MetaFilter posts tagged with records

highway hifi, ultramicrogroovey revolution!

jessamyn — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:41:06 -0800

Peter Goldmark, developer of early color tv technology, is lesser known for a cooler invention, the Highway Hifi – the first recorded-music player for an automobile. The under-dash system played records provided by Columbia Records which played at 16 ⅔ rpm even when the vehicle was in motion. It was first released with Chrysler models in 1956 but lackluster promotion of the option by both Columbia and Chrysler led to the option being discontinued before the 60s. More details from Goldmark's autobiography. Goldmark later went on to work with Recording for the Blind to develop small microgrooved records that would play at 8 rpm but that experiment was ultimately abandoned in favor of continuing to record at 16 ⅔ rpm, anticipating the rapid development of tape technology that would render talking book records obsolete. (more on the early Talking Books project)

"It was the worst day of my life."

Lutoslawski — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:15:43 -0800

25 years ago today, Vicki Dunbar Nelson and Jean Hepner played the longest tournament rally in tennis history, lasting 29 minutes and 642 shots (SLNYT). NPR interview with Ms. Nelson, 25 years later. The longest non-tournament rally was accomplished by the Rossetti Brothers in 2008, with 25,944 strokes over 14 hours and 31 minutes.

I wish I'd had the spunk to attempt to sail around the world at thirteen.

SkylitDrawl — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:40:51 -0800

"In the beginning, they asked if I was sure I really wanted to do it," says Laura Dekker, the thirteen year old Dutch girl who wants to become the youngest person to ever sail around the world alone. "They have sailed around the world so they know what could happen and that it's not always fun, but I realize that too. But I really wanted to do it so my parents said, 'Good, we'll help you.'" (Additional Youtube link for people who don't like having to read words.)

"Files Vanished, Young Chinese Lose the Future."

Keter — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:12:08 -0800

Imagine you're living in China, trying to work your way out of the family date farming business (which garners approximately $450 annually). You do all the right things. You apply for (and receive) Communist Party membership. You study literally to the point of collapse, and despite coming from coal-town origins, you score high on your gao kao ("high test," more-or-less the only thing that matters in getting into a Chinese university). Your already-poor family goes deep into debt to send you to college, and you even manage to come out with a degree. Classic rise-up-by-your-own-bootstraps tale, right? However, finally, when you go to apply for a job—your state-sanctioned educational, occupational, and political records are inexplicably, awfully gone. What has happened to that plain manila folder (!) that serves as your only legitimate, official history in Chinese society? Probably stolen and sold so a party official's child can get everything you worked so hard for. And then, of course, your family is detained by party officials when your parents demand to know where the hell your life went. Of course. Then again, local corruption by local officials in China isn't terribly surprising. It's had some time to evolve. This just isn't what you normally think about when you think "government corruption."

A tool for 20th-century Australian History

mattoxic — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:36:37 -0800

Even after some deliberation it is difficult to find reasons to support the appointment of women Trade Commissioners. The Virtual Reading Room of the National Archives of Australia is a mine of information about Australia, its relationships and past attitudes.

If at first you don't succeed, well, so much for skydiving.

not_on_display — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:30:51 -0800

• Canopy Formation Parachuting Record: 81 100
• Formation Skydiving Record: 400
• 69 :pɹoɔǝɹ uoıʇɐɯɹoɟ ƃuıʎlɟǝǝɹɟ [also, champion freeflying duo Spaceland Anomaly]

Every Person is Capable of Being the World's Best "Something"

filthy light thief — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:52:46 -0800

"The whole dream is that everybody has a world record in them," said Dan Rollman, president and co-founder of the Brooklyn-based Universal Record Database. Since the site went live last fall, more than 1,000 feats have been documented - ranging from the most binder clips on a face (now up to 34) to the longest toenail (seven-eighths of an inch) to the most whoopee cushions sat on without smiling or laughing (presently up to 18), and a few records involving mustaches (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Beyond the basics of setting records, the URDB is based on three principles: 1. Honesty and accuracy are pretty much everything, 2. Don't hurt yourself. Don't hurt others. Don't hurt the planet, and 3. Waste sucks. Before you submit your record, don't forget to check the rules. If you're thinking of setting a video game or pinball record, check Twin Galaxies first (pre-vi-ous-ly-er). URDB was discussed before, and Dan Rollman joined the thread, noting that the Guinness Book of World Records was great for certain records, but "their model has become outdated in a Web 2.0 world."

