Media
Friday, October 06, 2006
They Call Me DJ Old-Timey
Just a few days after my last post I was able to get the PhonOcord to play those records, although for the most part pretty faintly. It is tempting to leave you thinking that this accomplishment might have involved some tools or arcane knowledge of vintage electronic components, but the truth is I figured it out while talking to my mom on my cellphone one night while coming home from San Francisco. It turns out that these are special records that play from the inside out! Problem solved!
Well, not really because they still need to be digitized. I decided that since there are so many of them, it would be unfair to burden Mattmarg with this task. So I ordered a USB turntable (you heard me right) that I thought was special because it would allow me to capture sound at 78 RPMs. I felt kind of dumb when I realized that you actually just digitize the sound at 33 or 45 RPMs and adjust the speed of the file with a pulldown menu in the accompanying software. Nevertheless, I’m extremely happy with it and excited about getting this project started. After a couple of test runs yesterday, though, it’s become apparent that I have a lot to learn about cleaning up audio files. Since a lot of the records are made from cardboard, they sound pretty dirty. I sure hope there is something that can be done for them.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Putting It on the Record
Forget podcasting! Witness home audio recording technology circa 1946 in all its glory! I give you the Packard Bell PhonOcord 1052! Record live sound or from the radio (or both!) and right onto 78 LPs! It also has a public address mode, which I think may have been used for square dances (at least by my grandparents).
I drove up to my aunt’s last week to retrieve the mysterious machine my grandpa used to record that file I shared here last month. It turns out that there are oodles of little records made from everything from cardboard to shellac to metal, which Grandpa not only used to document family events (such as my mom’s first day of school) but also holidays at the neighbors’ and other community parties.
Once we got it opened and plugged in, I immediately turned on the radio and dialed in a station, half expecting to hear Nat King Cole crooning I Love You for Sentimental Reasons or maybe Harry Truman delivering a speech. Instead, through the AM crackling and whistling, we got some Internet pundit blathering on about Web 2.0. It would be inaccurate to say this experience was disappointing since we were both astonished the thing even worked, but I guess I was subconsciously hoping the magic box might unlock a time portal or some other life-altering vortex (should I be embarrassed that I’ve probably seen The Purple Rose of Cairo 20 times?).
We weren’t so lucky with the phonograph. It will spin records, but there is a problem getting the sound from the needle to the speaker. I’m not sure if it will still cut records either, but I’m hoping to get it all fixed up so I can capture some sound of my own. Among Grandpa’s recordings were a ton of blanks, and my wee little brain has been working overtime evaluating all the completely unuseful things I could make with the PhonOCord. Capturing sound with my minidisc and iPod is so boring! In the meantime, Mattmarg is going to help me digitize the rest of the recordings using his turntable and an iMic.
Also, I’m wondering if anyone out there can tell me more about home audio recording in the 1940s and ‘50s. I’ve only met one other person whose family had something like our PhonOcord. I did a little research online and there is surprisingly very little about these machines, although it does appear several companies marketed them as home entertainment. Based on Google results for a site called Shellac.org (which is maddeningly down at the moment), it even looks like Packard Bell offered a script subscription service for people to record their own little radio dramas.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Hanging with Al Gore
On Thursday I was lucky enough to attend a private screening of An Inconvenient Truth in Menlo Park at the invitation of my friend June, who is part of the team that puts on the TED conference every year in Monterey. If you haven’t heard about the film yet, it is based on a slideshow about global warming, which Al Gore presents all over the world. I realize that it might be difficult to think of something that might sound more boring, but you’ll have to take my word. An Inconvenient Truth is captivating, entertaining, and terrifying, and since it relies more on facts than heavy-handed activism, I hope it has the potential to appeal to folks across the entire political spectrum (complete aside: the president and his flock of helicopters flew so low over our place on Friday that I raced for the front door because I honestly thought a jet was about to crash right into us). After the movie concluded, Al himself made a surprise visit to the theater to take questions. For a former vice president, he comes across as approachable and very genuine, not to mention funny.
Updated May 5: Pictures on flickr
Thursday, April 13, 2006
That Stock I Bought Finally Pays Off
This just in...another cow has sacrificed his life so that you all can have a few more hamburgers and I can pay the bill for that wireless mic I bought recently. The proceeds from the bovine sale arrived in the mail today, and to congratulate myself on weathering another year in the cattle business, I immediately ordered a copy of Forty Guns, one of my all-time favorite westerns. I first saw this movie at the Pacific Film Archive a few years ago on what I will probably always remember as THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER.
At the time of THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER, the film wasn’t available on DVD or even VHS, so seeing it on the big screen was a highly anticipated treat for me, one that I figured few others could really appreciate or, at the very least, would be willing to endure. I was surprised, though, by how easy it was to convince several of my friends to attend (despite being huge freaks, they’re all pretty good-hearted). They didn’t care so much that Forty Guns stars Barbara Stanwyck, but they all seemed pretty agreeable once I told them it was originally given the salacious title “Woman with a Whip” and features men in bathtubs singing “woman with a whip” as part of the opening sequence. After that I barely had to heap on any “but it’s my birthday” guilt at all.
Once we had absorbed every glorious second of the movie from the front row, I immediately felt panicked that I might not ever see it again (just like before VHS!). This undoubtedly fed my determination to savor THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER even more, so I hope that when the DVD arrives it’s as good as I remember. I don’t think, though, that it was just me who loved it so much. Dick, who happened to be visiting from Sweden at the time, has never been the same since.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Oh, Wichita! Oh, Internet!
Look out, everyone: I am currently experiencing warm feelings about the Internet again (somebody help me). A few days ago I discovered 5 Minutes with Wichita, a bite-size podcast by Wichita Rutherford. He interviews bluegrass stars and, for some reason, occasionally NASCAR driver Jr. Johnson. Now, despite what you may think you know about me, I am not that familiar with bluegrass or NASCAR, but here I sit, downloading and listening to file after file. It’s kind of hard to describe the show, but it’s sort of like Space Ghost Coast to Coast meets Hee-Haw meets Groucho Marks’ You Bet Your Life. If you’re going to sample just one episode of 5 Minutes with Wichita, may I suggest the interview with Rob McCoury of the Del McCoury Band? I swear it’s worth it.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Bridgeville for Sale (Again) on Ebay
This is somewhat embarrassing, but several of my friends have written to alert me that they saw or heard actual news stories that Bridgeville, the “town” where I attended kindergarten through the eighth grade, is for sale again on eBay. I am perplexed as to why this is deemed news, but even TIME magazine has a story, complete with a quote from Robyn Samuelson, who grew up on a ranch a few miles from me. It’s been a while since I’ve been through town, but I have heard the current owners have done a lot to clean up the place. It’s hard to imagine, even with the improvements, that they will get their asking price of nearly $2 million, though.
