78 Collectors: Why are they so weird?

jealous much?

http://www.saturn-sound.com/images/post%20office%20telephones%20record%20-%2078%20rpm.jpg

http://www.tjsrecords.com/images/KKK.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/uk78rpmforum/index.2.jpg

http://www.mister78.com/78images/mister78.jpg

http://www.mattthecat.com/uploaded_images/78PilgrimGClefts-791550.jpg

http://totango.net/78_factory.JPG

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.index.html

http://lpcoverlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/fuzzy2.JPG

gayest polar bear EVER

this place in minneapolis is PACKED with only 78s, the dudes are kinda crusty but it's pretty neat:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/136959907_8ca82ea098.jpg?v=0

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Dominion/image/dominion.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Emerson.Record.1/image/emerson.record.1.gif

If you like authentic blues you'll love Blues Hammer

http://www.readyourselfaw.com/profiles/crumb/selfportrait_crumb.jpg

i used to have a turntable just for 78s but i don't anymore. i need to get one. you need a heavy arm/needle. they sound amazing though. just so damn heavy so i don't go out of my way to buy any. and i still see plenty.

curses! just go here:

http://www.readyourselfraw.com/profiles/crumb/selfportrait_crumb.jpg

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Phoenix/image/phoenix.gif

i used to have a turntable just for 78s but i don't anymore. i need to get one. you need a heavy arm/needle. they sound amazing though. just so damn heavy so i don't go out of my way to buy any. and i still see plenty.

-- scott seward, Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

the thorens PD 190 (i think that's the model number you can find pretty decently cheap used, it's got a 78 setting (but i think you do need a cartridge that can handle 78s) but anyway you can find those used, i saw one for about 175 and it's a good all-around turntable if you just want to have one...

I have a Thorens with a 78 setting, I think it's TD 170 or something. But I don't have a 78 cartridge, or in fact any 78s to play on it. My grandma has quite a few 78s stashed away somewhere but probably nothing that's worth me spending the ££ for a cartridge to be able to listen to.

sometimes they get the girl...

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/mgm/ghost_world/_group_photos/steve_buscemi4.jpg

the girl with the large ass and thighs

like you wouldn't do her...

the girl with the large ass and thighs

-- Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:58 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

u mad (at titties)

big leg woman ain't got no soul

78 is the loneliest number.

god those rpm, can't wait for them

i've never met a 78 collector, but i sure would like to. i mean, it'd be better than meeting, say, a Nascar fan, right?

I have one of those library all-in-one units, like from an AV class in the 70's. It has the kind of needle you flip over to play 78s. My entire collection came from the dump here, one day I was doing a dump run for work and my friend who works there was like "you gotta take these". There were probably a dozen boxes. I gave a lot away to a local 78 fiend I know. There are a bunch of kids here in Eugene who have a 78 club where they all sit around and play their latest finds. They are younger than me but total geeks when it comes to shellac. They are all way into old time music and most of them play in bands.

I think of an entire scene of dudes like Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar when I think of 78 collectors.

I know this stuff is very collectible for older guys. Is there any demand for these records among younger listeners?

dreamy
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

uh
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=32147741

Joe Bussard's myspace site

I collect vintage 78's from the thirties. I don't like anything made after the the thirties. Rap music is pure garbage Now don’t classify that stuff as music, good Lord. You run into a teenager, 16 or 17, ask them what noise is. “I don’t know.” How could they know ‘cause that’s all they hear. All you gotta do is listen. It’s a shame that all that’s great in this country is gone. Rock music is garbage – Straight from hell. Look at the people who do it. Idiots, they’re like animals. 99% of ‘em’s drug heads. The Beatles are crap You ought to step on them. That’s what you do with beetles. It’s just a sign of the times, a bunch of weirdos banging crap. It’s too bad their plane made it over here. If one had to crash that should have been the one. That would have helped our music situation for years. Elvis Presley – Couldn’t stand him Stupid looking thing. I’m just tellin’ it like it is

What's wrong with tucked-in t-shirts? And Thora Birch, for that matter??

a few months ago i told a friend if i started collecting 45s to shoot me. later that weekend we were in a 45 only store digging for hours.

i will end up like one of these guys one day.

nah, i'm sure you've got too much self-awareness for that, and are also probably missing some borderline-Apergerian gene that those guys have.

"Asperbegerian"

eh, never mind.

what i'm saying is you're probably too self-aware, as well as able to balance any compulsive crate-digging with healthy socializing to wind up as one of "those guys"

it's spelled ass burgers

right.

Bussard's so old school he doesn't even like swing.

"Lemme play you one of the last real jazz bands, Joseph Robechaux and his New Orleans Rhythm Boys, recorded in New York City in 1933," he says of the record, "King Kong Stomp" on Vocalion. "You can hear it slip into the swing [he slurs this word as a ready-made profanity], but it's still good, one of the last really hot jazz songs. But that beautiful tone, that perfection, is starting to slide."

I saw an amazing vintage HMV gramophone at a car boot last weekend. £30. Wish I'd taken the thing. I just love the way they're completely portable. And no batteries! Fuck a ghetto blaster...

joe bussard otm

Item: RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM (180160742569)
Subject: Re: Question for item #180160742569 - RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM

Q: hi, is this hot fast paced jazz, really hot, burn you hot, need a pucket of water hot- or is it slow dance music also how many records did this group do? and is everybody's record label a spinoff of victor records thankyou

i like this joe bussard guy.

ha ha, yeah, joe bussard is pretty hilarious in his claim that jazz died somewhere around 1932 ... the guy does not mince words! his stories about finding 78 collections off in the hills are practically erotica. He used to have a Web site where you could order homemade cassettes of his old 78s -- i have two of them and they're awesome! Not sure if he still does that though ...

http://www.youtube.com/user/78MAN

for all your 78 viewing needs

his claim that jazz died somewhere around 1932

This kind of opinion is normal amongst folks who are into collecting and listening to these old records. 1930 is usually the cut-off point, with a few minor exceptions into the early 30s. R. Crumb holds this view for example.

