The Car Music Project

November 11, 2005 4:36 PM

"The Car Music Project was conceived in late 1991 by composer Bill Milbrodt, when his personal car, battered and road-weary, was nearing the end of its useful life. It had endured close to 200,000 miles of road life with little mechanical maintenance and even less cosmetic attention. It would cost more to repair than it was worth and the poor thing had virtually no value as a trade-in. The paint was faded, pesky springs poked through the upholstery, knobs and handles were missing, and the electrical system was iffy. It dripped oil, blew smoke, and made more noise than a cement mixer. It was time to turn the car into music."
posted by mr_crash_davis (8 comments total)

similar, tho not quite as successful.
posted by es_de_bah at 5:09 PM on November 11, 2005

See also A Kombi. (Previously discussed on MeFi, but I can't find the link and the Googles, they do nothing)
posted by arto at 5:18 PM on November 11, 2005

What a great post, crash. Though the site seems a little undeveloped, the slide show is worth the visit. Even though the music is completely different, the spirit of this project reminds me of Dan Reeder, a folk-singer/artist who records on his own, self-made instruments.
posted by greasy_skillet at 5:24 PM on November 11, 2005

Nice post!

Sounds like a Ford.
posted by stirfry at 5:25 PM on November 11, 2005

Sounds like mock-Zappa, but not funny or edgy. Better than driving the damn thing though, I guess.
posted by kozad at 7:02 PM on November 11, 2005

great post, I love cool & funky recylable projects.

*honk if you love mr_crash_davis*
posted by madamjujujive at 10:24 PM on November 11, 2005

Honk! I was showing this to my son and I said, "I love junk like this." Meaning the post, but I guess it refers to the car, now, as well. Years ago in Seattle I saw Henry Threadgill, in the group Air, play a xylophone-like creation made of hubcaps selected by tone, the hubkaphone.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:58 AM on November 12, 2005

"It was time to turn the car into music."

I feel a new memephrase coming on (à la Snakes On A Plane.) Taking a road trip? Need some company? Call your friends up and cooly quip, "Yo, B, let's go turn the car into music."
posted by deusdiabolus at 2:48 AM on November 14, 2005