Malachi Lui

Features
The Worst Music Ever: Malachi’s October 2019 AnalogPlanet Playlist
Malachi Lui  |  Oct 02, 2019  |  First Published: Oct 02, 2019  |  84 comments
Bad music. We generally try to avoid it, but some is so awful that we just can’t help but listen and laugh. Typically, artists who are self-indulgent, high out of their minds, trying to be profound, and/or unaware of their skill (or drug consumption) limits create the worst music. For my monthly AnalogPlanet playlist feature, I’ve compiled for your pleasure a list of the worst music in the history of mankind. Since some of this music is only available on certain streaming platforms, I’ve included underneath each individual song or album a streaming link. It’s also worth noting the list’s strategic structure: as you keep reading the music gets worse. Read at your own risk, but if you’re willing to subject yourself to the final entry (what I believe to be the absolute worst album ever created by anybody), I guarantee you will have a good laugh. Anyway, let’s get your suffering over with and begin the proceedings right away…

Continue Reading >
Review Explosion
Review Explosion: BROCKHAMPTON, Iggy Pop, Olivia Jean, Post Malone, & David Bowie
Malachi Lui  |  Sep 09, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 09, 2019  |  16 comments
(Review Explosion is a new AnalogPlanet feature covering recent releases for which we either don’t have sufficient time to fully explore, or that are not worthy of it. Curated by AnalogPlanet contributing editor Malachi Lui, Review Explosion will focus on the previous few weeks' new releases as well as archival titles and reissues.

Continue Reading >
News
Craft Recordings Announces Deluxe 25th Anniversary Reissues of R.E.M.’s Monster
Malachi Lui  |  Sep 07, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 07, 2019  |  13 comments
On September 4th, Craft Recordings (Concord’s reissue subsidiary) announced a series of 25th anniversary reissues of R.E.M.’s 1994 album Monster. Digitally remastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, a host of physical and digital releases are set to come out November 1.

Here are the configurations:

Continue Reading >
Album Reviews
Months After Its Release Tyler, the Creator Changes IGOR
Malachi Lui  |  Aug 28, 2019  |  17 comments
Another IGOR review??? Yes.

My initial plan was to follow the original 3500-word review with a later update on the vinyl edition’s sound quality, but plans change. I got a bit of exclusive information from Jack White about “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”, which I reported on, but even more happened with this LP. As advance copies of IGOR’s CD edition circulated, word spread that Tyler quietly dropped a physical-only (vinyl, CD, and cassette) “bonus track” entitled “BOYFRIEND.”

Continue Reading >
AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Dexter Gordon’s Clubhouse Blue Note Tone Poet Reissue Is, As Usual, Great
Malachi Lui  |  Aug 14, 2019  |  61 comments
Dexter Gordon led the Clubhouse session May 27,1965 with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Two days later Gordon recorded Gettin’ Around, trading Freddie Hubbard for Bobby Hutcherson on vibes but otherwise maintaining the same lineup. However, until 1979 the former didn’t see the light of day. What happened?

Continue Reading >
Features
Malachi Lui’s August 2019 “Current Spins” Playlist
Malachi Lui  |  Aug 06, 2019  |  First Published: Aug 06, 2019  |  31 comments
Have you been wondering what music I’ve been listening to lately? Probably not, but I’m telling you anyway! And maybe now that I’ve brought it up, you genuinely would like to know what AnalogPlanet contributing editor Malachi Lui currently spins in heavy rotation. Below are embedded playlists from Tidal, Spotify, and YouTube along with comments on the songs and/or mini-reviews of their associated albums that I unfortunately don’t have enough time to extensively cover.

Continue Reading >
Features
Vanatoo Transparent Zero Loudspeaker Review Follow-Up
Malachi Lui  |  Jul 24, 2019  |  First Published: Jul 24, 2019  |  26 comments
In my review of the $359/pair < a href=https://www.analogplanet.com/content/vanatoos-transparent-zero-speakers-offer-great-convenience-satisfying-desktop-sound>Vanatoo Transparent Zero desktop speakers, I noted that while playing Kanye West’s “I Am A God,” the active speaker produced a high-pitched whistle/screech noise. After we published the review, Vanatoo co-founder Gary Gesellchen suggested that instead of the cause being a design flaw, the noise was an artifact of an air leak due to loose screws. He recommended sealing the air passages by taking off the active speaker’s handle and tightening the screws all the way in.

Continue Reading >
News
Jack White’s Contributions to Tyler’s IGOR Barely Used (AnalogPlanet Exclusive)
Malachi Lui  |  Jul 19, 2019  |  First Published: Jul 19, 2019  |  15 comments
In my earlier review of Tyler, the Creator’s magnum opus IGOR, I note that Jack White plays with a less distorted tone than usual the guitar solo on album closer “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”. This information comes from Tyler’s Apple Music album release concert and remains the “official” word on the subject (the album credits make no mention of White, even though Tyler announced White’s musical presence on the LP two days after its release).

Continue Reading >
Features
Vanatoo’s Transparent Zero Speakers Offer Great Convenience & Satisfying Desktop Sound
Malachi Lui  |  Jul 10, 2019  |  First Published: Jul 10, 2019  |  2 comments
Today’s budding audiophiles have more introductory options than ever. Available and (fairly) affordable are introductory turntable systems, great headphones, headphone amps, DACs, and… desktop speakers?

Enter the minds of Vanatoo, the company founded by experienced audio enthusiasts Gary Gesellchen and Rick Kernen. Gesellchen’s background includes decades of speaker designing and building, while Kernen has worked for over 35 years in micro-processing. Their speakers are aimed at those who “care about music, want something that sounds good, and also understand that they shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice convenience for quality,” Gesellchen told me in an email exchange. Vanatoo’s speakers though intended for desktops, can also be used in home theaters as well as in full room stereo systems.

Continue Reading >
BeatlesCan I Have My Money Back?
Michael & Malachi Exchange Thoughts on, Among Other Things, QRP’s “White Album” Pressing
Michael Fremer, Malachi Lui  |  Jul 03, 2019  |  First Published: Jul 03, 2019  |  17 comments
Malachi Lui: First and foremost, let’s note that while this is a review of Quality Record Pressings’ version of the Beatles “White Album” 2018 stereo mix, it’s really more of an excuse for me to humiliate Michael in the best ways as much as possible (laughs).

(For those who don't know, QRP pressed the 2 LP set worldwide. Optimal in Germany, pressed the 4 LP box set worldwide, containing the original 2 LP set plus the 2 LP Escher demos).

Michael Fremer: Always up for that! It’s a way of life.

ML: If you weren’t up for it, then I’d force you to be!

MF: Of course you would!

Continue Reading >

Pages

X