it. That 791 must be functioning properly. I've been in p .......
244: Rocky Road, Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack, "You're Looking Like Love To Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-13, 14:55:07 (162.205.183.92)
Because I went to Presidio Middle School, it was a short hike to Lands End Beach. But one time, I went with my classmates Erica and Odessa, both of whom were African-American, and lived up the stre .......
245: Inmate Central, Wonder what the "contractual obligations" are (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-13, 11:11:29 (162.205.183.92)
Yesterday, on account of my FIL's funeral, we were all over San Francisco, Daly City, Colma. Everywhere we went, restaurants had to have certain sport packages, in order to get games other than Giants .......
246: Inmate Central, You are spot-on (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-13, 09:39:11 (162.205.183.92)
K-12, I attended several SFUSD schools. In those years, elementary and middle school kids tended to bus to schools not in their home neighborhood. And then, I went to a high school, which drew from .......
247: Inmate Central, Back to S.F. Chinatown (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-12, 22:59:12 (162.205.183.92)
My father-in-law recently passed, so my family had to avoid APEC, and go into San Francisco's Chinatown, for the funeral. My wife lived there until 2000. The branches have been lopped off, but the .......
248: Rocky Road, Metallica, "Seek & Destroy" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-12, 08:47:45 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the Presidio. Back in 1983, I attended Presidio Middle School, and the Presidio itself was an Army outpost. We had a few schoolmates, who actually lived in the Presidio. They called themselves .......
249: Inmate Central, He and I are both Catholic (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-12, 08:22:25 (162.205.183.92)
Back in the early-2000s, Eduardo was amazed that I was born, raised, and, at the time, still living in S.F. You try to find common ground, and we both shared stories of the ups and downs about havi .......
250: Amp/Preamp Asylum, They also had Krell (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-12, 07:51:19 (162.205.183.92)
During that time, KJ had entered her sophomore year at UC Berkeley. She was also working a few hours a week at a tiny Ghirardelli chocolate store, in San Francisco's Union Square. It's hard to believe .......
251: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Not the UPD-1 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 23:07:51 (162.205.183.92)
I only have experience with McCormack power amp, phonostage, and headphone amp. On 9/1/92, my ex-girlfriend KJ accompanied me to San Francisco Stereo Plus. We were both in college then, and with my su .......
252: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Been getting a LOT of emails about preamps (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 21:40:37 (162.205.183.92)
Now that readers have been armed with information, they know better what to ask and look for. They ask me about this preamp and that preamp, but if I have no experience, I'm not at liberty to comment. .......
253: Rocky Road, Ace Frehley, "Fractured Mirror" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 18:08:25 (162.205.183.92)
Earlier this year, I was in Nashville for a conference. To go out for dinner, I swung by my coworker's room. While she was getting ready, some music channel played Ace Frehley's instrumental, "Frac .......
254: Inmate Central, Beis Mini Weekender vs. Calpak Luka Duffel (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 16:15:57 (162.205.183.92)
In 2000, an L.A. audiophile named Eduardo reached out to me. His daughter was maybe 1, but he wanted to ask me about cables. I'll let him explain: "You were from S.F. So you had the music. The food & .......
255: Speaker Asylum, Just brief time with the Dynaudio Contour S3.4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 09:40:37 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-2000s, I worked in property management. Our employer had a decrepit mixed-use building: basement music studios; a ground floor commercial space whose tenant used to sell potted plants; and .......
256: Rocky Road, Ace Frehley, "Rip It Out" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-11, 08:59:27 (162.205.183.92)
Although the vast majority of my relatives is from and still lives in Hawaii, I did have cousins who used to live in Marin County. In the late-70s, they had the four solo albums (on LP, not cassett .......
257: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 600i, Part 16 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-10, 18:35:31 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-2000s, an audiophile named Osvaldo, from Riverside, CA, reached out to me. I'll let him explain. Osvaldo : It was obvious to me that your uniformly excellent posts weren't meant for repli .......
258: Rocky Road, Elton John, "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-10, 11:10:17 (162.205.183.92)
Like many of our friends, my wife (above, getting the gray hair dye, and complaining that they didn't take up the length, leaving all those split ends) was born in 1973. That's also when Elton John .......
259: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 17 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-10, 00:38:06 (162.205.183.92)
"Real friends are like sand in bikinis; they stick around" "Damn it, Lummy," says my audiophile acquaintance, Arturo, "You always mention the college bikini haul, but you never go into detail." Gro .......
260: Rocky Road, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, "Any Weather" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-09, 16:36:38 (162.205.183.92)
Normally, it takes weeks or a couple of months, for a new post to generate any significant email feedback. But the Joan Jett post below almost immediately generated a few. 10 years ago, I absolute .......
261: Rocky Road, Stryper, "No More Hell To Pay" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-08, 19:24:13 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, I worked at a public high school. But because of my long commute, I couldn't really stick around for evening/night sports, or chaperone field trips. However, whenever there were field .......
262: Rocky Road, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, "Hard To Grow Up" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-07, 17:59:34 (162.205.183.92)
10 years ago, I was working at a public high school, serving underprivileged kids. Both staff and students were constantly looking up music, although in different genres and time periods. A guy in .......
263: Rocky Road, Mick Mars, "Loyal To The Lie" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-06, 19:39:06 (162.205.183.92)
When we were in high school in the latter half of the 80s, we were led by the "bad boys of rock & roll," Motley Crue. They got us fired up, as we played sports, and took standardized tests. Sigh, .......
264: Rocky Road, Scorpions, "Don't Stop At The Top" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-05, 22:24:48 (162.205.183.92)
Early in the Fall 1988 semester, some of us saw the Scorpions (Winger opened) at the Cow Palace. The Scorpions stood out from other acts we'd seen, because they played with passion. However, our ne .......
265: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1116, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-04, 23:46:59 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-1980s, I knew about Kimber Kable. And in the early-1990s, I got to see and even try some of their products. But it was 1993-94, when I started to buy Kimber products, from San Francisc .......
266: Rocky Road, A-ha, "You Are The One" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-04, 18:27:16 (162.205.183.92)
"Weak!" yelled my friend Little Timmy. Growing up in the 80s, we never seemed to have enough friends, to play team sports. In 1987, as high school demands and academics increased, more and more of .......
267: Inmate Central, I'll run that by her (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-04, 17:03:06 (162.205.183.92)
My coworker has complained about her dad being a smoker. My friends and relatives do not smoke, so I was completely unaware of sticking a cigarette out the car's valence window. In Hawaii, if we were .......
268: Inmate Central, Had to look it up (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-04, 10:21:57 (162.205.183.92)
My coworker stole this photo from the internet. My late grandmother lived in Oakland, and her favorite restaurant was Piper's, which was located on the San Leandro side of MacArthur. It's now a chu .......
269: Inmate Central, Hinged valence window (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-04, 07:26:04 (162.205.183.92)
A coworker and I are both children of the 70s. We got into, not an argument, but a rack-our-brains discussion of older cars' hinged valence windows. We sorely miss them. She and I agreed that, we were .......
270: Rocky Road, Dokken, "It's Not Love (Live in Japan, 1988)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-03, 19:58:22 (162.205.183.92)
In late 1988, several friends had Muni Youth Passes, but we had to figure out how to get to the Japanese Tea Garden , located in the middle of Golden Gate Park. From the north, it was kind of near .......
271: Rocky Road, Ozzy Osbourne, "Fire In The Sky" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-03, 09:58:51 (162.205.183.92)
Sigh, the beginning throes of a 7-year drought, the Fall 1988 semester was, here in the Bay Area, dry. Living in even drier L.A., Ozzy Osbourne came out with "Fire In The Sky," which seemed to matc .......
272: Rocky Road, Metallica, "The Shortest Straw" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-02, 18:29:21 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, during the Fall 1988, when Metallica had come out with ...And Justice For All , we San Franciscans were proud to call them "ours." Aw damn, no straw! In the late-80s, San Francisco .......
273: Rocky Road, House Of Lords, "Love Don't Lie" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-01, 18:47:36 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I was a Homeroom Rep. As part of student government, Homeroom Reps were a small part of the planning for Winterball. After Halloween, we finalized the agreement with the venue. One we .......
274: Inmate Central, Tornado Potatoes (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-11-01, 17:59:44 (162.205.183.92)
When I entered college, my initial student activity groups were along religious affiliations. Later in freshman year, I joined the ethnic groups. At the very beginning of sophomore year, my friend .......
275: Rocky Road, Helloween, "I Want Out" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-31, 17:36:53 (162.205.183.92)
For 35 years, Halloween gives everyone cover or an excuse to play Germany's power metal band, Helloween. On Halloween 1988, they came out with "I Want Out." This would help land Helloween on MTV .......
276: Rocky Road, The Motels, "Suddenly Last Summer" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-30, 18:22:27 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, we had just entered 7th grade at Presidio Middle School. We could go down to Lands End Beach, and catch a glimpse of the Golden Gate Beach. We loved The Motels' "Suddenly Last Summer .......