There's even a documentary about Joe Bussard... it's got some great music as well as loads of stories about how he amassed this huuuuuuuuuuge collection of ultra rare blue 78's

blues i meant...

I have the Joe Bussard compilation which came out a few years ago, absolutely fantastic, one of the best comps released in the past ten years. Worth getting a copy just for the liner notes, even if he is completely bat shit insane.

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BX3RFX3VL._SS500_.jpg

What are the qualities of post-1930 jazz that are distasteful to these folks? Like what is it about "swing" that ruins it for this guy?

his stories about finding 78 collections off in the hills are practically erotica.

I have to admit, I love the stories. He tells alot of these during the Desperate Man Blues film which is great for what it is -- a film about a long-term record collector. Unlike some of the crazed loners you think of when you think of "78 collector", the film shows Joe just passionate about each record (and music generally), smoking the shit out cigars, dancing around his basement, and ready to talk about and play anything you want to hear. There's even some short clips of Bussard and John Fahey in the 1950s driving down south/west (from Maryland) into the sticks and the old mining communities hunting for records.

Here's a clip with some of Joe's yarns from the short feature about the Dust-to-Digital label (that released the above 78 collection) included on the Desperate Man Blues DVD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGgvqlCSv1o

Bussard's so old school he doesn't even like swing.

hahaha i offically love this guy! i agree! all that hotsy totsy tomcattin' around stuff is bunko! those swing cats think they're the bee's knees!

That Bussard comp is pretty great -- all wonderful songs/recordings, amazing liner notes, etc. Haven't seen the doc on him yet, tho i think it's on my netflix queue ... but yeah, despite his ummm conservative views on jazz, he definitely doesn't come across as one of those cliched collector scum, really. He seems to really (REALLY) love that music ... and seems to love playing it for people too. nothing really weasal-y about him.

What are the qualities of post-1930 jazz that are distasteful to these folks? Like what is it about "swing" that ruins it for this guy?

They just can't stand the beat.

Rock music is garbage – Straight from hell. Look at the people who do it. Idiots, they’re like animals. 99% of ‘em’s drug heads. The Beatles are crap You ought to step on them. That’s what you do with beetles. It’s just a sign of the times, a bunch of weirdos banging crap. It’s too bad their plane made it over here. If one had to crash that should have been the one. That would have helped our music situation for years.

haha, yes the beatles' arrival here stopped cold the imminent hot jazz revival by mere days! curses!

Geir needs his own documentary.

"It was ALL DOWNHILL after they removed 'Mermaid Smiled' in favor of 'Dear God'!"

"Desperate Man Blues" movie about record collector Joe Bussard
The Bussard documentary is wonderful. Makes you want to drive to Maryland and knock on his door. And if you did, he probably wouldn't let you leave until you heard 20-25 sides.

all that hotsy totsy tomcattin' around stuff is bunko!
haha

these are the 78s i got yesterday. first ones ever. bad habit to get into, but whatevs.

Mohammed Ef Abdel Wahab on Baidaphon. titles in arabic.
Cripple Clarence Lofton "Strut That Thing" / "Monkey Man Blues" repress on Hot Jazz Club of America label.
henry "red" allen "Algiers Stomp" / "When Did You Leave Heaven?" on Vocalion 3302
big maceo "I got the blues" / "Why should I hang Around" on Bluebird 8939
the rev. a.w. nix "black diamond express to hell" parts 1 & 2 on UK Decca 9720
wilmoth houdini & his humming birds "lizzie quit joe" / "drunk and disorderly" on Romeo 751 (this one is rather beat up and grayed.)
faye adams "hurts me to my heart" / "ain't gonna tell" on Herald 434.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-40-000-78-RPM-Records-from-The-Music-Exchange_W0QQitemZ320307829509QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320307829509&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1308&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Christ, that's cheap.

...and here come the last-minute bidders

Damn. 40,000 records for $500. What a bargain.

if i had the space & money i would have bid on that shit in a heartbeat. even with the additional costs of getting them driven from KC to NYC.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1900-1909.pages/Disque.Arion/image/disque.arion.gif

i still have a big box of these (my dad's collection) in the closet. unfortunately the only known valuable one (elvis' love me tender) cracked right through the middle and broke into pieces. I have no idea what the others are.

New acquisitions:
Pathe-Actuelle 020893 - Original Memphis Five "Four O'Clock Bues" b/w New Synco Jazz Band "Whoah, Tille, Take Your Time"
HJCA 118 Edith Johnson "Ain't No More To Be Said" / "Heart Aching Blues" (Roosevelt Sykes, piano)
Bluebird 7179 Washboard Sam & His Washboard Band "I Love All My Women" / Tommy Griffin "Hey Hey Blues"

Coming from ebay:
Paramount 33023 Louise & Ferera "O Sole Mio" / "Honolulu March"
Okeh 40204 Fiddlin' John Carson "Ain't Gonna Rain No M" / "Alabama Gal"
Conqueror 8170 Tom Darby & Jimmie Tarlton "Let's Be Friends Again" / "When I Take My Vacation In Heaven"

I think this might become a new addictive and potentially expensive new hobby, particularly if I keep buying things on ebay when I'm drunk.

The Washboard Same side of the Bluebird from today sadly sounds worse than I remember it sounding when I played it at the store. Oh well. I traded a pixies t-shirt i don't wear anymore for them.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Parlophon.1/image/parlophon.1.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Pathe.Actuelle.2/pathe.actuelle.2.htm

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Grey.Gull.1/image/grey.gull.1.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Aeolian.Vocalion.2/image/aeolianvocalion2.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Mimosa.3/image/mimosa.3.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Homo.Baby/image/homo.baby.gif

huh, huh, "homo-baby"

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Nadsco/image/nadsco.gif

Nadsco OTM.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1900-1909.pages/Busy.Bee.Record/image/busy.bee.record.gif
Founded in 1904, this company had a Sherwin Bisbee as one of its principals (which probably gave rise to the label name). Originally, the company made machines which played outsized cylindrical records, but as the public began to show a preference for discs, switched their product line over in 1906

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Beltona.1920.1929.1/image/beltona.1920.1929.1.gif

i might scan a bunch of vintage 78 sleeves & post them on this thread if i can't find an archive readymade online.

