Innehållsförteckning för October/November 2023 från Sound & Vision

Has this ever happened to you? You’re cruising down the boulevard, listening to your favorite music on your favorite radio station, then suddenly your infotainment system goes dead. WTH? If you were driving a Mazda, this might sound all too familiar. Car radios still contain the traditional bits and pieces of analog radio circuitry, but they also contain IBOC (in-band on-channel) digital radio hardware and software. In particular, newer radios receive AM and FM analog radio transmissions and they also receive HD radio data streams in the same bands. That data provides higher audio fidelity and the ability to add auxiliary data such as images. But as with all things digital, if there’s a 0 or 1 in the wrong place, bad things can happen. And last year, bad things…

Q Is there a way I can play music from my iMac’s Music app through my Pioneer SX-1250 Receiver? PAUL A Certainly, connecting your iMac to a vintage Pioneer SX-1250 Receiver offers a unique blend of the digital and analog worlds. The most straightforward method to achieve this connection is using a 3.5mm to dual RCA cable. Simply plug the 3.5mm end into your iMac’s headphone jack and the RCA ends into an available ‘Line In’ port on your Pioneer receiver. This analog connection is easy and convenient, but it might not offer the highest sound quality possible. For audiophiles who seek improved audio fidelity, employing a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) could be the right choice. In this setup, you’d connect the USB output from your iMac to the…

Only a few moments into Across the Spider-Verse’s two-hour-and-20-minute runtime, we can begin to understand why this sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse took almost five years to arrive. Dramatically bold and visually (and sonically) fearless, the movie is exhausting in the best possible sense, inviting the audience along on a mind-boggling adventure and daring us to keep up. Let’s assume you’ve seen the first film—although we’re given smartly encapsulated backstories when needed—and now Brooklyn’s arachno-teen Miles Morales is growing into his superpowers, which prove useful against a deceptively dangerous new nemesis with the ability to open portals between universes. This threat attracts the attention of a vast Spider-Society staffed by web-slingers of every description, headed by the darkly formidable Miguel O’Hara. Rather than recruit Miles, they want to…

PRIVATELY, MANY of us have surely dreamed of being Ferris Bueller, although I’d wager that even more of us would simply love to have him for a best friend. In a career-defining performance from Matthew Broderick, no doubt aided by his stage background and with charisma to spare, the good-spirited Mr. Bueller plans one perfect day for himself, his girlfriend Sloane and his BFF Cameron before their next chapter begins. It’s a joyful few hours at that, albeit one that involves some fast talking, arm twisting, computer hacking and the occasional outright lie. The us-versus-our-parents vitriol of John Hughes’ previous effort, The Breakfast Club, is tempered here by Ferris’ loving relationship with his gullible mom and dad, and his inspired use of fourth wall-breaking pushes the movie into fresh comedic…

RANKED AS the #4 greatest love story of all time by the American Film Institute, Roman Holiday—director William Wyler’s 1953 fairy tale—memorably captures the bustling streets and iconic sites of Rome. The story is set against the backdrop of post-war Europe, expressing the exhilaration of not only embracing long-awaited peace but joyously breaking free as young Princess Ann retreats from her royal obligations and finds adventure. This movie put Audrey Hepburn on the map, and I thoroughly enjoy the story’s unapologetically schmaltzy romance blended with light humor. There are lots of wonderful little moments in this film which is a testament to the inspired writing and direction. It’s difficult to not be enamored by Ms. Hepburn and we can see why she is revered as a true screen legend, and…

ABC didn’t exactly fit into the expected early-1980s new-wave mold—and that was just fine with the band’s co-founding lead vocalist and chief songwriter, Martin Fry. To that end, ABC’s debut album, June 1982’s synth-pop classic The Lexicon of Love, cut a wide compositional swath that deployed a mixture of broadstroke keyboard flourishes, grand orchestral swells, and call-and-response vocal passages. And now, the album sounds even fuller in its recently released Dolby Atmos mix, one that can be found on The Lexicon of Love’s standalone 40th anniversary High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray and as part of its concurrent 4LP/1BD box set (both Neutron/UMC). In a recent Zoom interview, Fry and I discuss why he feels listening to The Lexicon of Love in Atmos is akin to “climbing inside a crystal kingdom,”…

As streaming media has grown over the past decade, many of us have migrated, cutting the cord from cable/satellite providers to getting all our entertainment through streaming services. At first, it was a bargain, a relief from spending over $100 per month for cable. We could watch what we wanted when we wanted without commercials. Now that more than half the cable TV households have switched to streaming only, most of the benefits of cutting the cord are disappearing or becoming more expensive. This fall, many services are raising their rates for ad-free plans, and media analysts say it’s not over. Business Insider reported that subscription prices have surged almost 25% over the past year. According to Wall Street media research firm Bernstein Research, the combined subscription price to Disney+,…

DISNEY’S BELOVED Cinderella proffers a more traditional telling than I’ve been exposed to in recent years, distinct from the versions by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm or even Rodgers & Hammerstein’s subsequent musical take on the same source material. Although it devotes excessive screen time to her rodent allies, it remains an emotionally satisfying and all-too-human tale of an oppressed young woman forced to work as a servant in her own family home. On the night she reaches her lowest emotional ebb, she’s rewarded for her inherent kindness with a magical gift—conditions attached—that might just be enough to deliver her from her current predicament. This 4K restoration had previously been a Disney Movie Club exclusive but is now available to all. Having worked as a projectionist during a theatrical reissue of…