277: Rocky Road, Paul Stanley "Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We're Apart)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-29, 12:43:29 (162.205.183.92)
45 yeas ago, the four members of KISS did something different, each coming out with a solo album. I was in 2nd grade, and my babysitter, Christina, had all four. She liked Paul Stanley's power ballad, .......
278: Rocky Road, Barry White, "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-28, 20:03:21 (162.205.183.92)
Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up" is now 50 years-old. As preschool kids in the 70s, we'd hear neighbors playing and listening to this. Back then, one of my babysitters remarked, "With mus .......
279: Rocky Road, Poco, "Magnolia" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-27, 13:37:12 (162.205.183.92)
After Buffalo Springfield broke up, Poco were formed. Poco's sound sort of defined SoCal country rock. Most of my friends were born in 1973, which was when Poco came out with Crazy Eyes . For the rest .......
280: Inmate Central, Ah, no wonder! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-26, 23:36:21 (162.205.183.92)
Out here, Eddie DeBartolo Sr., who owned the Pittsburgh Penguins, bought the San Francisco 49ers. At the time, the Niners were among the worst NFL teams. They ended the 70's with back-to-back 2-14 sea .......
281: Rocky Road, The 5th Dimension, "Stoned Soul Picnic" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-26, 17:12:19 (162.205.183.92)
The 5th Dimension's version of "Stoned Soul Picnic" is now 55 years-old. Yes, it's older than we are, but our parents listened to it for years. The neighborhood kids and I didn't know what a "stoned s .......
282: Inmate Central, Olddude55: are you a Penguins fan? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-26, 15:07:03 (162.205.183.92)
For 20 years, I've had an audiodharma Cable Cooker. We learned right away, that lending out the Cooker wasn't working. So instead, people send cables to us. A SoCal audiophile needed to have some old .......
283: Rocky Road, Colbie Caillat, "The Little Things" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-25, 17:41:27 (162.205.183.92)
In the 2000s, we got married and became parents. And so, before the kids entered kindergarten, we could schedule vacations during non-peak seasons. Travel was cheaper, and crowds were not as large. .......
284: Rocky Road, European audiophiles seem to like Sepultura (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-24, 21:01:56 (162.205.183.92)
Audiophiles from all over the world reach out to me. And of these, a greater percentage of European audiophiles seems to like heavy metal music, including Sepultura. In fact, continental Europe has .......
285: Rocky Road, Michelle Branch, "Breathe" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-24, 19:28:57 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, my friends were deep into their respective relationships. So much so, many couples were at that point, where they either break up or get married. Michelle Branch's "Breathe" was one .......
286: Music Lane, Colbie Caillat, "Still Gonna Miss You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-24, 18:52:48 (162.205.183.92)
We've been reviewing the Simaudio 760A power amp. Even before it got to me, it had been to several households and commercial venues. It's not as heavy as other high-end amps. So with some care, one .......
287: Music Lane, Colbie Caillat, "Pretend" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-23, 22:12:30 (162.205.183.92)
Earlier this year, we were in Nashville, where we learned that Colbie Caillat was working on a new album. That album, Along The Way , was released earlier this month, and it's actually country-ting .......
288: Rocky Road, Liz Phair, "Why Can't I?" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-23, 17:51:15 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, the engagements and weddings kept coming, left and right. While we were happy for the couples, the latter moved out of San Francisco. We knew we as a large group would no longer ge .......
289: Rocky Road, Natalie Imbruglia, "Smoke" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-22, 19:05:49 (162.205.183.92)
25 years ago, I had purchased Kimber Select interconnects and speaker cables, and was thus tapped out. But we still wanted to explore and have fun. So we went on a road trip to San Diego and the Me .......
290: Inmate Central, My wife was/is actually wearing a Flyers shirt (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-22, 14:52:32 (162.205.183.92)
.......
291: Inmate Central, Aw, show some love for the Flyers! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-22, 13:50:21 (162.205.183.92)
-Lummy The Loch Monster .......
292: Inmate Central, "First rain" of the season (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-22, 13:26:02 (162.205.183.92)
On Thursday, the Bay Area had near record highs. Luckily, we did not have any major fires. Not that we needed any excuses, but we went out for cold desserts. To escape the heat, we hit the Big S .......
293: Rocky Road, Ace Of Base, "All That She Wants" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-21, 22:51:40 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I bowled in a couple leagues at San Francisco's Japantown Bowl. And that's where I first heard about Ace Of Base. "All That She Wants" played over the PA, and we all looked at each other .......
294: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio W-7, Part 3 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-21, 15:33:39 (162.205.183.92)
During spring break 1990, while a freshman in college, I entered high-end audio. But uh-oh, while the hobby was taking off, as a college kid, you were penniless. Nevertheless, that entire Spring 19 .......
295: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 16 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-20, 20:43:46 (162.205.183.92)
"Opinions are like mixtapes; I don't want to hear yours." By the time my senior year (1992-93) at UC Santa Cruz started, I had become aware of the saying above. Many of you have been asking how the Si .......
296: Rocky Road, Carcass, "Heartwork" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-20, 11:51:52 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, my home alley was San Francisco's Japantown Bowl. We had lots of events away from home, most of which were in the Central Valley, along Highway 99. Once we got out of the Bay Area, we .......
297: Inmate Central, Using a single hair clip, to make a bun (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-19, 18:05:11 (162.205.183.92)
In high school, my friends were nerd girls. They typically did not do the nails, makeup, and hair. At most, they'd use an elastic band, and put their hair up in a pony tail. And then I got into colle .......
298: Rocky Road, Sepultura, "Slave New World" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-19, 14:40:10 (162.205.183.92)
"That looks phallic!" 30 years ago, we started to break free from the usual American foods. While the U.S. was prospering, the rest of the world, partially on account of the fall of communism, was .......
299: Inmate Central, Subway ad telling you to check your cookies (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 22:12:55 (162.205.183.92)
In September 1989, I entered college, moved into dorms at UC Santa Cruz's Crown College. Right off the bat, several coeds in my dorm hated the double standard, where guys were free to go around withou .......
300: Rocky Road, They were from Sacramento (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 19:53:46 (162.205.183.92)
In Spring 1987, my sophomore year of high school, we were on a college tour. When we hit UC Davis, a radio station played Tesla's "Modern Day Cowboy." We first saw Tesla in April 1989, when they op .......
301: Rocky Road, Sepultura, "The Hunt" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 18:34:33 (162.205.183.92)
When I look back at my sophomore year of high school (1986-87), that as the last time I had more guy friends, than girls. At certain parts of campus, the students who liked "modern rock" hung out. Whi .......
302: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 11 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 17:41:52 (162.205.183.92)
At UCSC (1989-1993), I was not a member of the Asian American Christian Fellowship. From the get-go, I was a member of the Catholic group. As such, when we did the Christian interfaith meetups, I w .......
303: Inmate Central, I have a buzzcut (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 14:06:43 (162.205.183.92)
So nothing really can clip or cling to my short hair. See link below. They are affordable. Maybe we audiophiles can use them to decorate skinny interconnects and speaker cables :-) .......
304: Inmate Central, Beis Mini Weekender, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 13:47:06 (162.205.183.92)
Starting after I graduated from college in 1993, I'd gather up to 3 friends, pile into a small economy subcompact car, and, from San Francisco, go on weekend getaways. You didn't need a large and b .......
305: Inmate Central, Butterfly Hair Clips (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-18, 10:29:32 (162.205.183.92)
"I don't have skin in the game," writes an audiophile originally from Atlanta. "I don't have any sisters, I don't have any daughters, hell I don't have much hair. But maybe that's why I love it, when .......
306: Rocky Road, Sepultura, "Territory" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-17, 20:51:00 (162.205.183.92)
Here in California, the end of 1993 was hot and dry. We happened to be in SoCal, when Brazil's Sepultura, who had just come out with the killer Chaos A.D , had a video for "Territory." My friend (b .......
307: Rocky Road, Kiss, "Let's Put The X In Sex" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-16, 22:04:45 (187.141.171.236)
You have to understand that, when it comes to the Fall 1988 semester, the majority of my friends consisted of nerd girls. So anything dealing with sex was abstract or academic. We had a friend, who .......
308: Rocky Road, Kylie Minogue, "The Loco-Motion" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-16, 11:18:27 (187.141.171.236)
During the Fall 1988 semester, my niece Heidi was born. And we Americans were introduced to Kylie Minogue, with her cover of "The Loco-Motion." Yesterday was my niece's wedding. My daughter (above) .......
309: Inmate Central, Calpak Luka Duffel, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-15, 15:31:07 (187.141.171.236)
In late summer 1992, my friends Ken and Roy decided to hop in the former's 2-door Honda Civic hatchback, and go on a road trip from San Francisco, down the Big Sur coast. They brought me and their .......