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1940-1949.pages/Beltona.1/image/beltona.1.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1940-1949.pages/Beltona.2/image/beltona.2.gif

Just over a cent a disc on that ebay auction, that is insanely cheap. You only need to cherry pick a handful of them and you'll be in profit.

Probably already cherry-picked, no? Outside of collectible labels are most 78s actually worth anything? I guess most collectors just trade them with each other.

wow. beautiful labels.

Jesus, talk about eye candy! LOL at "Homo-Baby", too.

why do i spend all my spare time now reading 78 auction lists?
help me.

also i want old issues of 78 quarterly.

has an ILXor ever participated in Nauck's 78 auctions? I made really low bids on a bunch country & blues titles, and i probably won't win any of them, but you never know i guess?

you gotta figure he's got several hundred bidders per auction at leaast? maybe several thousand?

http://www.78rpm.com/images/auction/5790_BabyBonnieGE.gif

http://www.78rpm.com/images/auction/5902_SloppyHenryOK.gif

Do you also play them, Ian? Just curious.

Yeah. I bought a portable turntable with a 78 speed option, for the living room. I plug old computer speakers into it. Audiophiles and serious 78 collectors would probably be appalled.

anybody know where i can get a good sounding 78 record player? preferably one that i can hook up to my stereo, not one of those old-school windup ones.

i believe numark has a fairly affordable model that will play 78s (as well as LPs and 45s of course.)

http://www.turntablelab.com/dj_equipment/1/132/5007.html

good prewar blues-related article in this month's Harper's -- with this tidbit relevant to this thread: "“The serious blues people are less than ten,” one who contributed to Pre-War Revenants told me. “Country, seven. Jazz, maybe fifteen. Most are to one degree or another sociopathic.” Mainly what they do is nurse decades-old grudges. A terrifically complicated bunch of people, but, for reasons perhaps not totally scrutable even to themselves, they have protected this music from time and indifference. The collectors were first of all the finders. Those trips to locate old blues guys started out as trips to canvass records. Gayle Dean Wardlow became a pest-control man at one point, in order to have a legitimate excuse to be walking around in black neighborhoods beating on doors. “Need your house sprayed?” Nah. “Got any weird old records in the attic?”"

oh man i should check that out.
i have met a fair few weird 78 guys in past couple years. i really had no idea the numbers were that low, though who knows what constitutes a "serious" collector. i mean, i'm not a serious anything guy, so does that mean i have a chance of winning lesser condition discs if all the older 78 collectors already have copies in better than V condition? it's a funny thing to think about. weird old men. is there a single female 78 collector?

well, yeah "serious" to this guy must mean someone with an insanely deep collection and a willingness to spend fortunes on single records ....

right. but you wonder how big the intermediate community is. or i do, anyway. people not willing to spend much money on a single record, competing over beat-up and worn copies of records the guys with big bank accounts wouldn't deign to touch.

talking about the american primitive II collection (same article):

To do it right entailed remastering everything fresh from 78s, which in turn meant coaxing out a transnational rabbit’s warren of the so-called serious collectors, a community widespread but dysfunctionally tight-knit, as by process of consolidation the major collections have come into the keeping of fewer and fewer hands over the years.

i guess as the older guys die off they might leave their collections to other record collectors.

Earlier this year a fairly advanced collector in New York donated his collection to Syracuse University upon his passing, and it was transported to the campus in something like six or seven FedEx trucks.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/05/record.collection.ap/index.html

yeah i think i read about that -- was it mostly classical? anyway, that's great that some major universities are interested in preserving alla that, like the santa barbara cylinder project thing. reading about these "single copy" records makes you realize how ephemeral a lot of that stuff is. makes you want to become a weird 78 collector!!!

ah, guess not: "Included are recordings from 1895 to the 1950s, with big band, jazz, country, blues, gospel, polka, folk, Broadway, Hawaiian and Latin among the genres. The collection also contains spoken-word, comedy and broadcast recordings, and "V-disks," which were distributed as entertainment to the U.S. military during World War II."

50 tons! Will be interesting to see if anything cool turns up with the v-disks. I think I was reading something recently about some lost early Charlie Parker being on v-disk.

Listening to LP compilations of 78s really does lose a certain amount of the recordings' nuance. there is much more audible detail when the recording is heard at its intended 78 rotations per minute.

"The first grooves of the Jimmy Strange sides are missing due to a rimbite; no other copies are known to exist."

^^ love shit like this.

I bought a few things from the guy who runs the Old Homestead label. I bought up a bunch of their LP stock, and also found a few 78s in their catalog I wanted:

HARRELL, KELLY Victor 19596 New River Train/Rovin' Gambler
LEAKE COUNTY REVELERS Columbia15189 Wednesday Night Waltz/Good Night Waltz
GEORGIA YELLOW HAMMERS Victor 20943 My Carolina Girl/The Picture On The Wall

I didn't read this thread past the first 2 or 3 posts until now and I just knew that, like guys who talk about how such-and-so a girlie is "annoying" because they wanna make hump w/em, ian was going to turn into the 78 collector he was dissing.

Reassuring, it is.

haha, i'm never going to turn into one of THOSE guys.
i promise.

In coming weeks I'll be digitizing a (small) private collection of Arabic 78s (abt. 90 pieces). Watch this space for mp3 action. If anyone has any suggestions for cleaning up the sound of the wavs once ripped, i'd love to hear 'em.