We Got Time for David Wilson and his Stacked Praxinoscopes

carsonb — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:39:27 -0800

We Got Time [QT video, YT video] is a mind-boggling music video by David Wilson for the band Moray McLaren. It comes with a handy making-of video that explains how the in-camera effects were achieved, the platter artwork, and some very nice behind the scenes stills.

Vinyl makes a comeback this Saturday

mediareport — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:31:50 -0800

Is it "a momentary blip on the inevitable decline of a dying format" or "the onset of an extended revival that will see the record outlive its arch-nemesis the CD?" Last year more people bought vinyl LPs than in any year since Nielsen started keeping track in 1991, nearly doubling sales from the year before. Turntable sales rebounded sharply in 2006. This Saturday, coordinated with the 2nd international Record Store Day, dozens of artists and labels are releasing exclusive vinyl versions of unreleased tracks, rare 7" reissues, remasters and new songs, solely to participating stores. Here's the full list (most with cover art here). Previously.

Abbey Road Forever

Dex Quire — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:33:31 -0800

A Day in the Life of Abbey Road; (sorry for the prosaic lead-in link - at least I didn't use the word "iconic!") Enjoy watching Beatles' fans and locals negotiate London's famous Abbey Road crosswalk. I miss album covers; I'm of the generation of high school kids who spent a zillion hours flipping through them in record stores. The best of them - like Abbey Road - could be high-impact and sometimes accompanied their records like a kind of graphic mini-novel. What were some of your favorites and why?

Revival Revival

Miko — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:06:52 -0800

The Folkways Collection is a downloadable, 24-part podcast series that "explores the remarkable collection of music, spoken word, and sound recordings that make up Folkways Records (now at the Smithsonian as Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)."

You like vinyl? I've got your vinyl right here.

msalt — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:55:31 -0800

Desperate Man Blues Edward Gillen's documentary about Joe Bussard, renowned collector of 25,000+ blues, folk and gospel 78rpm records from the 20s and 30s. It's about the hunt and the hunter, as much as what he found. One week only on Pitchfork TV As plugged by UbuRoivas previously.

Obamas crack problem

brinkzilla — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:18:18 -0800

Obama may just be able to keep that precious Blackberry after all for personal use. Although anything business related will be housed by this potential giant brick phone. The question is how secure and private will his emails be? How private should they be? Has Dick set a precedent that personal records stay personal?

A New Creation Resurrected from Obscurity

jonp72 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:46:46 -0800

The New Creation was born in 1970 when Chris Towers, an unknown guitarist from Vancouver, decided to form a Christian rock group with his mother Lorna as lead singer and their neighbor Janet Tiessen on drums. Scared by reports of the hippie excesses of the Manson/Altamont era, Lorna Towers wrote doom-laden, apocalyptic lyrics for the New Creation's aptly titled album, Troubled. The band was unpolished, yet somehow captured a unique lo-fi sound comparable to a hybrid of the Velvet Underground and the Shaggs. The group might be totally forgotten today, if an aging hippie record dealer named Ty Scammel hadn't rescued a copy from a $1 bargain bin, leading to the album's rediscovery by collectors of Christian rock and outsider music. Companion Records released a reissue CD that proved popular enough that the band not only re-formed, but released A Unique Disaster, a sequel CD inspired by the Book of Revelations and the Left Behind series. Now that an impossibly rare original copy of the New Creation's Troubled has appeared on EBay, rediscover the band once again with a great article from the Canadian blog, Alienated in Vancouver. Sound clips can be found here, and a fan video of the Status Quo Song can be found on YouTube.

Rumors of the death of physical media

box — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:57:12 -0800

Hard Format celebrates the art of record and CD packaging.

Perfect Pat!

netbros — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:15:33 -0800

First QB in NCAA history to win four bowl games. Patrick White has been a record setting quarterback during his four years at West Virginia University. An early season Heisman trophy candidate, White is the all-time rushing QB in history, and apparently, an unassuming ladies man.

78 labels

OmieWise — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:58:52 -0800

Ted Staunton's archive of labels from 78 rpm records. Perhaps most easily explored through the massive "Decades" pages of thumbnails.

It's nice to share. Cheney sued over not releasing VP documents to the public.

rokabiri — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:39:38 -0800

The Society of American Archivists, American Historical Association, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington are suing Vice President Dick Cheney for not transferring the vast majority of his records to the National Archives and Record Administration for eventual release to the public. Cheney argues that he does not need to make his records public since he is not part of the executive branch but rather a 'barnacle on the legislative branch'. CREW's chief counsel, Anne Wiseman, cites the Presidential Records Act in the case against him.