310: Music Lane, A couple of my nieces could go to Kailua High (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-15, 10:52:38 (187.141.171.236)
However, they have just entered 4th and 6th grade, so they have some time. Although after you graduated, my relatives would come down the coast from that side, and hit Lanikai, Bellows, and Sea Life .......
311: Music Lane, Where did you go to high school? (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-15, 08:59:10 (187.141.171.236)
Since I spent summers with relatives on Oahu, in the late-80s, I took summer school classes at Punahou. Now, my younger relatives go there, Iolani, Maryknoll, Hawaii Baptist, and various public school .......
312: Rocky Road, Chris de Burgh, "Missing You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-15, 08:21:20 (187.141.171.236)
When we were in high school in the late-80s, most of us liked Chris de Burgh's "The Lady In Red." My friend Briana would go to Mexico, the Caribbean, and the South Pacific. During the Fall 1988 sem .......
313: Rocky Road, Pet Shop Boys (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-14, 06:47:46 (162.205.183.92)
"Cold AF!" During the Fall 1988 semester, we first heard the Pet Shop Boys' "Domino Dancing" at our high school dances. Here, PSB brought in Producer Lewis Martinee, to give the same sound as he br .......
314: Rocky Road, Vaguely recall Sea Level (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-13, 23:17:56 (162.205.183.92)
In 1978-79, when we were just in elementary school, I vaguely recall adults and radio stations mentioning Sea Level, which came about, because the Allman Brothers Band was splintering. Problem was, we .......
315: Inmate Central, U:Dessert Story, Part 4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-13, 18:34:39 (162.205.183.92)
Many of my old high school friends, including my wife, went to UC Berkeley. The town was well-known for its eateries. But here's the thing. When my friends attended Cal, they could not afford to go .......
316: Music Lane, Kenny G, "Silhouette" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-13, 14:30:27 (162.205.183.92)
During the Fall 1988 semester, we were all in high school. One day, several of us took the 38-Geary bus, out to Lands End. Because we were in a drought, we had clouds, but not much rain. As we walk .......
317: Rocky Road, Tiffany, "All This Time" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-13, 09:43:42 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were in high school. Since we came from various parts of San Francisco, and had to commute to school, our parents were okay with us using our Youth Pass, and "playing tourist." The .......
318: Rocky Road, Ozzy Osbourne, "Crazy Babies" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-12, 16:30:46 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I was a senior in high school. I was a homeroom rep, so I got to participate in student government. First up on the agenda was the Senior Boat Dance. In a tough decision, our class of .......
319: Amp/Preamp Asylum, That must have been it (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-12, 14:53:03 (162.205.183.92)
That photo of the narrow and stacked Acoustat 1+1 looks like what was up against the wall, at Water Street Stereo. I went back to my early-90s Stereophile and TAS magazine. There was a column, sort .......
320: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Ah, that's why I missed Acoustat (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-12, 13:55:43 (162.205.183.92)
In the early-90s, I daydreamed about what "non-conventional" speakers, such as Acoustats would sound like. When it came to home audio, guys were all about surround sound, watts, and subwoofers. .......
321: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Water Street Stereo (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-12, 12:54:42 (162.205.183.92)
In summer 1991, I idiotically took the difficult Intermediate Macroeconomics at UH-Manoa. Look, if you are going to be in Hawaii during summer, take something fun. Instead, I spent hours in libraries, .......
322: Rocky Road, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, "Look Out Any Window" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-11, 22:55:54 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, some of my friends lived in cramped quarters, in San Francisco's Chinatown. When I'd go over to their homes, no wonder they (a) stayed on campus after school, (b) went to public libra .......
323: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Prefab Sprout, "The Ice Maiden" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-11, 22:21:20 (162.205.183.92)
When that 1990-91 school year started, I helped Kim, Ngoc, Pauline, Quyen, and Tuyet do a bikini haul. I kept shaking my head no. The bikinis we had didn't fit right, weren't the right style for th .......
324: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Acoustat (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-11, 18:40:34 (162.205.183.92)
I have no idea, which San Francisco stores carried Acoustat. In October 1991, I went to Santa Cruz's Water Street Stereo. They pushed some Acoustat (1+1, perhaps?) speakers up against the wall. So of .......
325: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Marred surfaces (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-11, 18:01:07 (162.205.183.92)
I do not recall seeing Jeff Rowland products, until the summer of 1992, when ACS and I went to dB Audio in Berkeley. When we entered the store, staff quickly whisked us to a corner with budget Creek g .......
326: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Jeff Rowland Criterion, Part 8 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-10, 23:37:12 (162.205.183.92)
I recently went back to my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. During the 1990-91 school year, my friend Kim lived in the Stevenson College dorms. Student Housing now supplies hard, vinyl-skinned Twin XL ma .......
327: Rocky Road, Impellitteri, "Stand In Line" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-10, 17:28:53 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I applied to colleges, including UC Santa Cruz. I didn't like standing in line at amusement parks, stores, bus stops, Kaiser, and restaurants. I honestly thought I'd end up at UH-Mano .......
328: Rocky Road, Death Angel, "Bored" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-09, 18:19:31 (162.205.183.92)
"Your friends aren't ugly ," said my classmate Seth, back in 1988, "But they aren't pretty , either." While Seth lumped all of my friends, including Magdalena (above) together, we latched on to loc .......
329: Rocky Road, Anthrax, "Who Cares Wins" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-09, 07:40:13 (162.205.183.92)
If we had photos from 1988-89, a shot of the Embarcadero would have shown the elevated freeway. Anyway, 35 years ago, some of my friends lived in Chinatown. So we'd walk to the Broadway Pier, where .......
330: Rocky Road, Antrhax, "Now It's Dark" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-08, 23:34:41 (162.205.183.92)
Most audiophiles were long out of high school, in the 1980s. Thus, they did not directly have the pleasure and frustration of using Sanrio stationery. Such products were popular among the nerd girl .......
331: Rocky Road, Anthrax, "Be All, End All" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-08, 11:21:23 (162.205.183.92)
"No," corrected our friend Stephanie, "That's a cello." 35 years ago, Stephanie was not one of the regulars, who came out to play sports. We had Anthrax's underwhelming then-new album, State Of Eup .......
332: Cable Asylum, Theta CD transports (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-07, 23:40:40 (162.205.183.92)
In April 1987, I got my very first CD player, the one-box Sony CDP-520ESII. In the early-90s, it seemed that, each month, a new review of a DAC would appear. But you'd have no use for a DAC, unless y .......
333: Rocky Road, Marty Friedman, "Namida (Tears)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-07, 20:38:36 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were in the beginning of a prolonged drought. Since we all lived in San Francisco, my friends during the week would make plans for the weekend. If we had large numbers, we could actua .......
334: Inmate Central, Calpak Luka Duffel, Part 1 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-07, 15:26:46 (162.205.183.92)
In late spring 1987, we went on college tours. We hit UC Davis smack dab in the middle of the day, when it was hot as hell, approaching the century mark. On this trip, we could not escape Club Nouv .......
335: Cable Asylum, Theta DACs (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-07, 12:33:46 (162.205.183.92)
During the 1991-92 school year, my friends April and Vanessa lived on the ground floor unit of Building 6. Their bedroom was behind the small tree, to your left-hand of the photo. During the Fall 1 .......
336: Rocky Road, Ozzy Osbourne, "Devil's Daughter" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-06, 09:29:00 (162.205.183.92)
I only spent the latter parts of summer 1988 in Honolulu. Previously, I had spent the entire summers there. Still, I happened to be in Honolulu, when my Mainland S.F. friends vacationed there. Even .......
337: Rocky Road, Forbidden, "Follow Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-05, 14:07:33 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we lived in San Francisco. From this vantage point, we knew about a new rock band, Forbidden. We picked up their debut, album, Forbidden Evil . The last song, "Follow Me" was technica .......
338: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Mark Levinson No. 431, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-04, 22:42:22 (162.205.183.92)
This was from 1974-75, at my grandmother's place in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood. At the time, I had several uncles, who had come back, or were still coming back from, the Vietnam War. None was .......
339: Rocky Road, Flotsam And Jetsam, "Escape From Within" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-04, 20:15:53 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, Jason Newstead was in Metallica. His old band, Flotsam And Jetsam, hired Troy Gregory, who would later join Prong. F&J had a new album, No Place For Disgrace . One of my friends had it o .......
340: Rocky Road, Overkill, "Hello From The Gutter" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-03, 18:53:13 (162.205.183.92)
"I had nothing to do with that," pleaded my friend Wayman, during the Fall 1988 semester. We liked to go out to play team sports. On their own accord, some of our nerdy female friends went shoe shoppi .......
341: Rocky Road, Robert Cray, "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-02, 18:59:41 (162.205.183.92)
During the Fall 1988 semester, several of my friends lived in San Francisco's Chinatown and North Beach. We often played sports at North Beach Playground, so we passed by Washington Square. We look .......