Awesome!

yeah, i'm pretty psyched. i've never tried to do a decent restoration job on damaged source material before. so it'll be an experiment. but fun.

I'm pushing megatons of love your way, Ian.

Super-curios about Arabic musics! Godspeed, ian.

But those old 78 labels are just heartbreakingly beautiful, and prove that the world has since fallen to ruin.

Good luck, Ian. That's really cool.

Why are you so weird?

Just kidding -- Awesome! Keep us posted!

What they all said. :-)

I will probably miss these 1st time around, but I will bug you about them when I return to the US in mid-March. Many thanks.

Also, you probably know this, but go easy on the digital cleanup software. I'd rather hear crackle than weird digital waveform manipulation any day.

thread = bookmarked

good luck!

i know a dude who collects 78s. he also wears a wool full body bathing suit. he also has lives in bed-stuy, plays white blues with a slide, and even has a girlfriend. that being said, i'm looking forward to some sweet mp3 rips.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/56o2xf

First try.
The track is "I Love (Coffee Song) Part 1"
It is from an unknown label, as I don't read Arabic. Once I get in touch with the guy who commissioned this, I can have him translate the Arabic on the labels. The English tells me that it's sung by Asmahan, and is from the film Romance & Revenge. The next couple I upload will probably also be from the film.

I did not use any noise removal, except to fiddle with the tone knob on the turntable while ripping, to slightly cut the hiss. Audacity's noise removal routine seemed to make the file sound both muffled & digitally distorted.

Let me know, any thoughts etc.

Wow! Didn't know you'd be upping them this quickly! Thanx!

Looks like this one's from the 1944 film Gharam wa intiqam and the song is "Ana ahwa" or "Ahwa, Ahwa." Here's a clip form the movie (though it's not the song in question):

this is a really great tune ian

sounds good, ian.

she has a website with audio but th audio doesn't seem to work anymore:

http://www.asmahan.com/

last fm has a good asmahan station too.

Audacity's noise removal routine seemed to make the file sound both muffled & digitally distorted.

otm. I think you need somethin more like ProTools level software to remove hiss and even then it probably strips out too much stuff you want to keep. the only thing I do in Audacity is go in manually and take out the worst spikes and pops.

can't wait to check these songs out, thx for posting

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m8p95k

From the same film. "My Dreams" violin solo.
The English on the label doesn't tell me the instrumentalist's name. Eventually scans of the labels will be coming btw.

^ist that david schwimmer to the left?

thanks for sharing these, I really dig the instrumental one. I cosign not messing with the sound too much, if anyone is bothered by it they can do it themselves...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wid1fv

Here is a third track from the same film. Also credited to Asmahan on the label, is there also an uncredited singer? It seems like there MIGHT be two voices here. It's called "Don't Blame Us." This one was a bit noisier than the flip side (the violin solo) and may be recorded a little quiet. When I tried to rip at a higher volume it began to slightly distort the vocal parts. There's an annoying bit of a buzz, so this one I might try to work with a little. We'll see.

Are these too quiet, in general?

keep in mind i'm listening to the files with crummy built-in macbook speakers. so maybe they sound better than i think, or maybe worse.

Thanks for these! They're decent enough for a quick listen on the laptop or whatever. And surely you don't want to remove the inch-coat of fluff that one associates with the sound of 78s? But then I'm not fussy, and know nothing about ripping 78s. Or even vinyl for that matter.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/zeyx80

This one is a vocal duet by Fareed & Sabah on Al-Chark Records. There is no English song title. The label is pretty nice, it's a blue background with silver lettering & a detail of three pyramids also in silver. Egyptian?

Again there is a buzz during some of the quiet bits, but i think this might be my favorite so far. Side 2 coming up later; next want to try one of the 12" 78s. There are a few nice clean ones, and they have a really nice label that looks a bit like this, but on red. http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Amour.Gramophone.Record/image/amour.gif The cherub is the same, and the text is laid out similarly

^^^ that is for the label on the 12" 78, NOT the Fareed & Sabbah track. Let me see if I can find that label, it's nice.

I don't think I can hotlink to blogspot, so here:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eNQqGZfs3PI/SRiaMkJ7RRI/AAAAAAAAJa8/PIbLE0XXe2Q/s1600-h/tn-300_LABEL-AL-CHARKRECORDS_460B.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eNQqGZfs3PI/SRiaMkJ7RRI/AAAAAAAAJa8/PIbLE0XXe2Q/s1600-h/tn-300_LABEL-AL-CHARKRECORDS_460B.jpg

That's a similar label, but a group of pyramids instead of the sun.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jdnzbj

This is the first half of 12". The text above the angel says: Concert Record "Grammophon." And below: Arabian / male song / Bikoul marsoum amarnil hosn / Cheikh Yousself el Menialawi, Caire / Order number 60122

I'd guess this one is from the late teens or early twenties, but I'm no expert.

This is a nice gallery of Arabic 78 labels, but I wish there was more info.

http://78records.cdbpdx.com/Arabic/

http://www.sendspace.com/file/dvfb8q

Here is the second part of the Fareed & Sabah 78. The first time I ripped it, I was using the line-in but got that annoying electrical buzz (you know the kind i mean.) So I re-recorded it by mic'ing the speaker on the 78 player. Primitive, but it sounds okay. It's got some worn grooves, which you will hear.

Cool thing ian. Good to see your conversion to the weird side of the 78.

ugh, i don't really like the way that last one came out. i'll try to re-do it tomorrow. doing the b-side of the 12" next, then i'm gonna go home. maybe if i feel up to it, once i get home i'll rip a few American 78s.

Second part of the 12"

Took a few tries, but i think this one sounds okay. It is by the same artist, and the title is "Aghibtou li sahyeddahr."

http://www.sendspace.com/file/z7dle9

http://www.sendspace.com/file/opv0rx

Two sides by Ray Jones: "Southern Yodel Blues" and "Farm John's Yodel." Taken from a remarkably clean 78 on Columbia (black label electrical.) More Arabic 78s coming soon. I ripped six more sides this evening, after vigorously cleaning the discs. Also used the 78 needle. The results are at least a bit better than before. I'll upload those tomorrow once get the pops worked out.