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 finds our beloved band of misfits set on repairing the extreme damage done by Thanos during his run-in with The Avengers. It isn’t long before the Guardians’ attempt to return to normal is upended by a brutal attack from a new enemy who has a direct connection to Rocket’s turbulent past and will use any means to fulfill his quest. Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #3, this volume is the final installment in the trilogy. Written and directed by James Gunn, this film like its predecessors is a perfect blend of tongue-in-cheek humor, action, well-shaped characters and inventive energy. This one adds a palpable level of emotion which underscores the narrative, while staying true to the arc across all three movies. The…

COMBINING TWO bits of Finnish history—their gold rush plus the Germans’ retreat across the country in 1944—into something uniquely original, writer/director Jalmari Helander’s Sisu spins a thrilling, uber-violent work of fiction. A particularly nasty squad of Nazis crosses paths with lone miner Aatami (Jorma Tommila) who is more than what he seems, and when their arrogance and greed incur his wrath, the bodies begin to pile up. The title is a Finnish word that loosely translates to a sort of superhuman courage, and we soon see that our hero has that to spare. He doesn’t talk much, rather the lines etched in his deadly serious face say it all. There’s an undeniable purity to the storytelling here, nothing is wasted, and at only about an hour and a half, it’s…

NO ONE does self-loathing, despair, and existential angst quite like Trent Reznor. Right from the outset of his then one-man band Nine Inch Nails’ October 1989 TVT debut album Pretty Hate Machine and the unforgiving, snarling manifesto of its opening track “Head Like a Hole,” Reznor threw down the gauntlet of NIN’s take-no-prisoners aural template. Within NIN, he enmeshed industrial synthesizer clank, metal-riff drang, searing layered instrumentation, and sneering vocals all into an unapologetically abrasive style that came to define one particular slice of 1990s alt-rock culture. With NIN’s sophomore album, March 1994’s 14-song, 65-minute darkwave magnum opus The Downward Spiral, Reznor left most of his contemporaries behind. Since Spiral was made during the height of the digital age, most of us initially experienced its punishing music via the 1994…

In switching from a 7-year-old 55-inch LCD to a new 65-inch OLED TV, I’ve been awestruck by the transformation in picture quality. Yet, the upgrade has not been pain free. This is partly due to the manufacturer’s abandonment of legacy ports. The stereo output that connected to my reliable analog headphone transmitter is gone. Didn’t Sony, the manufacturer of my new TV, realize that when two people share an apartment, private listening keeps them from driving each other crazy? This is stated in the maxim: the basis of a good marriage is a set of wireless headphones. Since the new TV does have a digital optical audio output, my workaround was to buy an inexpensive digital-to-analog converter and connect it to the transmitter. No dice! A Sony tech rep I…

As I write this, we are in the height of summer! Where I live in South Carolina, the beaches are packed, families are enjoying the last days of summer vacation by the pool, and outdoor entertaining is on my customers’ minds. In my previous column, I discussed outdoor audio solutions, ranging from good (portable/Bluetooth speakers), to better (multiple surface mount/rock speakers), to best (full-blown landscape audio solutions). With these you can ensure your outdoor oasis is filled with enough tunes to make sure the party lasts well past sundown. But what if you want a little V to go with your A? I’ve got you covered! OUTDOOR VIDEO CONSIDERATIONS Just like choosing a display for inside your home, you’ll need to decide whether you are going with a direct-view display…

UNDER THE guise of an invitation-only tournament for the world’s most elite fighters, the notorious crimelord Han is in fact planning something far more sinister. After some convincing from British intelligence, martial arts master Lee (Bruce Lee) agrees to participate, with the dual agenda of gathering the evidence needed for a government takedown plus revenge upon the man responsible for the death of his sister. A couple of newfound friends share Lee’s opposition to Han, but it will take more than these three to win this fight. This was the final film that Bruce Lee completed, not the first action opus of its kind rather a new benchmark in its day which would elevate and legitimize the martial arts genre, introducing it to a global audience. Two versions are accessible…

DIRECTOR HOWARD HAWK’S Rio Bravo is based on the short story of the same name by B.H. McCampbell. It takes place in the American West and tells the story of a small-town sheriff, John T. Chance, who enlists the help of “Dude,” a hard drinker with a past, “Stumpy,” an ornery codger with a bum leg, and “Colorado,” a quick-with-a-gun whippersnapper, to help him prevent the leader of a local band of outlaws from busting his brother—whom Chance arrested for murder—out of jail. John Wayne was the epitome of the man’s man, and this film aptly showcases his charismatic demeanor and faultless delivery. The ensemble cast lends credibility to the proceedings, and Howard Hawks’ steady hand keeps things firing on all cylinders. Rio Bravo is a true classic that has earned…

COULD THE acclaimed director of The French Connection still be relevant in the MTV era? That’s a big 10-4, with William Friedkin delivering another edgy tale of cops and robbers, this time set on the left coast, and even helming the Wang Chung music video for the title tune (unfortunately absent from this disc: lawyers!) Adapted from former Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich’s novel of the same name, the story sets hot-tempered man-with-a-badge Chance (William Petersen) on a vengeful path after a ruthless counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) kills his mentor and best friend. Chance is supposed to be the good guy, but he never met a rule he wouldn’t break, much to the chagrin of his by-the-book new partner (John Pankow) who didn’t sign up for a case this out of…