342: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 15 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-01, 23:29:55 (162.205.183.92)
1992 was my last summer of college. I did not need to take any classes, so I had two seasonal part-time jobs. I wanted to save my earnings, and use them towards high-end audio. At the time, the mai .......
343: Rocky Road, Robert Palmer, "Early In The Morning" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-01, 18:11:16 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Lake Merced, which was located across the street from my high school. In October 1988, if we got out early, fog shrouded campus and the lake. And we absolutely loved that Robert Palmer brou .......
344: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Despite living in S.F., we went to the Oakland Coliseum more than the 'Stick (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-10-01, 15:09:13 (162.205.183.92)
In the 80s, I had schoolmates who lived in all parts of San Francisco. Some even lived in Hunters Point and Visitation Valley, which were not far from Candlestick. There was only one road into the .......
345: Inmate Central, Cauldron Ice Cream (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-30, 21:21:07 (162.205.183.92)
Audiophiles not living here in California complain to me about eateries not yet making their way to other states. Sorry, here is another one, Cauldron Ice Cream, originally from SoCal in 2014. They ju .......
346: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 10 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-30, 17:36:20 (162.205.183.92)
In the mid-2000s, my audiophile friends started to try and use after-market fuses. At the same time, my old friend Ken went back to his parents' place in San Francisco's Richmond District. In the g .......
347: Rocky Road, 10,000 Maniacs, "What's The Matter Here?" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-30, 10:13:39 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, I had just entered my senior year of high school. While preparing to go out and play sports, I was over at a friend's house. The 10,000 Maniacs' jarring "What's The Matter Here?" made us .......
348: Rocky Road, Level 42, "Heaven In My Hands" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-29, 20:27:23 (162.205.183.92)
Because I spent summers in Honolulu with my relatives, I got to grow up with the smooth and soft Waiola Shave Ice. In the summer of 1986, Walkman in tow, I loved eating my shaved ice, and listening .......
349: Inmate Central, Richmond District (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-29, 15:17:39 (162.205.183.92)
San Francisco's Richmond District is roughly "the Avenues," north of Golden Gate Park, below the Presidio, and west of Arguello. The arcade on Broadway was there for ages. In fact, maybe it still .......
350: Inmate Central, You and I may have crossed paths! (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-29, 14:34:41 (162.205.183.92)
From 1982-1985, I went to Presidio Middle School. And in order to get there, I had to take the 38-Geary from Fillmore. Because of the cover art of the Asia album, where the dragon rises from the se .......
351: Inmate Central, Summer of '91 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-29, 10:57:18 (162.205.183.92)
Here's a 1991 ad of concert listings for two Bay Area clubs, Oakland's The Omni, and SF's The Stone. It's missing Santa Clara's One Step Beyond. These three clubs specialized in heavy metal. Since .......
352: Inmate Central, Family friends from Buffalo (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-29, 07:42:57 (162.205.183.92)
We actually have long-time friends in Buffalo, NY. They are more adamant, about having two perfect weather weeks in spring and two perfect weather weeks in fall. An uncle long ago told us that, becaus .......
353: Inmate Central, Playoff hockey (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-28, 23:07:41 (162.205.183.92)
Growing up here in S.F., during the 70s and 80s, we couldn't see hockey, if we wanted to. Without exposure, hockey, in terms of popularity, was probably behind golf, tennis, and soccer. The Spring 198 .......
354: Music Lane, Jason Becker, "Air" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-28, 21:55:30 (162.205.183.92)
In 1987-88, my friends had learned about local Bay Area band, Cacophony. It was basically a vehicle for the two guitarists, Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, to show off their shredding. When the 1988 .......
355: Inmate Central, I've never been close to western PA (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-28, 20:16:48 (162.205.183.92)
When I was 8, my family drove through Philadelphia. That was the closest I ever got to Pittsburgh - and that ain't close. What brought me and the vendor lady together was when she said to mail checks .......
356: Inmate Central, RE: Wet, cold ride this morning... (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-28, 16:15:08 (162.205.183.92)
One of my vendors works in Pittsburgh, PA. She says she adds her voice, to the chorus of "We have two weeks in the spring, and two weeks in the fall, when the weather is just perfect. But don't ask ab .......
357: Inmate Central, Different bags for different needs. (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-28, 13:55:36 (162.205.183.92)
A bag like the Beis Mini Weekender comes in handy, when one of your friends has that spur-of-the-moment, "C'mon, bitches! Grab your s--, and let's go" on a roadtrip, or quick flight to SoCal or Vegas .......
358: Inmate Central, Beis Mini Weekender (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-27, 22:58:10 (162.205.183.92)
In the summer of 1992, friends seemingly came over to my house everyday. Issues of TAS had cover photos of the Big Sur coast. And those photos inspired my friends. We thought, "Instead of taking I- .......
359: Rocky Road, Bon Jovi, "Born To Be My Baby" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-27, 21:52:47 (162.205.183.92)
An audiophile wrote to me, and complained, "For all of the Bon Jovi songs on the radio, they don't play Born To Be My Baby ." During winter break 1988, my friend, Big Booty Judy bought this 3" CD s .......
360: Rocky Road, Bon Jovi, "Bad Medicine" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-26, 18:05:04 (162.205.183.92)
In September 1988, the school year kicked off with, among others, Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine." My friends had music tastes all over the popular music spectrum, but lite metal like this brought us tog .......
361: Rocky Road, Billy Joel, "Tell Her About It" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-25, 18:07:37 (162.205.183.92)
40 years ago, I was at Presidio Middle School, which wasn't far from the Golden Gate Bridge. In those days, if you were a boy, you simply could not date above your socio-economic status. So then, B .......
362: Rocky Road, Patti LaBelle, "You Make It So Hard (To Say No)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-24, 16:29:12 (162.205.183.92)
We can't believe it's been 45 years, but in the late-70s, Boz Scaggs was here in San Francisco. Then Patti LaBelle did a cover of Scaggs' "You Make It So Hard (To Say No)." It was actually recorded .......
363: General Asylum, Simaudio 820S, Part 27 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-24, 00:07:30 (162.205.183.92)
"Wow wow wow, Lummy!" writes an audiophile who wishes to be addressed by his surname, O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor says, "I've been in this hobby for decades. Your review of the [Simaudio] 740P - which i .......
364: Rocky Road, Donny Hathaway, "Come Little Children" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-23, 13:26:44 (162.205.183.92)
50 years ago, wile most of us were infants, Donny Hathaway came out with Extension Of A Man . My African American neighbors had it. Later in the 70s, its "Come Little Children" seem to gather us neigh .......
365: Inmate Central, Well Within Spa, Part 3 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-23, 00:25:27 (162.205.183.92)
During the 1990-91 school year, my friend Tuyet lived in the dorms at UC Santa Cruz's Merrill College. That year, because of when and where her classes and my classes were, I spent more time with T .......
366: Rocky Road, Al Green, "You Ought To Be With Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-22, 16:20:32 (162.205.183.92)
Most of my friends were born in 1972 and 1973. So even though we may or may not have been born yet, Al Green's Call Me , since it was played by neighbors and parents, was ingrained in us. It's almost .......
367: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 14 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-21, 23:33:33 (162.205.183.92)
On Fathers Day 1993, with Sting's " If I Ever Lose My Faith In You " as the exit song, I graduated from UC Santa Cruz. And at the time, Naim advocated for having outboard power supplies as an upgra .......
368: Rocky Road, Maroon 5, "Sunday Morning" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-21, 15:49:06 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, I woke up as a married man. My wife and I just wanted to relax. Perhaps apropos, we overheard Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning." But it was my mom's birthday, and we had to return the Hu .......
369: Rocky Road, Anthrax, "Taking The Music Back" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-20, 18:15:47 (162.205.183.92)
We miss Five Happiness (photo above was a year or two ago) restaurant, which used to be on Geary near 6th. 20 years ago, I got married, and the luncheon was at Five Happiness. One of the new songs .......
370: Rocky Road, The Ocean Blue, "Bliss Is Unaware" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-19, 17:57:55 (162.205.183.92)
Oh man, here in California, Fall 1993 was sunny and hot. For me and my friends, The Ocean Blue's "Bliss Is Unaware" represented leaving the Bay Area, on our virgin road trips to SoCal. We were new .......
371: Rocky Road, Onyx, "Slam" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-18, 20:04:02 (162.205.183.92)
Oh hell yeah! 30 years ago, Onyx's "Slam" made crowds want to slam dance. When we were at San Francisco's BART stations, such as Powell, we wondered it'd be like, for the masses to slam dance. You .......
372: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Lumberjack Girl (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-17, 12:44:20 (162.205.183.92)
Because our kids are in high school, we've been taking them and their friends on a lot of college tours. And that includes my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. Because of the housing crunch, rooms which .......
373: Rocky Road, The Ocean Blue, "Either/Or" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-17, 12:18:24 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, stuck on San Francisco's Montgomery Street. 30 years ago, Audio Excellence (Classe', Martin-Logan, Theta, Thiel, Wireworld) were right across the street from the Transamerica Pyramid. You could .......
