the ultimate in sound effects...
well, we move from one side of sublime - tarkovsky's poetic use of sound; to the opposite end of the sublime spectrum...
a few weeks ago i found a little 1950 catalog from the major records company at the flea market. it features 20 pages of of 78's containing various sound effects for "radio stations, dramatic groups, movie makers, and music stores". the catalog is reads like a list of sounds and situations, and my original intention was to post it as a kind of concrete poetry. then i happened upon one of the actual records...
the disc is from a series of animal sounds, and the side i recorded contains the sounds of (in order of appearance) "screech owl, cat screeches, frog calls, grimalkin cat, hedgehog, harpie cries". the catalog states that every sound is recorded "FROM LIFE"; so when i put the record on i expected, of course, to hear some relatively straightforward animal recordings.
i'm pretty darn sure that the sounds here are not the actual animals, but in fact, A HUMAN TRYING TO IMITATE THEM. be very afraid. what i'm wondering now is what the subway train, gasoline pump, excavation shovel, wind, calliope, and teletype might sound like... welcome to the other side of sublime...
Labels: 78's, listen, lucky records, record labels, sound effects