FarmER John's Yodel, of course.

This is a fantastic public service you are doing ian.

I love yodeling.

Did the Bulgarian singers ever technically "yodel"? I'm not sure they did.

No, they didn't yodel. Nope. But their music is always better than yodeling, I think.

Pappa you are not on AIM right now. I think I've already seen that clip, actually. Please chat on AIM thanks.

my god…

no matter what the weather's like, it's always nice & warm

did we ever figure out why 78 collectors are so weird?

not yet.

alright let's keep working on it then

i think the popular image of the 78 collector is, unfortunately, heavily colored by hollywood films like Crumb & Ghost World, which may be why we (regular people) perceive them as weird. A great many of the high level 78 collectors are also very wealthy, which could have something to do with their eccentricity. Not to even mention the theories psychologists have come up with the explain even the more general collecting impulse...

desperate man blues is on pitchfork.tv this week. bussard seems pretty weird, but enjoyably so. he's got a great story-telling voice.

Nauck's Vintage Record Auction ends May 2nd; any other ILXors bidding? I like to bid low on a bunch of stuff, not expecting to win more than a few things. It's a nice surprise when the results come out.

btw I only won two hawaiian 78s from this auction. not a single hillbilly 78! sad.

ian, i feel like we would have a lot to talk about.

i haven't got t he 78 bug yet because (a) i have no room in my apt for anything else anyway and (b) i have to be careful to hold on to whatever savings i still have after all the books, records, and other crap i buy. i should say though that my girlfriend would probably totally be into it if i started collecting 78s. she seems to find my record-obsessing quirks completely charming. which basically means i lucked out.

and this...

Listening to LP compilations of 78s really does lose a certain amount of the recordings' nuance. there is much more audible detail when the recording is heard at its intended 78 rotations per minute.

...is absolutely true, and i'm no audiophile or analog fetishist. 78s sound amazing if you play them on the right equipment, and presuming they are in good shape. i should say though that you can master 78s to digital well, or you can master them poorly. it's amazing how different the "same" 78 can sound on a series of different compilations. there's a compilation of mid-1950s congolese music called "roots of rumba rock," which is one of my favorite collections of music ever (if not *the* favorite), which probably has the most incredible mastering of 78 RPM discs i have ever heard. it's astonishing, the level of detail and the brightness of the sound here. it's amazing how well those discs were pressed. they were pressed in belgium or france, which helps to explain it.

in any event, at the closing of the liner notes for that collection (which i don't have to hand, therefore i'll have to paraphrase), the author/compiler vincent kenis has a great quote that goes something like, "the limitations of the cd format cannot capture the amazing sound of the original 78s." it's beautiful because it inverts the standard disclaimer, "the amazing cd technology captures flaws present on the original 78s." ironically as noted the cds in question capture the sound of 78 rpm discs as good as anything i've ever heard.

p.s. one annoying thing about those k-cheap UK comps on JSP is that some of them will have remarkable mastering (e.g. the stuff mastered by davies before he died, and some of the curated comps) but others will sound absolutely horrible, mastered from shitty copies or from vinyl 33rpm reissues -- and still others will literally be carbon copies of CDs released by e.g. document a decade ago, and will also sound like crap. so buyer beware. quality control does not seem to be JSP's forte.

p.p.s. joe bussard strikes me as eccentric but by no means particularly "weird," maladjusted, etc. for that watch that terrifying documentary entitled "vinyl." -- many of the folks in that documentary are very deluded, cut off from the real world, etc. at the very least bussard has a sense of where his collecting fits into the larger world, a sense of what his collection is worth (monetarily and culturally) compared to other collections, etc.

Any recommendations on the best-sounding JSPs? I'm pretty much open to anything.

I just want to chime in and needlessly add my opinion that I've never heard a better 78 comp than the BLACK MIRROR comp that Ian Nagoski did. That thing is remarkable, and I love his notes in the booklet, as well.

that's a good one.

the victrola favorites collection is also interesting. not sure what i think about the deluxxxe fetishizing scrapbook of 78-related ephemera that it comes packaged in. the whole "we're going to present this stuff to you in a way that seeks to simulate not of experience listening to them in their original context, but rather the wonderment of the collector's encounter with the strange and unfamiliar" meme is intriguing but i think it's ultimately a dead-end. anyway the MO in that comp seemed to be to master the 78s in a way that the full materiality of the 78-as-object is apparent, with all the non-musical sounds that implies -- as well, they seemed interested in capturing the sounds of the 78s as played on certain machines. this is an interesting approach, i admit.

best-sounding JSPs? hmmm. look for anything that says john r.t. davies was involved in the mastering. but those are just a few of the earlier sets (jelly roll morton, louis armstrong) when they were still bothering to reissue jazz.

the best recent JSP comp is definitely "jook joint blues: that's what they want," a collection of mostly k-obscure postwar electrified country blues. it represents a species of electric blues that's not far removed from the idiosyncrasies of prewar country blues that people so cherish, in fact it seems the logical extension of that sound plus amplification. totally recommended.

the "a richer tradition," which focus on the african-american string-band tradition, sounds pretty good and is super interesting.

in general most of the country comps on JSP seem compromised by poor source material and/or indifferent mastering. though they are still essential just because... where else will you get all of roy acuff's early sides? without paying bear family prices?

that reminds me -- bear family's CDs almost always sound great, at least for the past 15 years or so. but good luck affording them. (the "west indian rhythm" calypso box set, an amazing document, sounds almost as good as the aforementioned "roots of rumba rock" thing.)

wish this thread had more activity, the whole field seems to be thriving

Compilations of early recordings of World Music - 1920's-50's

I second amateurist's recommendation of the JSP edition of Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens.

yeah? are they markedly better than the columbia/legacy set?