374: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 9 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-16, 23:33:00 (162.205.183.92)
We probably won't find it on many charts, but The Ocean Blue's Cerulean bridged the Spring 1991, Summer 1991, and Fall 1991 academic quarters. It had a major impact on me and my friends, who were t .......
375: Rocky Road, The Ocean Blue "Sublime" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-16, 16:52:34 (162.205.183.92)
When I entered college in September 1989, my dormmie, Andrea, introduced me to The Ocean Blue. More specifically, at Cowell's Beach, she played "Drifting, Falling" via boombox. In 1991, TOB's Cerulean .......
376: Inmate Central, Maybe 24 hours for me :-) (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-15, 21:14:31 (162.205.183.92)
Back in 1990-91, that glass enclosure over UCSC's Merrill College didn't exist. But anyway, my new friend Tuyet lived there. One night, following a club event, I walked Tuyet back to her dorm room. .......
377: Inmate Central, Lume Cream Deodorant, Part 6 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-15, 20:24:57 (162.205.183.92)
"I don't know how you pull it off," emails an audiophile, "But you often make touchy subjects both mature AND fun." He then goes on to state that his wife and daughters love Lume deodorant. "Once you .......
378: Rocky Road, Billy Joel, "Famous Last Words" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-15, 14:48:42 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, in the heat of Indian Summer, my friend Scylla was already a month into her junior year at UC Berkeley. Our friends Jayne and Kaye were about to go off to Davis and Santa Barbara, res .......
379: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Other than my housemates... (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-15, 07:54:52 (162.205.183.92)
...I did not spend much time with guys. And most of that was in intramural sports. So when it comes to my formulative years in high-end audio, there just aren't many guys. I try to go back to Santa .......
380: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 13 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-14, 22:52:13 (162.205.183.92)
During Winter Break 1992, my friend ACS (sophomore, UC Berkeley) and I (senior, UC Santa Cruz), were back home in San Francisco. Her parents' neighborhood had matrices of overhead wires. ACS reiter .......
381: Rocky Road, Cynic, "Veil Of Maya" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-14, 16:01:43 (162.205.183.92)
Here in the Bay Area, the Fall of 1993 was hot and dry. That was when my friends from UC Berkeley discovered a really interesting "progressive death metal" song, Cynic's "Veil Of Maya." I then u .......
382: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Rotel A11 Tribute, Part 9 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-13, 23:12:15 (162.205.183.92)
"OMG, I had hair," exclaims my old friend Kuma, "And it wasn't thin and gray and white, like it is now!" 1992 was my last summer of college. I was home at San Francisco, and worked a couple of seas .......
383: Rocky Road, Smashing Pumpkins, "Today" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-13, 17:44:49 (162.205.183.92)
We recently went to Cauldron Ice Cream, and had their "egg puff" waffle. Meanwhile, we overhead the Smashing Pumpkins' "Today." Believe it or not, that song has turned 30. Here in California, Fall .......
384: Rocky Road, New Order, "Liar" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-12, 18:03:50 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I joined the full-season leagues, at Japantown Bowl. Most of the bowlers were guys, but they did have female friends. Some of the girls would write or draw on their own arms. We loved .......
385: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1116, Part 4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-11, 22:07:33 (162.205.183.92)
After decades in San Francisco's Japantown, the Mifune restaurant no longer exists. But it far outlived Japantown Bowl, which closed in 2000. In summer 1993, my ex-girlfriend KJ and I were doubles .......
386: Rocky Road, TLC, "Get It Up" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-11, 20:41:50 (162.205.183.92)
Sorry, we don't have pictures from 1993, so these more recent ones will have to do. 30 years ago, my ex-girlfriend KJ was a month into her junior year at UC Berkeley. So I took BART over to Oakl .......
387: Rocky Road, Get it on SHM-CD (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-10, 21:25:22 (162.205.183.92)
Scanned this the best I could, but there's a charm, with these old photos. That was my girlfriend KJ, near Half Moon Bay. In 1988-89, Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime was one of our favorite inte .......
388: Rocky Road, Vai, "Still My Beating Heart" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-10, 19:24:07 (162.205.183.92)
In college, the person I most easily melded with was Kim. 30 years ago, as she was preparing to go back to UC Santa Cruz for her senior year, among the last songs we heard together was Vai's "Still .......
389: Rocky Road, Vai, "Here & Now" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-10, 14:04:06 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I was back home in San Francisco. I had no girlfriend, and only worked part-time. My friend Kim was preparing to go back to UC Santa Cruz for her senior year. We had Vai's Sex & Relig .......
390: Music Lane, The Ocean Blue, "Denmark" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-10, 11:53:03 (162.205.183.92)
In college in the early-1990s, The Ocean Blue were one of our favorites. At the end of 2001, we had their then-current album, Davy Jones' Locker To kick off 2002, TLS booked back-to-back session .......
391: Inmate Central, Well Within Spa, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-09, 22:09:39 (162.205.183.92)
During the 1990-91 school year, my friend Kim lived in the dorms at UC Santa Cruz's Stevenson College (above). I lived "up the hill" at Crown. At the end of that school year, both Kim and I would d .......
392: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 12 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-09, 17:32:07 (162.205.183.92)
Who's the lone idiot on his board, waiting for waves which will obviously not come that day? Oh, that was yours truly. Sorry, my cousin Carla is blocking your view of the break in the reef. The br .......
393: Rocky Road, Madonna, "Rain" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-09, 12:15:17 (162.205.183.92)
In October 1992, we were enjoying Indian Summer. And then Madonna came out with a new album, Erotica . There was a song called "Rain." And then, we had our First Rain. We did not know that those ra .......
394: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 8 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-08, 23:00:15 (162.205.183.92)
One month into my college career at UC Santa Cruz, the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck. Because that quake damaged the town, one of my dormmies remarked, "There was nothing to do." Th .......
395: Rocky Road, Book Of Love, "Pretty Boys And Pretty Girls" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-08, 13:42:32 (162.205.183.92)
Here in San Francisco, September is statistically our hottest month. However, the days are getting shorter, so while you are mentally and spiritually in summer, don't get too used to Indian Summer. .......
396: Rocky Road, Winger, "Higher And Higher" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-07, 12:23:31 (162.205.183.92)
We had drought, during the Fall 1988 semester. And when it did rain, that rain tended to fall on weekends, putting a damper on our efforts to play softball. That's why we, when we had enough bodies .......
397: Rocky Road, Winger, "Hangin' On" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-06, 21:55:22 (162.205.183.92)
My friend Shelly (right) went to a different high school, and was one year ahead of me. She had two older brothers, who were a lot older than she was. Thus, Shelly liked to joke that she was a "mis .......
398: Rocky Road, Steve Winwood, "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do?" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-05, 18:38:29 (162.205.183.92)
When the Fall 1988 semester started, Steve Winwood's "Roll With It" was still a big hit. And then, "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do?" was released... ...as a beer commercial! WTF?! My friends .......
399: Rocky Road, Metallica, "...And Justice For All" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-04, 16:11:27 (162.205.183.92)
Sigh, so this is what it's come to. My friend said she found this sort of see-through Metallica shirt at Target. 35 years ago, the 1988-89 school year began. On the first Friday, my parents actuall .......
400: Rocky Road, Queensryche, "Operation: Mindcrime" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-04, 11:59:44 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-80s, during the few times we had a camera, sometimes you just didn't want you picture taken. During that Fall 1988 semester, if you were wearing black, you would fit in with heavy metal .......
401: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Big Guns, LOL (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-03, 21:02:18 (162.205.183.92)
By 1987, the Mabuhay Gardens, located on the south side of Montgomery, had closed. Across the street, The Stone had opened, and was THE local club for heavy metal concerts. It was joined by simila .......
402: Inmate Central, Meet Fresh, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-03, 18:48:11 (162.205.183.92)
Okay, audiophiles want to come over, check out gear, stick cables on the Cable Cooker, and listen to music. But if you're going to meet up with me, we have a high probability of going out for desse .......
403: Rocky Road, Queensryche, "Revolution Calling" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-03, 13:05:18 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, my friends had just started the 1988-89 school year. After school, we went out to the volleyball courts. Ken and Skull popped in Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime cassette into the b .......
404: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 11 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-02, 17:07:18 (162.205.183.92)
Timing. If, in the late-1980s, you had met or known us, we were in high school. So if you came to our campus, the highlight was perhaps the dances. Those were so big, we had two DJ's. The hip hop/r .......
405: Rocky Road, Natalie Cole, "When I Fall In Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-02, 09:36:52 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were in high school, and entering San Francisco's Financial District could be intimidating. Never mind that some of us lived in high-crime neighborhoods; all those adults in FiDi w .......
406: Rocky Road, Robert Plant, "Ship Of Fools" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-09-01, 15:52:37 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, as the 1988-89 school year began, a dad drove his daughter, a friend, and me across the Golden Gate Bridge, to Marin County. While we were in the car, sone radio station played Robert .......
