Taking a look under the hood and over the horizon at both the technology and the politics driving the MP3 craze; requests for your 60 Minute Soundtrack; locked in orbit with Laika; catching up with Fudge Tunnel's Alex Newport; in search of Hip Hop/R&B in the Northwest; live reviews of Asian Dub Foundation/Andrea Parker, Fugazi, Love and Rockets, Plastic People of the Universe, and the Roots; reviews of albums by Built to Spill, Autechre, Golden Smog, Gluecifer, Hashisheen, plus many more; and finding the "sweet spot" at ARO.space.

In this month's Profiles, watch eP's Mark Teppo tell a fishing story about his dad, drop references to W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot, and still leave enough space to clue you in to the warm hum of Laika. And if one Profiles wasn't enough, Editor Craig Young finds time to talk with Alex Newport on the art of sound engineering, getting album art confiscated by the Vice Squad, and trying to wrap your hands around Henry Rollins' neck.

Cool By Proxy finds Earpollution's Cecil Beatty-Yasutake deep undercover in search of Hip Hop and R&B in the Northwest. Throwing away his hard earned rent money on petrol and drinks, trying to avoid rope burn, deftly dodging the dance floor pickup, all while depriving himself of much needed sleep, our Man on the Beat diligently combs the clubs to fill you in on where to find the soundz.