Jerry Wexler

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:17:36 -0800

Legendary record man and music producer Jerry Wexler died on August 15, at the age of 91. His keen insight, and his deep love and appreciation for the artists he worked with resulted in an extraordinary enriching of American music. NY Times book review from 1993, of Wexler's autobiography, RHYTHM AND THE BLUES: A Life in American Music. From Rolling Stone, listen to a selection of twenty essential Wexler productions. Unfortunately, these files are available to US ears only, and also, be warned: you might get a supremely annoying audio ad popout. I got one... Here's a selection of tunes that, in one way or another, were brought to you by Jerry Wexler: What'd I Say, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) I Got a Woman, Ray Charles (the original Wexler-produced recording) Green Onions, Booker T and the MGs In the Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett Tipitina, Professor Longhair And from the incomparable Aretha Franklin (all of these live performances are sheer joy): Chain of Fools Chain of Fools Baby I Love You... And that's just a tiny tip of the iceberg. Rest in peace, Jerry Wexler. And props to stupidsexyFlanders, who originally brought Wexler's passing to our attention here.

Digital Vaults

netbros — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:46:06 -0800

This is a collection of the National Archives stored in the Digital Vaults. You can browse through hundreds of photographs, documents, and film clips and discover the connection between some of the National Archives' most treasured records. With the Pathways tool you can see the unique and surprising connections between events and people and test your knowledge of history. As you travel through the site and collect documents, images and films, you can then merge the objects to create your own poster or movie from your collection.

the tail wagging the dog

sergeant sandwich — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:08:00 -0800

webofdeception.com is a bizarre, timecubesque linkdump maintained and updated by private investigator and domain squatter Joseph Culligan. In addition to sleazy dirt-digging on various celebrities and politicians, Culligan also includes a huge resource list of links to databases and public-record searches. My favorite part was the document archive; highlights of the weird crap he's found include:

Letter from Elvis to Nixon, asking to meet with the President and be appointed a federal agent

White House internal reaction to Elvis' request

Immigration papers of the Sound of Music family

First draft of Roosevelt's "date which will live in infamy" speech

Letter from young RFK to his brother

Enjoy!

Death Lives!

stinkycheese — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:52:08 -0800

Death were a proto-punk trio of black Jehovah's Witnesses based out of Detroit back in 1974. They were almost signed to Columbia, but bailed on the label when Columbia wanted them to change their name. Instead, they self-released a 7" which is now quite a collector's item, influenced as it was by, “Iggy and Stooges, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and The Who”. But the story doesn't end there. Recently, Bobby Hackney, whose father played in Death along with two of his uncles, learned of the band and, lo and behold, his dad found the master tapes for their unreleased full-length in his attic. Is a new chapter in punk rock history about to be written?

Geekin' out on your Grandma's Gramophone

not_on_display — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:51:03 -0800

[PREVIOUSLY on METAFILTER] Each week between 2005 and 2007 (and sporadically thereafter), Basic Hip Digital Oddio's Kiddie Records Weekly offered children's recordings issued by big labels during the 1940's and 1950's. This cache now holds approximately 214 phonograph records, the covers and sounds therein lovingly digitized, ready for you to absorb.

Worship some vinyl

carsonb — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:58:26 -0800

Today is Record Store Day!
What is it about music? It is Love and Passion channeled through a medium that cuts across and through actual definition straight to your soul whether you love Blues, Reggae, Country, Punk Rock, or Quawwali music, your favorite artists take you places you could otherwise never go - and that place is often a place of love and inspiration. - Marc Weinstein Watch videos and read quotes about RSD from tons of artists, or find a record store near you and go flip through some crates tonight.

The Thousand Pound Bench Press

jason's_planet — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:30:31 -0800

A while ago, Slate did an article on “The Race For The Thousand Pound Bench Press.” That milestone has been reached but not without controversy, mainly due to the use of the bench shirt, a super-tight supportive shirt without which those Herculean weights could not be lifted. The bench shirt has its defenders but many argue that it amounts to nothing more than cheating. By way of example, here is a video of the current unassisted (or “raw”) bench press record and here is a video of the current assisted bench press record. Other big bench videos: Ryan Kennelly attempts 1100 pounds. Gene Rylchak does 1010.