407: Rocky Road, Glenn Medeiros, "Long And Lasting Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-31, 15:23:38 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have photos from 1988. However, I spent the latter half of the summer of 1988 in Honolulu. Because of that, we knew that Kauai's Glenn Medeiros was working on a new album. And sure eno .......
408: Rocky Road, Will To Power, "Say It's Gonna Rain" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-30, 17:44:41 (162.205.183.92)
Well, we could always dream. 35 years ago, Will To Power's freestyle "Say It's Gonna Rain" was a club and dance hit. Problem was, here in the Bay Area, we were just in the beginning of a drought. T .......
409: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 10 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-29, 21:44:56 (162.205.183.92)
This is an aerial shot of southern San Francisco, looking south. At the bottom of the photo, spot the football field surrounded by a track. That belongs to my old high school. In late April 1986, t .......
410: Rocky Road, Europe, "Superstitious" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-29, 18:12:38 (162.205.183.92)
Oh oh oh! My high school was chock full of nerd girls. The vast majority stayed home, and played the bookworm role to the max. But then there were the few who came out to play sports with me and my fe .......
411: Rocky Road, House Of Hope (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-29, 17:54:43 (162.205.183.92)
During the 1991-92 school year, I lived in UCSC's Crown/Merrill apartments. I was in Building 2, which was at one end of the complex. My friend Tuyet, a Merrill student, lived here, in Building 11, .......
412: Rocky Road, Icehouse, "My Obsession" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-28, 18:12:44 (162.205.183.92)
My friends recently visited Oahu, and went to Matsumoto Shave Ice. And that reminded me that, at the end of summer 1988, when I was still in Honolulu, I heard, for the very first time, Icehouse's " .......
413: Rocky Road, Toni Childs, "Walk And Talk Like Angels" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-27, 13:33:34 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were all in high school. Sometimes, without any heads-up, we'd drop by at friends' homes. That's right, we'd just buzz, and see if so-and-so were home. Because my new friends were .......
414: Rocky Road, Blue Zone UK, "Jackie" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-26, 15:14:50 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, just before school started, my fellow seniors had to go out to campus, to take "senior portraits." The photoshoots took place out in the "T's," our so-called temporary classrooms, whi .......
415: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Good catch (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-26, 10:33:27 (162.205.183.92)
This is the view from UCSC's eastside, looking around/across Monterey Bay. When I went on walks, that meant I was torn away from the Stereophile and The Absolute Sound digests, I used to study. .......
416: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Rotel A11 Tribute, Part 8 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-25, 23:36:38 (162.205.183.92)
The first time I noticed a Rotel ad was in the September 1990 Stereophile. Prior to that, I had seen Rotel appear in retail stores' ads. But then I had to go back to UC Santa Cruz for my sophomore .......
417: Rocky Road, Keith Sweat, "Make It Last Forever" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-25, 15:54:25 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, Keith Sweat's slow song, "Make It Last Forever," was relatively popular. However, my classmates don't recall seeing a music video for it. Be that a it may, in 1989, "Make It Last For .......
418: Music Lane, Guns N' Roses, "Perhaps" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-25, 09:50:42 (162.205.183.92)
"You've got eyes on the back of your head!" In the year 2000, we started to hit our late-20s. Relationships got a little more serious, and you started to see the weddings and births. At this time, .......
419: Rocky Road, Brenda K. Starr, "What You See Is What You Get" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-24, 22:00:47 (162.205.183.92)
When the Spring 1988 semester wound down, you stayed in your room, while Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe" played. And you dreamed - no, you knew - that someday soon, you'd be back with your boyf .......
420: Rocky Road, Cyndi Lauper, "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-23, 18:00:26 (162.205.183.92)
Audiophiles love to write to me about their college experiences in the 1970s. A common theme is that there weren't too many females. And of the females, hardly any were ethnically Chinese. Uh oh. I .......
421: Rocky Road, The Moody Blues, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-22, 18:00:30 (162.205.183.92)
In summer 1988, we were in high school, and one of the dads got us to hop in the station wagon. So we went from San Francisco's Sunset, across the Golden Gate Bridge, to parts of Marin County. It w .......
422: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 7 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-21, 21:47:35 (162.205.183.92)
Time to throw speaker cables (all properly treated on an audiodharma Cable Cooker) at the Simaudio 760A. During the 1991-92 school year, my three housemates and I lived in the top/3rd floor unit. W .......
423: Rocky Road, UB40, "Red Red Wine" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-21, 17:39:55 (162.205.183.92)
Audiophiles like to laugh. But if you know anything about my friends, it's that they have never really imbibed alcohol. Instead, we are sugar fiends, downing lots of boba. 35 years ago, UB40's " .......
424: Rocky Road, Denise Lopez, "Sayin' Sorry (Don't Make It Right)" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-20, 20:29:28 (162.205.183.92)
At least once a week, someone will ask about, or for more, Freestyle. And since we operate in 5-year intervals, 1988 gets attention. And in 1988, Freestyle was big. "Where were these when I was in .......
425: Amp/Preamp Asylum, But Yang was from L.A. :-) (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-20, 16:11:01 (162.205.183.92)
Outside of the clubs, Yang had plenty of friends. It was just weird that someone that friendly and gregarious always showed up by herself. During 1992-93, three housemates and I lived on the top fl .......
426: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 9 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-20, 00:18:32 (107.77.211.165)
In the early-1990s, when high-end audio was taking off, I belonged to several student activity groups at UC Santa Cruz. One girl, Yang, despite being friendly with everyone, always showed up by hersel .......
427: Rocky Road, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, "Tumblin' Down" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-19, 17:56:31 (107.77.211.13)
Perhaps because of the popularity of "Tomorrow People," Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers' "Tumblin' Down" got overlooked. In fact, had I not been in Honolulu in late summer 1988, I may not have k .......
428: General Asylum, Grateful Dead Archive @UCSC's McHenry Library (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-18, 20:34:00 (107.77.211.112)
I attended UC Santa Cruz from 1989 to 1993. Although we had a Science Library, McHenry was our main. I spent hours here. Back then, because we did not use electronics, the facility did not have all .......
429: Rocky Road, Iggy Pop, "Cold Metal" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-18, 17:24:52 (107.77.211.19)
35 years ago, in late summer 1988, Iggy Pop came out with the weird lite metal song, "Cold Metal." Oh well, with this entry into the glam metal of the time, my nerdy classmate tried to put on eyeli .......
430: Rocky Road, The Primitives, "Crash" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-17, 13:39:04 (162.205.183.92)
Maybe once or twice a week, readers will complain to me about audiophiles' lack of "modern rock" examples. Well, you really had to be in high school and/or college, during the 80s, in order to have .......
431: Rocky Road, The Bible, "Crystal Palace" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-16, 18:02:19 (162.205.183.92)
I originally was introduced to The Bible's "Crystal Palace," in late summer 1988. My family was at the Shirokiya in Ala Moana shopping center. At the time, Shirokiya was the place , to look for consum .......
432: Rocky Road, UB40 & Chrissie Hynde, "Breakfast In Bed" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-15, 18:15:48 (162.205.183.92)
In late summer 1988, we were in Honolulu. Once that powerful sun comes up, you can't sleep. So one morning, even though we wanted breakfast in bed, we went to Leonard's Bakery. They had breakfast p .......
433: Rocky Road, In Tua Nua, "All I Wanted" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-14, 19:06:20 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, the foot of San Francisco's Market Street. When we were in high school in the late-80s, some of us took MUNI Metro across town, and ended up in the Financial District. Some of my classmates bro .......
434: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Some friends, including my wife, were from SF Chinatown (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-14, 18:54:26 (162.205.183.92)
We grew up in the 80s, and I still marvel, at how my schoolmates, who lived in cramped Chinatown, were able to get good grades. During junior year, most of my new friends were nerd girls. After sch .......
435: Rocky Road, Tracy Chapman, "Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-13, 22:16:14 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, a few publications praised Tracy Chapman's debut eponymous album. Critics pointed out the socially-aware "Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution." Since we were in high school, we didn't know abo .......
436: Rocky Road, Stevie B, "Spring Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-13, 00:54:42 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Lake Merced. It sits across the street from my old high school. When I was there in the late-80s, no one had heard of Dragon Boat racing. Instead, it was about our dances. And that's where we .......
437: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Rotel A11 Tribute, Part 7 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-12, 11:22:03 (162.205.183.92)
By Memorial Day 1992, my friend and writing partner, Scylla, was done with her freshman year at UC Berkeley. Because of the variety of activities, Scylla's summer was actually more busy, than the r .......
438: Rocky Road, Terence Trent D'Arby (Sananda Maitreya), "Sign Your Name" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-11, 15:41:11 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, summer of 1988. We were waiting for the next school year to start, when we'd go to San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Back then, Sananda Maitreya was known as Terence Trent D'Arby. Via boombox, "Sign .......