Apparently the mastering job on the Columbia set is inferior to the JSP. The JSP is about half the price too.

Tylerw: here's a representative review from Amazon:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sloppy production, horrid sound (but a nice book), November 13, 2000
By Allan Sutton (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Audio CD)
The reprocessing on this (...) compilation is among the worst in years: thin, harsh, and (on the first two CDs) with nearly overwhelming surface noise. Take it from a collector who owns original copies of many of these sides: The originals do NOT sound this bad! Some selections on the first CD were obviously taken from old tapes (a telltale "pre-echo" is clearly audible) rather than being freshly remastered. The noise problem abates somewhat on CDs 3 and 4, but the transfers remain curiously thin and harsh with an inexplicably weak bass compared to the brilliantly recorded originals. Incidentally, all four CDs had glue on the playing surfaces (removable with alcohol; but why should one have to clean a $ set?). The accompanying hardcover book is visually stunning if you can overlook the warped binding boards, and it's not without some sloppy discographical errors. (Among other gaffs, Sony apparently is trying to rewrite record-industry history, making the ludicrous claim that they -- rather than Columbia and Okeh -- produced the original issues!) A far better alternative, at half the price, is JSP's Hot Five/Hot Seven set, masterfully reprocessed by John R.T. Davies. You won't get a book, but you'll get clean, richly detailed transfers that do justice to these historic sides in a way that this set does not.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Hot-Five-Seven-Recordings/dp/B000GRTQP2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1243461024&sr=8-2

huh! didn't know that, i'll have to track down the JSP stuff. helps that it is so bargain-priced, too.

I've mentioned this before on different threads, but my dad deals 78s for a living and I've been soaking in the thread title since the cradle.
From the blog from awhile back:

My Pops had been a Metro bus driver in Nashville for some time and it didn't suit him well. While visiting family in New York City, he passed by the now-venerable House of Oldies and spied a record in the window selling for a hundred dollars. Earlier that year he had picked up a copy of the same disc for two bits. He hadn't been aware that there was a market for such stuff, a coterie of vinyl and shellac obsessives willing to pay far beyond top dollar for rare and historically important recordings. A light went off. Pops, a Yankee expat living South of the Mason/Dixon, saw the potential for a potentially lucrative hustle that played well off a lifetime of fascination with music. In 1975, the year I was born, my father decided to buy and sell antique records for a living.

In those pre-bay times, Tennessee was a collector's paradise; over a half century of music and radio industry unique to the area produced literally hundreds of thousands of undervalued records left unused or forgotten in garages, parlors, basements. A curious crate digger could find warehouses filled with untrammeled pickings. Initially, Pops would cart bulk piles of 45's and 78's into the city to sell but he quickly adopted a business model that would require less hauling and a different sort of focus.

Once a year, he would print and mail a thick pamphlet of the thousands of meticulously graded records and musical memorabilia he had acquired (or, as eventually became more common, that he was selling on consignment) to an international community of several hundred select buyers. Those buyers would send their lists of requests along with a price they were willing to pay for each of their picks. A month or so later, Pops would pull all the high bids and write the winners to confirm purchase. They would send checks. He would clean and pack the records then drive vanloads, many vanloads, of boxes to the local post office. Everybody at the post office knew him by name. In the background, while he's working, he's always playing an eclectic mix of music; sometimes favorite albums but more often whatever it is that he's just found to sell. Seventy-five percent of my childhood had an ever-changing soundtrack.

Pops has run this mail-order auction for over thirty years in pretty much the same fashion I've detailed above. It fills six to eight months of his year, every year, with packing and cleaning and grading and acquiring and mailing. I've watched him do it; it's a numbing sort of grind that often left him frazzled and irritable; hands cracked from the rubbing alcohol he used to clean the records, shut up in a home office walled by cardboard and vinyl, burning early morning hours appraising disc after disc. He has always done all this work by himself and continues to do so. His main mechanical aide well into the late nineties was a typewriter. He has a computer now but he uses it solely as a word processor. To the best of my knowledge, he has never opened Excel; all his financial mathematics are done on paper or with a calculator. He does not have an internet connection.

There is an urban legend about my father discovering a crate of impossibly rare 78s buried in our backyard under a cow shed that I have seen referenced on the internet. I spent entire summers driving around neighborhoods in Nashville and Alabama and running in to Five and Dimes and garage sales and asking "Got any old phonograph records?" and then running out to tell dad to park the van if it was a yes. He got to know R. Crumb and Chris Ware by selling them discs.

Ian, let me know if you want me to get you on Dad's mailing list; he's really loathe to take on new clients but he'll take occasional addresses from me.

I'd be interested in it Forks, though I'm not a very high-end purchaser. I'll e-mail you my address, I'm outta here for now...

Long NY Times article today:

They’ve Got Those Old, Hard-to-Find Blues

Yeah, tefteller in the lights.

mpls 78 folks in effect:

VINTAGE MUSIC and Pepper Patriot present:

THE FIRST ANNUAL 78 SUMMIT.

A FESTIVAL OF RECORDED MUSIC ON 78 RPM DISCS.
Video by John Akre.
Brion Gysons psycho-acoustic dreamachine.

Saturday Oct. 24th, 2009.
Polish National Catholic School.
607 22nd ave N.E.
Mpls. 55418.

PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE:
pepper patriot - turkish sanat and halk turkusu, clarinets.
mr.gosh - japanese pop, burlesque.
doc rock - hobo and cowboy songs.
dj otomox - mexican conjuntos, raymond scott.
scott(vintage music) - ernest tubb 16" transcription records.
mike(vintage music) - obscure female vocalists.
drew miller - sex, drinking, and violence @ 78 rpm.
dreamland faces.

looks awesome.

ernest tubb 16" transcription records

what a funny thing to specialize in!

so what's up with the weirdo 78 revival? seems to have reached some kind of critical mass.

someone needs a good think piece on this pronto.

is it just a sort of hyper-sophisticated outgrowth of the (itself quite limited) "vinyl revival" (that is, trying to distinguish itself from yet part of a larger phenomenon)? can both be said to result from the loss in aura of recorded music thanks to digitalization, and consequent desire to fetishize the specificity of 78s as individual objects? the fact that they are the result of mass production is sometimes obscure by the way the revival presents them. ok gotta go.

http://www.collectorsfrenzy.com/Details.aspx?id=300384753383

PARAMOUNT 12730--JOHN BERTRAND & MILTON PITRE NICE VG

VOCALION 5280 -- BLIND UNCLE GASPARD FLIP SIDE DELMA LACHNEY VG

VOCALION 5319-- DENNIS McGEE ONE SIDE HAS LABEL SCRATCHED OUT VG

VOCALION 5348--DENNIS McGEE ONE SIDE HAS LABEL SCRATCHED OUT VG

COLUMBIA 15325--JOSEPH FALCON & CLEMO BREAUX BETTER THAN VG A COUPLE HAVE A MINOR DISH.

THESE ARE "NOT" MINT RECORDS, BUT ARE BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE ONES YOU FIND. NO DEEP SCRATCHES , DIGS. NORMAL WEAR.

THESE ARE FOR SALE LOCALLY AND I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO END THE AUCTION "ANYTIME". THEY ARE ON CONSIGNMENT.

DO NOT BID ON THESE IF YOU ARE A WHINER , NIC PICKER,CRY BABY, OR IF YOU ARE ON SOME SORT OF BUDGET. I DO NOT NEED TO

HEAR YOU ONLY WANT ONE OR TWO, OR THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE THEM BUT COULD USE A SECOND COPY, OR THEY ARE REALLY

COMMON, OR YOU NEED TO SELL A FEW THINGS BEFORE YOU PAY. ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BID--STUDY PICTURES CLOSE.

SHIPPING WILL BE $40 PRIORITY INSURED. NO OVERSEAS SHIPPING ! AGAIN ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BID !! GOOD LUCK !!

um, if i'm laying down $1,500 or more i'm sure as hell going to be "nitpicky."

NIC PICKER

i'm scared that i am going to get addicted to buying 78s. got some really nice hawaiian stuff in. sooooo cool. edison cylinders too! and some country stuff, which is less high quality but still really cool & plenty of stuff i want to own.

really nice sol hoopii & kalama's quartet 78s

heh
http://m.post-gazette.com/Article.aspx?itemid=1046759

http://www.bluesworld.com/Auc40preview1.html

drool
i decided i'm gonna collect 78s but only ones i'll actually listen to & enjoy. ugh, i despise my life choices.

i have all those.

only going to collect, btw:
-hot hawaiian geetar
-old-timey ballads & fiddle breakdowns
-brother duos (shelton bros, delmore bros, blue sky boys, monroe bros etc etc.)

but i intend to be very discerning within these categories.

of course if i saw a calypso 78 i just had to have...

also entertaining the idea of specializing in quebecois reels & jigs.

Old guy across the street who always got his newspaper at noon while wearing a smoking jacket went into the nursing home. Tag sale last weekend. He bought everything he ever liked on CD in the 90s, but it doesn't look like he played it. $5000 stereo. Hundreds of Rat Pack related CDs. The vinyl was picked over before I got there. But there was a two foot row 78s. Every single one was Glenn Miller, and ever single on was sub-captioned "Foxtrot".

Was "Foxtrot" some sort of catch-all phrase for jazzy dancing? I think of it as a 20s thing, so I'm trying to figure out what it meant at the end of the 30s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-47z3RQRQ1w

^^ have a nice copy of this one as of a few days ago..

foxtrot means music for kinda mellow dancing as opposed to something described on a label as a 'stomp' or 'hot dance' which tend to be more uptempo & rhythmically driving. many many many many many records were listed as fox trot. i am not a historian of dancing so i don't know if the dance came before or after the label designation. the ones that are usually really boring is anything described as a 'waltz' tbh unless it's a string band record imo.

Found this blog today, might be of interest to y'all: http://excavatedshellac.com

damn ian, should i sell off a shitload of my CDs and LPs are start buying some 78s?

this seems like a very bad moment in history to be acquiring this habit.

don't start. it is a bad time. i should not have started.

tbh though, i did win two alfred karnes 78s on ebay over the weekend and hopefully they play as well as they were described. i love that fuckin guy. i also got a gamelan 78.

i was at a flea market last weekend and there was a victrola player selling for $400 ... is that insanely expensive, or is that standard pricing ...?

i have no idea how much victrolas generally sell for... it probably varies widely by condition, vintage, make/model etc.

whoa a gamelan 78!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/11/nashville-musician-shingles-roof-with-records.php
not 78s exactly but you get it

Got a pretty great 3CD collection on Dust to Digital in today's mail - Baby, How Can It Be?: Songs of Love, Lust and Contempt from the 1920s and 1930s. Liner notes by Nick Tosches, but they're easily avoided.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/11/23/arts/music/20101128-arhoolie-ss-slide-0S5F/20101128-arhoolie-ss-slide-0S5F-slide.jpg

Arhoolie at 50

One thing I have always wondered about re 78 collectors: Are they just collecting them because they are rare, or are they heavily into the Great American Songbook and pre-rock music?

they're heavily into american music of the twenties & early thirties, usually.

there was a record shop that only sold 78's a block or two away from where i was staying in edinburgh last summer. it was run by these two old cranks who claim to have been against vinyl from the beginning and wanted nothing to do with it or any the music on it

Of course it was the evil vinyl that corrupted the younger generation and got them into overtly erotic and noisy music with screaming singers. :)

I wish I was a 78 collector - they're cool dudes imo

Of course it was the evil vinyl that corrupted the younger generation and got them into overtly erotic and noisy music with screaming singers. :)

― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, November 29, 2010 9:29 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

Funny those guys sound to you what you like to use ;)

What a beautiful thread...you know if you were a serious collector you wouldn't miss the old music. The artwork on the labels is high quality, I am saving every photo!

