Furst off, I want to thank everyone for the comments, feedback and corrections. I've been getting a good number of comments posted on my recent offerings, and I really appreciate it.
For those who would like to look back at the previous posts for more information than I had initially, a few good folks have left comments clarifying and explaining things about the "Mysterious Hunk of Tape", and the "Blue Material". I have also heard from multiple people about their enjoyment of last week's slide narration, all of whom asked for more, and I will look for more of those among my collection. I know I have a boy scout troop's slide narration already digitized, and I will share that in May.
Every now and then, I will comment back on the page of the post in question, but in most cases, if the poster's name is not included, or doesn't have an e-mail link, I don't know how to get back to him or her. I do often respond to those for whom I have an e-mail address. If you don't (or can't) hear from me, though, please know that your comment is very much appreciated.
And now...
~~~~
Here's a neat slice-of-life, featuring the stories and thoughts of a sailor, sending home his love and good wishes on a tiny three inch reel of tape - at the low-sound-quality-but-lots-of-time-affording speed of 1 7/8 inches per second. At that speed, that three inch reel managed to capture over a half hour of recording, and it was cheap to mail, too, weighing barely a few ounces. My collection is full of audio letters on three inch reels, including many that I've shared here and at WFMU.
I'll let you enjoy the highlights of this reel as they unfold - if you've been frequenting this site, my guess is that you'll enjoy it a lot. I'll just say two things: that the tape opens with about two minutes of music, but then the rest is spoken word, and that at the halfway point - when he sings Happy Birthday - that's where the second side of the tape begins.
Enjoy - and by all means, please offer up any comments you might feel like making.
Download: Unknown - Audio Letter from a Sailor
Play:
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Friday, April 21, 2017
Both Fascinating and Tedious
Well, you may or may not agree with the name I've given to this post, and if you don't, I'm guessing you'll lead towards tedious.
However, I have come across well over a dozen, perhaps even two dozen, tapes just like this one, and I thought, since it seems to have been a genre all to itself, way back when, I'd offer up one of them.
I am reminded of some dear friends of my parents, the parents of my childhood best friend, in fact. Every year, they would go on an exotic vacation, and then upon their return, have a dinner party for their (I dunno, maybe eight) best friend couples, after which they would treat them to over an hour of showing their vacation slides. My parents DREADED these invitations, and found it among the most boring things they had to endure in order to be good friends.
Unknown to me - and probably most of the rest of the world - there were people who not only shared their vacation slides, but made a real production out of it - preparing background music, and recording the narration beforehand, apparently from a written script.
THAT is the genre I refer to, above. And here, for your pleasure, annoyance, bewilderment or just plain boredom, is one of those tapes. In this case, it's for someone's 35 minute trip through slides presenting his/their recent trip through New England.
There really is nothing comparable today. Sure, someone could post 240 cell phone photos from his trip to France onto Facebook, but that person would probably not write an explanation of each one, and certainly wouldn't expect there to be comments made on each one. There wouldn't even be a way to know who, if anyone looked at any, or all, of them.
If you want to hear more of these, let me know. If you don't say you want to hear more, I won't share any more of these.
ENJOY.
or not.
Download: Unknown - New England Slide Show Narration
Play:
However, I have come across well over a dozen, perhaps even two dozen, tapes just like this one, and I thought, since it seems to have been a genre all to itself, way back when, I'd offer up one of them.
I am reminded of some dear friends of my parents, the parents of my childhood best friend, in fact. Every year, they would go on an exotic vacation, and then upon their return, have a dinner party for their (I dunno, maybe eight) best friend couples, after which they would treat them to over an hour of showing their vacation slides. My parents DREADED these invitations, and found it among the most boring things they had to endure in order to be good friends.
Unknown to me - and probably most of the rest of the world - there were people who not only shared their vacation slides, but made a real production out of it - preparing background music, and recording the narration beforehand, apparently from a written script.
THAT is the genre I refer to, above. And here, for your pleasure, annoyance, bewilderment or just plain boredom, is one of those tapes. In this case, it's for someone's 35 minute trip through slides presenting his/their recent trip through New England.
There really is nothing comparable today. Sure, someone could post 240 cell phone photos from his trip to France onto Facebook, but that person would probably not write an explanation of each one, and certainly wouldn't expect there to be comments made on each one. There wouldn't even be a way to know who, if anyone looked at any, or all, of them.
If you want to hear more of these, let me know. If you don't say you want to hear more, I won't share any more of these.
ENJOY.
or not.
Download: Unknown - New England Slide Show Narration
Play:
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