439: Rocky Road, Savatage, "Sirens" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-10, 12:57:40 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1983. But when Savatage came out with "Sirens" in 1983, we were in junior high. I myself was at Presidio Middle School, not far from San Francisco's Ocean Beach (a .......
440: Rocky Road, Christopher Cross, "All Right" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-09, 19:44:03 (162.205.183.92)
I first met my old friend Sue in 1987, when we were in high school. From my perspective, she always had a scar on her left shoulder. That scar being permanent, she still has it. She claims that .......
441: Rocky Road, OMD, "Telegraph" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-08, 20:44:39 (162.205.183.92)
In 1983, which was (sigh) 40 years ago, OMD came out with "Telegraph." In those days, we just had landline phones. No cellular service, VOIP, Wi-Fi, etc. Geez, we did not even have Caller ID and ca .......
442: Rocky Road, The Fixx, "Saved By Zero" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-07, 17:07:38 (162.205.183.92)
Sorry, we don't have photos from 1983. But during the summer of 1983, I stayed with my grandparents in Honolulu. Once the sun started going down, my brother, cousins, and i would get restless. As .......
443: Inmate Central, Ouai Chill Pills (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-06, 21:13:34 (162.205.183.92)
My friend Judy recently came back to our hometown of San Francisco. We met up at Japantown. While going to Cafe Maiko, she noticed that Kabuki Springs still exists. In May/June 1992, my old friend .......
444: Rocky Road, Marty Balin, "Do It For Love" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-06, 10:47:25 (162.205.183.92)
In 1983, I attended Presidio Middle School. When there wasn't fog, we could see the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. Moreover, my PAL baseball team had its home games in the Presidio, wh .......
445: Rocky Road, Barry Manilow, "Even Now" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-05, 18:07:04 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1978. But that was when Barry Manilow came out with that lite rock staple, "Even Now." San Francisco's KOIT had it in rotation. My late grandmother lived in Oakla .......
446: Rocky Road, Genesis, "Many Too Many" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-05, 17:24:54 (162.205.183.92)
Rob, an audiophile from Diamond Bar, writes, "Geez, I've 'known' you since you were the Seahorse. I was impressed with your musical selection and knowledge then. You just keep getting better and bette .......
447: Inmate Central, Lume Cream Deodorant, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-04, 22:37:51 (162.205.183.92)
In the 1990s, we were in and just out of college. That's when we were new and inexperienced drivers. For the most part, our families lent us the little economy subcompact cars. They were easy to drive .......
448: Rocky Road, Genesis, "Deep In The Motherlode" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-04, 14:53:37 (162.205.183.92)
In the mid-70s, Peter Gabriel left the band, Genesis. In 1977, guitarist Steve Hackett left Genesis. So, 45 years ago, in 1978, Genesis, now consisting of Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Tony Banks .......
449: Rocky Road, Led Zeppelin, "Over The Hills And Far Away" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-03, 13:24:39 (162.205.183.92)
Led Zeppelin's "Over The Hills And Far Away" came out in 1973, when we were babies, or about to be born. Because our parents listened to it, it became part of our DNA. For us little tykes living in .......
450: Rocky Road, Dusty Springfield, "Of All The Things" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-02, 23:07:19 (162.205.183.92)
No, we don't have any photos from 1973. But that's when Dusty Springfield came out with the slow song, "Of All The Things." When I was a toddler in the mid-70s, my clan went to the windward Oahu be .......
451: Rocky Road, ABBA, "Ring Ring" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-08-01, 18:28:08 (162.205.183.92)
Growing up in the 70s and 80s, we from Honolulu would go to Tamashiro Market, out in Liliha. That's where our families went for fresh seafood. I'm pretty sure Tamashiro Market was the first poke I .......
452: Rocky Road, The Rascals, "People Got To Be Free" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-31, 19:25:01 (162.205.183.92)
Uh oh, in offices and schools, feting the 1960s is a common theme. The Rascals' "People Got To Be Free" is now 55 years-old. When I attended UC Santa Cruz in the early 90s, the university, havi .......
453: Rocky Road, Dick Dale, "Mexico" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-30, 17:38:44 (162.205.183.92)
We can't "go back" to 1963, if we were not yet born. But 1963 was when Dick Dale came out with the all-over-the-place King Of The Surf Guitar . It included an instrumental, "Mexico," which was high .......
454: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1116, Part 3 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-29, 23:13:24 (162.205.183.92)
For me and my friends, the 1991-92 school year was pretty damn impactful. One of the biggest factors was moving out of dorms, and into apartments. I did not end up getting back with my ex-girlfrie .......
455: Rocky Road, Boz Scaggs, "Little Miss Night And Day" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-29, 16:18:41 (162.205.183.92)
Five years ago, I don't think we had heard of COVID. So we were jammed into office buildings. Five years ago, Boz Scaggs may not have been in San Francisco. He may have been on tour, where he fi .......
456: Rocky Road, Boz Scaggs, "Rock And Stick" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-28, 16:40:07 (162.205.183.92)
Five years ago, one of my former students had graduated from college, and was in my hometown of San Francisco. And that's when we discovered that another San Franciscan, Boz Scaggs, had a new album .......
457: Inmate Central, U:Dessert Story, Part 3 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-27, 23:00:30 (162.205.183.92)
With or without global warming, we've always liked shaved ice. Although San Francisco's U:Dessert Story do have colorful and cool-looking drinks, drinks are not the main attraction. In our last .......
458: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 6 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-27, 19:09:48 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, 11:25a in front of the Stanford clock tower. During the first half of the 2010s, I worked at Stanford. A handful of individual South Bay audiophiles would meet me in person, and hand me their c .......
459: Rocky Road, Boz Scaggs, "Corrina, Corrina" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-27, 14:39:01 (162.205.183.92)
Ten years ago, New York's popbar made it to Anaheim, where it continues to be highly popular today. On a trip to SoCal, we learned about Boz Scagg's beautiful rendition of "Corrina, Corrina." At .......
460: Rocky Road, Boz Scaggs, "She Was Too Good To Me" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-26, 18:43:07 (162.205.183.92)
15 years ago, my friend Jacey took me to a Himalayan salt sauna. On this little excursion, we came across Boz Scaggs' "She Was Too Good To Me," which was from his then-new album, Speak Low . While .......
461: Rocky Road, Boz Scaggs, "How Long Has This Been Going On?" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-25, 22:19:01 (162.205.183.92)
20 years ago, the weddings were happening left and right. We still took time to go to Disneyland, cool down with Dole Whip, and munch on churros. Back at our hotel room, one of the music channels .......
462: Rocky Road, Catherine Wheel, "The Nude" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-24, 19:10:40 (162.205.183.92)
Earlier this year, my friends (3 husbands on left, 3 wives on right) went hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Because of the rains, many of the trails were muddy. At the same time, we heard Catheri .......
463: Inmate Central, U:Dessert Story, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-23, 17:31:07 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, Mission High. It's just across the street from Dolores Park. Some of my friends are alums of Mission High, and I'm sure some of you audiophiles are, too. Well, walk a few blocks northeast, and .......
464: Rocky Road, Billy Joel, "The River Of Dreams" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-23, 11:16:41 (162.205.183.92)
Here in the Bay Area, you could argue that "our rivers" are the Sacramento and San Joaquin, which flow into the Bay. In the summer of 1993, my ex-girlfriend KJ was a junior at UC Berkeley (above). .......
465: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio P-740P, Part 8 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-22, 14:22:27 (162.205.183.92)
As you go through life, people will besmirch and falsely accuse you. During our senior year (1992-1993) at UC Santa Cruz, my friend Tuyet started writing on the whiteboard outside my front door. .......
466: Rocky Road, Apache, "Gangsta Bitch" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-22, 00:01:48 (162.205.183.92)
Okay, okay, okay, let's back up a little bit. During the Spring 1993 quarter, my last at UC Santa Cruz, I milked it for it was worth. And part of that included intramural sports. It was via friends in .......
467: Rocky Road, That's Frank Chu (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-21, 23:38:13 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-90s, I worked in San Francisco's Financial District. When I'd make my way to Market Street, I'd often see Frank Chu. He donned the shades, hobbled, and held a sign. In 2004, I temporarily .......
468: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1116, Part 2 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-21, 18:21:36 (162.205.183.92)
In 1989, while I was already an audiophile, but not yet into "high-end audio," KJ and I had a prom, at San Francisco's Westin St. Francis hotel. 8 years later, I was deep into high-end audio. At t .......
469: Inmate Central, Working at Stanford (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-21, 12:34:10 (162.205.183.92)
I had stints in Student Housing and the Graudate School of Education. My immediate coworkers were not alums. Even if you live near campus, it takes time, to navigate campus, find parking, and then .......
470: Inmate Central, George Shultz (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-21, 10:29:48 (162.205.183.92)
Holy cow, you got to perform with Joan Baez?! Photo above is of moving into another Stanford office space. Each building has mail services, but for letters. One fine early afternoon, I had to go to .......
