Coolness Factor of CDs — 15 Years Ago

Thirty-Five Years Ago
October 29 was Alice Doesn’t Day, the National Organization of Women’s much-heralded attempt to organize a show of force by women.

The conservative Copley Press was not without incident. Advertising secretaries, who are relegated to lower-paying desk jobs, sported buttons with the word “parity” written over the female medical symbol.

But the liveliest time must have been had by an elderly lady who slipped into her roller skates and wheeled down the main corridor of the county administration building telling all the women she saw to “take the day off, today we’re to do what we want.”
— CITY LIGHTS: “ALL EYES ON ALICE,” Paul Krueger, November 8, 1975

Thirty Years Ago
Militant nonsmokers might take heart from the El Cajon mother and son who are now facing imminent eviction from their apartment because of their zealous defense of clean air.

Pearl [Preston] and her immediate neighbor, Janice Brady, were sitting near each other on an outdoor patio. Janice was smoking and Pearl said the smoke bothered her. It is unclear who brought out the first electric fan (their testimonies differ), but Brady claimed in a court declaration that Pearl brought out an electric fan to blow the smoke away. Brady says she then went inside and returned with a fan of her own, which she directed at Pearl. Each of them then tried to direct the smoke at the other.
— CITY LIGHTS: “BUT ENJOYING IT LESS,” Mark Orwoll, November 6, 1980

Twenty-Five Years Ago
A WOMAN IN A COMA DIED. Was the hospital happy or sad? “Detective Watson.”

ALREADY BAWLED OUT for my “perversion” ads. Cannot write to you, and no more of such ads. “Motives”? “Sincerity”? “Woman’s Place”? Not my ads.

CURIOUS F. Gardenia (nickname), girlfriend, says no corresponding. I may place scholarly/religious ads only.
— CLASSIFIEDS, November 7, 1985

Twenty Years Ago
Your germophobic cousin was right: the ubiquitous bowl of salsa served at Mexican restaurants could actually be a cesspool of potentially lethal microorganisms. That’s what county health department researchers found after a recently completed study of the sauce at 12 local eateries. Twenty-five percent of the salsa they tested was contaminated with bits of human flesh, mucus, and even fecal matter. It also contained yeast, staphylococcus, streptococcus, and salmonella.

As a result of the study, the county health department cited three restaurants for spoiled salsa. But officials would not release the names of the businesses because they cooperated with the study.
— CITY LIGHTS: “DIPPING INTO DARKNESS,” Colin Flaherty, November 8, 1990

Fifteen Years Ago
A virtually rabid recording industry campaign has tried to convince consumers that CDs are now the only high-quality playback medium for prerecorded music. Despite the effort, record collectors, audiophiles, and a new generation of music fans have discovered a contrary truth.

Gus Hidalgo says he likes the “lack of listener fatigue with LPs. I can keep on listening without wanting to get up and do something else right in the middle of a recording, like I do with CDs. Also, as recording technology gets better, vinyl playback is improved. Better turntables and cartridges reveal more of the detail that’s in the grooves.”
— “COOLNESS FACTOR,” Carl Baugher, November 2, 1995

Ten Years Ago
Columbia Records is proud to announce the release of Songs from DAWSON’S CREEK — Vol. II. Songs from DAWSON’S CREEK — Vol. II provides a first listen to the hitmakers of tomorrow. Just as with its predecessor, Songs from DAWSON’S CREEK — Vol. I, material was chosen for both musical excellence and connection to the themes of the show. Songs from DAWSON’S CREEK — Vol. II will be in stores November 3.

Oh, really? Well, I for one could not give a flying son of a hotcold ratty-ass fart. Ellery Eskelin is in town, beside which all PALES.
— OF NOTE, Richard Meltzer, November 2, 2000

Five Years Ago
Here are some of the things that my current home, Slovenia, has been confused with: Slovakia, Transylvania, Siberia, Slavonia, Yugoslavia, and Sepultura. Well, maybe not the last one, but definitely the others.
— BLOG WORLD: “DON’T CALL US SLOVAKS,” Michael Manske, November 3, 2005