ur-sound
I suspect, even without knowing the context, the sound would be deeply unsettling.
via Suzanne Fischer
Listening to the Atomic Age
From the Canada Science and Technology Museum, sounds of the Algonquin hand-cranked Geiger counter detecting low-level emissions from another Atomic Age artifact, the Algom Uranium Marketing Sample.
Sounds like geckering to me.
dueling banjos
The printing presses were so noisy that no one heard him yell “Stop the presses!”
— Mike Topp (@MikeTopp) January 24, 2012
Sound interface: the different beeps, boops, & cheeps a mobile phone makes depending on what kind of notification it is.
— Tim Carmody (@tcarmody) January 24, 2012
Captain Beefheart’s Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing
4. Walk with the devil
Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.
(From WFMU’s Beware of the Blog. Via Brian Beatty.)
Phonograms
Patrick Feaster studies the culture of early phonography (the recording and reproduction of sound) and blogs at Phonozoic, where I’ve been hanging out for the past hour or so. At the 2011 conference of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, Feaster shared “Phonogram Images on Paper: 1250-1950.” You can listen to his presentation and download slides here. Just scroll down a little ways and you’ll find the links.
(via Excavated Shellac)
Damar, Mon Amour (out of context)
In context: Starlingo ii.
Damar torn from the flock.
What is Damar? Who is Damar? What is Damar?
Megaphones
italian designers isabella lovero and enrico bosa of en&is studio have updated ‘megaphone’, a ceramic passive amplifier created for the iphone and ipod touch. using no electricity, the sound waves are reverberated and distributed throughout the space. originally only available in white, the polished black and hand-painted gold versions further accentuate the contours of the form.
both the ceramic body and the solid wooden stand is developed and hand-made in italy.
although the black finish is applied in the same manner as the white, the gold version requires skilled decorators to paint the surface in the 24kt precious metal, after which it is fired in 720°C (1328°F). the high temperature assures the glazing is cohesive and the material is long lasting. the high gloss finish found on all three options are to help the sound resonate while the stand lifts the frame off any surface, increasing the vibrations emitted from the object.
from the comments
My favorite part of that interview was when Tom was discussing the vinyl popping noise he had added to a couple tracks to make them sound more dated — when it was actually just a recording of chicken on the barbecue.
a little car porn
What does a twin turbo V-8 sound like?
Amy said
Did I tell you someone deaf told me he liked my singing voice?
RETROFY YOUR HI-FI SYSTEM
Just let that neologism roll around your brain like you’re trying to extract all the nuance from a swig of Manischevitz. Then check out the exciting “features.”
500+ Sound Effects
I’ve entered the editing phase of the documentary, so my posting may be more sporadic than usual. For now, I leave you with this serendipitous find — tweeted by who I can’t remember . . . I thought it was Frank Chimero — just as I was sitting down to see how the movie might begin to fit together: 500+ Sound Effects.
quote out of context
Someday the Occupy Wall Street protests will end, and the only question is whether they will go out with a bang or a whimper—or a lot of loud banging followed by whimpers.
tweet of the day, part II
tweet of the day
can you hear me now?
Many people can be driven to distraction by certain small sounds that do not seem to bother others — gum chewing, footsteps, humming. But sufferers of misophonia, a newly recognized condition that remains little studied and poorly understood, take the problem to a higher level.
Finally, there’s a word for it.
(via marginal revolution)
A beautiful Hillman Curtis video for a product that doesn’t seem to exist
This is both an ad for Nokia’s Voice Visualizer, which doesn’t seem to exist, and another example of Hillman Curtis’s beautiful video work.
twenty common insect songs
Lucy linked to this beautiful collection of twenty insect songs from Twitter where she asked which one is your favorite. Except she spelled favorite with with a u because she’s European.
quote out of context
the sound of a calf being born was created by dropping an object (forget now – probably a dead sheep or something) and a bucket of equal parts yoghurt and 1/4″ tape (unwound off its spool) simultaneously onto a bed of hay
from the comments
Reggie Craft made his own lunch box. It sports a padlock and speakers.
dear clusterflock
Best voice over voice.
Interview with an Ubu
The mainstream art world knows nothing of Ubu. Why would they be interested? Ubu is intended for people who don’t have access to the centres of urban culture and all the riches they offer. We often receive emails from people living in rural, isolated or suburban areas whose only line to the outside world is a web connection. For them, Ubu is an open-source museum and offers a full education on a type of culture that is unavailable, say, in their local mall or library. The museum world, although claiming to be interested in education, only serves those who can afford to come to them, a privileged class. Ubu is free and embracing of everyone, regardless of their geographic location or income.
Great Big Saturnine Storm
At its most intense, the storm generated more than 10 lightning flashes per second. Even with millisecond resolution, the spacecraft’s radio and plasma wave instrument had difficulty separating individual signals during the most intense period. Scientists created a sound file from data obtained . . . at a slightly lower intensity period.
If you listen vary carefully to the audio file, you can hear Sun Ra.
the world’s loudest dick
Males of the Micronecta scholtzi species serenade their sweethearts with a three-part song made by rubbing their genitalia against their abdomens, but it remains a mystery how or why the creatures make such a loud mating call.
Marcella Riordan reads the Molly Bloom soliloquy
In honor of Bloomsday yesterday Tim Carmody pointed to this beautiful reading of the Molly Bloom soliloquy at the end of Joyce’s Ulysses.
Josh Rothman says:
In my opinion, the best audio recording of Molly’s soliloquy appears in the Naxos audiobook of the novel; it’s read perfectly by the Irish actress Marcella Riordan. As it happens, you can listen to the last few minutes of her performance on YouTube. Molly thinks about nature and God, recalls her childhood in Gibralter (she’s half Spanish), and relives the moment she accepted her husband’s proposal of marriage.