471: Inmate Central, I didn't know you went to Stanford (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-20, 19:08:48 (162.205.183.92)
In 2011, I was working at Stanford. One morning, I actually got to campus a little early. I had entered from Serra, and saw a couple of stiff dudes in business suits. Just up ahead, on Campus Drive .......
472: Rocky Road, MC Lyte, "Ruffneck" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-20, 16:05:56 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, Scylla, Jayne, and I drove from San Francisco to Santa Barbara, to meet our friend Kaye, who was a junior at UCSB. Remember, this was the era of grunge and rap. The latter was so wide .......
473: Rocky Road, Death, "The Philosopher" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-19, 19:23:15 (162.205.183.92)
Summer of 1993 was just a weird period. Grunge and rap had taken over. Or rather, all forms of media crammed those down our throats. So there was a thirst for other musical genres. And that's where .......
474: Amp/Preamp Asylum, 740P/760A combo requires a little more work (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-19, 00:03:58 (162.205.183.92)
The Simaudio 600i integrated amp can be plopped anywhere, and it will be fine. If I were to replace my 600i, it could end up at my parents' Honolulu place, which is a couple blocks from King & Kee .......
475: Rocky Road, Manic Street Preachers, "From Despair To Where" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-18, 21:24:36 (162.205.183.92)
In 1993, because grunge had taken over, MTV didn't feel the need to air so many videos. But one which MTV did slip in, alongside grunge, was the Manic Street Preachers' "From Despair To Where." And .......
476: Inmate Central, U:Dessert Story, Part 1 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-17, 22:07:15 (162.205.183.92)
During Spring Break 1990, I came home to San Francisco. For my upcoming 18th birthday, my parents asked what material things I wanted. Since we already had a Sony TA-E1000ESD preamp, the next logical .......
477: Rocky Road, O.M.D., "Everyday" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-17, 17:40:38 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, I had graduated from college, and moved back home to San Francisco. I bowled league at Japantown Bowl. Amongst us bowlers, O.M.D.'s new "Everyday" was a hit. I was then asked if I wan .......
478: Rocky Road, O.M.D., "Christine" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-16, 20:13:51 (162.205.183.92)
In the summer of 1993, my friend Christine had O.M.D.'s Liberator , and saw that there was deep album cut, with her name. After reading the lyrics, we thought that "Christine" may have been a stripper .......
479: Amp/Preamp Asylum, That's why the 760A has come my way (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-16, 19:56:55 (162.205.183.92)
Within my audiophile circle/network/web is a guy now in Florida. He owns the Simaudio 760A, which I am reviewing. He knew I'd be an ideal candidate to review it, because (a) it doesn't run hot or make .......
480: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 5 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-16, 10:51:37 (162.205.183.92)
Back in November 2022, we wrote about a-ha's " True North ," which caused an audiophile named Paul to re-connect with me. He writes, "I was quite surprised at how mature, lovely, and moving this song .......
481: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 7 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-15, 20:26:44 (162.205.183.92)
From 1989 to 1991, I lived in UCSC's Crown College dorms (above). Hardly anyone had a larger impact on my life, than Juju. She had this way of diffusing tension, of making any topic, no matter how .......
482: Rocky Road, O.M.D., "Dream Of Me (Based On "Loves Theme")" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-15, 18:11:45 (162.205.183.92)
30 years ago, grunge culture made the 1970s popular again. And that included flannel. It also included disco, but instead of calling it disco, it was brought into the modern day as "dance music." .......
483: Rocky Road, Pet Shop Boys, "Can You Forgive Her?" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-14, 15:07:08 (162.205.183.92)
"Oh man, brutal," moans my old friend Penelope. By the time she was in college in the mid-90s, she "sort of knew which guys were gay, even if they didn't admit it." In summer 1993, the Pet Shop Boy .......
484: Inmate Central, National Nude Day (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-14, 08:44:24 (162.205.183.92)
July 14 is National Nude Day. It supposedly started in New Zealand - where July is winter , not summer. Today is the day to don your birthday suit. But do be aware of your local laws. We wouldn't want .......
485: Rocky Road, Sting, "Shape Of My Heart" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-13, 21:45:05 (162.205.183.92)
Sorry, we don't have photos from 1993. But 30 years ago, my future wife lived in San Francisco's Chinatown. From there, it was a short walk down Kearny Street, to Ultimate Sound. It was 30 years .......
486: Amp/Preamp Asylum, They make their own (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-12, 23:34:11 (162.205.183.92)
The Penny Ice Creamery did not exist, until 2010. They are one of the few, who make their ice cream. They also have waffle irons, to make their own cones. Blood orange is on top, while chocolate c .......
487: Rocky Road, Slayer, "Mandatory Suicide" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-12, 17:22:55 (162.205.183.92)
When audiophiles write to me, they don't like when girls rode a skateboard or surfboard. And the 'philes really don't like, when those girls got injured in sports. 35 years ago, Slayer's "Mandatory .......
488: Rocky Road, Slayer, "South Of Heaven" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-11, 17:23:19 (162.205.183.92)
Before you see the light, you must die!!! Oh man oh man oh man! 35 years ago, during the summer of 1988, with Slayer hailing from Los Angeles, it seemed as though the L.A. Raiders, not the S.F 49er .......
489: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 760A, Part 4 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-10, 23:44:39 (162.205.183.92)
When I entered college in September 1989, Prefab Sprout's Protest Songs greeted me. When sophomore year began in September 1990, Prefab Sprout's Jordan: The Comeback kicked things off. When senior .......
490: Rocky Road, Brentwood, CA (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-10, 21:25:17 (162.205.183.92)
In the late-90s, my friend Sau Lai worked somewhere not too far from the San Francisco Costco, near the 101/80 split. Her boyfriend (now husband) lived in the South Bay and worked for HP. Since his cl .......
491: Rocky Road, Cinderella, "Coming Home" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-10, 16:24:47 (162.205.183.92)
In the summer of 1988, my friends and I did what a lot of local families do: go out to Brentwood farms, and pick fruit. Hot as hell out there. Something about the bluesy hard rock of Cinderella's .......
492: Rocky Road, Nuclear Assault, "Brainwashed" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-09, 22:32:20 (162.205.183.92)
35 years ago, we were in high school, and in our hometown of San Francisco, SOMA was a wasteland. Now it's home to office towers and multi-million dollar condos. In that summer of 1988, MTV played .......
493: Inmate Central, dr.ink in San Jose (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-09, 21:37:24 (162.205.183.92)
Audiophiles know that whenever they are done listening to the home stereo, they can join me for drinks. Just outside of San Jose's San Pedro Square is dr.ink. We are not sure if that is pronounced .......
494: Rocky Road, Paula Abdul, "Knocked Out" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-08, 23:00:02 (162.205.183.92)
Who's that guy, freezing his buns off, in the frigid S.F. Ocean Beach waters? Oh that was yours truly. In the summer of 1988, we loved Paula Abdul's "Knocked Out." Except, well, KG (second from you .......
495: Cable Asylum, Kimber KS-1116, Part 1 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-08, 22:32:26 (162.205.183.92)
Around Memorial Day 1991, as my sophomore year at UC Santa Cruz was winding down, I met with my Academic Advisor. He reiterated that I had to pick a major. At this point, I had eliminated just about e .......
496: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simaudio 740P, Part 6 (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-08, 11:17:57 (162.205.183.92)
If you go to Santa Cruz, the beaches at Natural Bridges and in front of the Boardwalk are the most popular. But get away from these two, and you may find the other beaches devoid of people. Suc .......
497: Rocky Road, Stryper, "The World Of You And I" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-08, 09:18:48 (162.205.183.92)
Ah, mother/daughter time. My old friend (right) seems to have passed some of her clothes to her teenaged daughter. One thing my core friends did not do in and around San Francisco was fishing. The .......
498: Inmate Central, 100% Bamboo Bedsheets (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-07, 22:34:53 (162.205.183.92)
We were in college, before the smoothie craze. So we didn't have a lot of flavors to choose from. Here, Kim (yellow top with blue shorts) was waiting for a banana smoothie, while the rest of us got .......
499: Rocky Road, Stryper, "I Believe In You" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-07, 18:48:02 (162.205.183.92)
"It's not as good as Honestly ." 35 years ago on a foggy summer '88 day, my friends walked along the San Francisco coast. And of course, we talked about music. Some of us had the new Stryper album, .......
500: Rocky Road, Vinnie Moore, "April Sky" (0.00)
Posted by Luminator on 2023-07-06, 18:20:37 (162.205.183.92)
Oh my oh my. 35 years ago, many of my friends had come out to San Francisco's Sunset District, to play softball. Once the fog cleared, it was gorgeous. My friend Skull had Vinnie Moore's new album, .......
Found total of 500 records, Query: , Author: Luminator in All Forums, Time: 3 sec.