in Armageddon, the Leonids are Meteor Storm little more than grains of sand. However, because they're mov- Few things in nature beat the ing more than 100,000 miles beauty of a meteor shower. per hour, they can damage But the operators of communi- satellites. Worse, the resulting cations satellites are fearful "sandblasting" can build up that this year's Leonid show- electrical charges that could er, due November 17, could bollix on -board electronics. end up being more like a No satellites were reported meteor monsoon. damaged the last time Tempel - The Leonid showersare Tuttle came calling - but rela- caused each year whenthe earth tively few were in orbit then. Sat- passes through the track of the comet Tempel - ellites are far more common today, and a failure Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 331/3 would be much more noticeable. When the years, leaving a fresh "track" each time. The Galaxy IV satellite died this oast spring, it was Get Back last time the comet was close by, researchers front-page news because pagers failed across Why would 150,000 people pack calculated that it produced incoming meteors at the country and radio -program distribution was clubs and concert halls to hear five a rate of 150,000 per hour. Unlike the meteors disrupted. - B.F. guys who, for the most part, hadn't picked up instruments in 40 years? It helps to know that back in 1957 According to Arbetter, to increase the frequency of the Unique CD Copies the five played gigs in with WAMC's news director, "In show and syndicate it nationally. A Canadian Web site that made a chum named . previous decades young people Do you wantGeek Nationon a compilation CDs tried to put a were formed by expressed themselves through station near you? Write to Tim new spin on copyright law. Lennon and some of his school- music, but as the century comes McEachern, Geek Nation, P.O. Now it has shut down after mates during the craze then to an end, they now express Box 158, Spencertown, NY receiving a cease -and -desist sweeping Britain. During their first themselves through digital tech- 12165; e-mail [email protected]; letter from the Canadian year, another local lad, Paul nology." www.geeknation.com on the Recording Industry Association. McCartney, joined the group, Negotiations are in progress Web. -William Livingstone Unlike other sites that make followed by in compilation CDs, Purple Dot 1958. By 1960, the core of the offered new, major -label hits - Beatles was on the way to immor- but it had no agreements with tality, and the remaining Quarrymen THX Select record labels and did not pay settled down to careers as restaura- royalties. It sounds a bit like teurs, upholsterers, church -tour A lot of companies claim that their equipment brings the piracy, right? Not according to guides, and so on. movie -theater experience into your home, but Lucasfilm's THX Purple Dot, which said that it All that changed last year when certification program has been about the only serious attempt was duplicating only those songs the band reunited at a show in to insure that that goal is met. THX-certified systems don't its customers already owned. England commemorating the anni- come cheap, however, and a lot of movie fans who would love versary of Lennon and McCartney's to have a top -shelf home -the- Compilation first meeting. That led to the ater setup have found them- UCASF ILM Kiosks recording of a CD, Get Back - selves economically shut out. Don't worry, you'll still be able Together (Quarrymen Records), an That's about to change. Lu- to make compilation CDs of the appearance on NBC's Today Show, casfilm is introducing a new latest hits - not on the Web, but and a ten -date U.S. tour this past certification program, called at special CD kiosks. New York - summer. Guitarist Rod Davis (fourth

THX Select, designed espe- E L r_ based CD World has formed a from left) was joined by the rest of cially for people with smaller joint venture with Sprint to the surviving original Quarrymen: spaces and limited budgets. The old program, now called THX create interactive kiosks called from left, Eric Griffiths (guitar), Len Ultra, will continue as before, anointing equipment based sole- Music Point. The company plans Garry (lead vocals, guitar), Colin ly on performance without regard to price. The new program to have Music Point in about Hanton (drums), and Pete Shotten takes both price and performance into consideration. 400 locations - mostly music (bass, washboard). Let's say you're in the market for a $699 Dolby Digital re- stores - in New York City and Both in concert and on the CD, ceiver. Venturing into your local megastore, you find yourself Los Angeles this winter. The the group stuck to covering skiffle confronted with 15 models to choose from. But of those 15, music list will start out at about classics and '50s rock standards. only two or three carry the THX Select seal of approva,. If your 50,000 songs and, yes,royalties No Beatles songs, and no preten- space fits the THX Select criterion (2,000 cubic feet or less) will be paid to the music copy- sions. "We're basically five old guys and you like the THX approach, then your buying decision right owners. who know someone who became should be much easier. The music is not stored in the someone famous," said Davis. The first certified products are scheduled to be announced kiosks that "burn" the blank CDs ti Now back in England, the band is at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 1999. The but in a music database in New mulling offers to play Las Vegas and products, however, won't hit stores until next fall. Speakers York. Sprint's high-speed fiber- record in Nashville. "They'll be back and receivers will be the first up for certification. No date has optic network will be used to here in January or February," said

been announced yet for other home -theater gear. ship the data to the kiosks. The 175 their manager, Thom Wolke. - Michael Gaughn time to make a CD is said to be E So much for "Let It Be." about 4 minutes. - Daniel Manu