Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm

2015's Top Ten Albums 1) "In Colour" -- Jamie xx 2) "Synesthesiac - EP" -- Jack Garrett 3) "Every Eye Open" -- CHVRCHES 4) "EP3" -- Zero 7 5) "Bones" -- Son Lux 6) "Big Grams" -- Big Grams 7) "25" -- Adele 8) "Return to the Moon" -- EL VY 9) "Urban Flora - EP" -- Galimatias & Alina Baraz 10) "Another Eternity" -- Purity Ring Honorable mentions:   "To Pimp a Butterfly" -- Kendrick Lamar "Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper" -- Panda Bear "Beauty Behind the Madness" -- The Weeknd [posted in 2024 in an effort to get all of my top ten lists in one place.]

So I still haven’t made it back home so I haven’t had a chance to dig into the data living on my home music server about what I listened to in 2023, but here’s my first crack at a top ten list for the year. 1 “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” by The National. Was there any chance in the world this album wasn’t making this list? With most of the band off doing independent projects (notably Matt Berninger’s solo album and Dessner’s work with T-Swizzle), I’ve been a little apprehensive about the length of time it’s been since 2019’s excellent “I Am Easy To Find”. I didn’t need to be. This album is stellar, front to back. In particular, “Ice Machines” is a true throwback to the Boxer era (my favorite of their albums), and “Your Mind is Not Your Friend Again” has lived in my subconscious for months.  “Lahai” by Sampha. I first heard Sampha’s “Like the Piano” on Roon Radio when it came up a couple of times in one day, and I’ve been absolutely obsessed with that track since. This album i...

  [ [ MSRP $250 , $199 on direct from Status on Father’s Day sale] [ Tl;dr:  These headphones are really inconsistent in sound quality; they sound amazing for some tracks and genres, and pretty lousy for others. The biggest problem with them is that they’re in the same price bracket as some really exceptional offerings that they just can’t really compete with. When they’re good they’re great; when they’re not, they’re really not, and I am clearly not their target audience (though they’re marketing pretty hard to me, all the same).] Scores: Cost-agnostic: 6 out of 10 Denalis Cost-sensitive: 3 out of 10 Denalis Intro.  Four or five people have asked me about these as I’ve posted various reviews of true wireless earbuds over the last few months and I’ve been seeing their ads a lot, so I decided to give them a shot when I saw them on a pretty decent (20% off) sale right before Father’s Day. Depending on what you listen to and how you listen, these may be right up your alley. ...

Model/trim: 2022 AWD Wind EV6 w/Tech package [updated 1/15/24 with review of snow driving, below] Overall: One year and more than 12,000 miles in, I really love this car. It does everything I want it to, it’s really fun to drive, and I have had much less range anxiety than I expected (and I’ve never run out of charge). It has required me thinking a little more about my regular driving patterns, and has encouraged me to slow down a little on the freeway in the interest of range and efficiency, but almost everything about this experience has been delightful and fun.   Range: I wish the range varied a little less; the efficiency can be anything from 2.4 (winter, 60+ mph, etc.) to 4.0 (80+ degrees, 15-25 mpg), and it’s distinctly worse in the winter. In the summer I average between 270 and 310 on a charge, and the winter it’s more like 180 to 210 miles. This is *just* long enough to get me to my mom’s house on a single charge, but during the winter I always end up stopping in Troutdal...

[ MSRP $249.99, purchased at full price in May from Campfire.com)] [ Tl;dr:  These are fanstastic headphones. Period. For me, their use case is a little more limited but that’s more a function of how unexpectedly great the AirPods Pro 2 is, and the number of niche headphones I have for specific use cases. I commend these to the attention of anyone looking for a premium pair of true wireless ear buds, especially if they’re not already locked into the Apple ecosystem.] Scores: Cost-agnostic: 9 out of 10 Denalis Cost-sensitive: 8 out of 10 Denalis   Intro.  I’ve been intrigued by Campfire Audio for a long time. They’re a Portland-based manufacturer that is best known for pretty universally-acclaimed wired in-ear monitors (IEMs). I’ve never owned a pair, mostly because I’m not the biggest fan of IEMs for most of my use cases (preferring open-backed cans or speakers where usable, and preferring the convenience of wireless where not). When I heard that Campfire was releasing a...

[ MSRP $149 , purchased at full price in October on Amazon, price matched down to $80 in November when they went on Black Friday Sale. Currently $99.99 at most retailers ). [ Tl;dr: Great true wireless earbuds at the $99 price point, only okay at MSRP. Pretty good sound isolation, reasonable ( but non-defeatable ) active noise cancelation and passie noise isolation. Like most Beats products, the bass is a little boosted but not distractingly so, and it plays pretty well in the Apple ecosystem. These live in my gym bag and I use them in environments where I would worry about using my AirPods Pro 2 . They’re great for that.] Scores: Cost-agnostic: 5 out of 10 Denalis Cost-sensitive: 8 out of 10 Denalis (at $99.99, 5 out of 10 Denalis at MSRP) Intro.  Quick , short review because I just realized that I never actually reviewed them in the fall. Good, solid headphones with good, solid sound and decent active noise canceling. Perfect for the gym or other loud environments where you don’...