I am not a collector (don't have any others), but I bought some today. Re-purposed from the Buy That For $1 thread:

$2, total, at an Austin garage sale today for 40 78-RPM records -- mostly looks like square dance music on local Texas labels like Blue Star and Longhorn, but one is Red Foley "Milk Bucket Boogie"/"Salty Dog Rag" on Decca; another (sadly slightly chipped -- the only one I've seen that is) is unfortunately named Western Swing guy Adolph Hofner and the San Antonians "Cotton Eyed Joe"/"Put Your Little Foot" on Columbia. There's also a "Cotton Pickin' Polka" by Lester Woytek, and at least one other version of "Cotton Eyed Joe." There seem to be a few each by the Sundowners and by Red Warrick, whoever they are. Also included in the box were file dividers for all the records, and -- weirder -- lots and lots of lyric (square dance call) sheets and/or dance instructions for individual songs, some of which look like they were officially issued by the record companies with the records, but others of which are either typed out or written out longhand. Also, an 80-page pamphlet/mini-book called It's Fun To Square Dance: Six Easy Lessons By Louie Ratliff, one Elks Club card, and two cards apparently allowing dancers free "goofs". All for $2.

Now all I need is to get a 78 needle.

was just listening to r crumb on this wfmu show: http://wfmu.org/playlists/AP
i don't collect but for some reason i like hearing collectors gab about it.

I always buy foreign language, country, western swing, gospel. and big band 78s when I see them. Yesterday I got about ten Russian 78s for a quarter apiece. Some had cool labels, and two had black and white photograghs for labels. I don't know what you call them. They weren't monochrome. The other kind, the more detailed kind.

And, you know, some bebop 78s go for about $10. I would totally pay that.

Well, not just any big band. Where is that cat?

Now that I have a player (one of those awesome old tube-amp school library ones with the flip needle to play regular LPs as well), I pretty much buy anything that looks interesting and is less than $3. Another advantage of having a player is that a lot of those record-your-own discs (which I seriously collect and will ALWAYS buy) are 78 RPM. Plus the collection & player look great in the living room.

My initial collection came from the dump, I used to have a friend who worked there. Seven boxes! I eventually gave most of the Glenn Miller & Bing Crosby stuff to a local thrift store.

Hey, you're right, I forgot that I found a few record-your-owns. The other cool thing about 78s is they track really well even when they're really scratched.

yeah, a lot of 78s can sound grrrreat, even when they look trashed. on the other hand, they can also sound awful when they look clean! needle damage can be hard to spot sometimes. tbrr, it was quite nice out a few days ago and i spend the evening in the backyard listening to (mostly country) 78s & drinking, it was lovely.

my ravens 78 got broke :{ was in a box. maybe i put stuff on top of the box? dunno. such nice shape too. oh well.

http://78records.cdbpdx.com/

what turntable do y'all use to play your 78s? do you have a separate stylus to play 78s?

Article in Chicago Reader this week about a Dust to Digital release from a 78 collector

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/dust-to-digital-steven-roden/Content?oid=4456763

http://www.chicagoreader.com/imager/b/magnum/4456766/9159/Roden034_magnum.jpg

that was a nice article, i read it yesterday.

amateurist, i use a crappy numark portable hooked up to my marantz receiver with the numark-manufactured '78 needle' (approx $15-20.)

i am waiting for ten 78s to come in the mail this weeb btw....

4x carter family
blue sky boys
jack reedy's walker mtn string band
blue ridge highballers
roane county ramblers
three tobacco tags
riley puckett

weeK

for some reason i loled at weeb

i will never be a 78 collector, so these comps are very interesting to me. i'm thinking about buying myself one for my bday, but having a difficult time choosing which one.

(i don't think 78 collectors are weird btw, i just don't see myself collecting them -- 78s, or 78 collectors ;)

my friend john put together a comp for dust to digital which is really great and covers a wide range of american musical styles--
http://dust-digital.com/baby

"songs of love, lust and contempt"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704156304576003640416924506.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

ooooh that's one of the ones i wanted! who could argue with love, lust, and contempt?!

i don't normally buy CDs but i don't feel bad giving this company my money, and they seem to have nice packaging/booklets too

yeah i want that one too. dust to digital is pretty reasonable when it comes to prices. which is nice.

i figure these packages were created with someone just like me in mind, so it is clearly my duty to buy them

Theyre nice people

most of them. i've met a few real douchebags.

that was a nice article, i read it yesterday.

^^ classic 78 collector response

No, i meant the dust to digital guys are nice people.

i bought the recommended comp -- should be on its way to me shortly. excited! and full of loving contempt ;)

what turntable do y'all use to play your 78s? do you have a separate stylus to play 78s?

La Lechera, how do you like your compilation of old-timey music purchased from the dust-to-digital corporation?

I love it! I meant to post to this thread when I received/first heard it, but then I forgot. I really like the wide variety of styles and thematic consistency; it's varied enough in style to not seem at all jokey in theme, which is always a risk, right? It reminded me how much I like cajun music too.

Would recommend!!

oh man early cajun music fukken rules. there are some amazing collections on Arhoolie you could check out..

http://www.amazon.com/Cajun-String-Bands-1930s-Breakdown/dp/B0000001N8/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1315504163&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Folksongs-Louisiana-Acadians-Various-Artists/dp/B0000001I2/ref=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1315504163&sr=1-9

oh yeah - they have a lot of good stuff! that reminds me of how my college roommates refused to let me play my arhoolie cajun classics cd. they wouldn't let me play anything fun.

there's an all-78 record store in minneapolis, i keep meaning to check it out, been there forever

i heard the dude has a cat in the store and smokes a pipe and is kinda surly

it's trv kvlt tho, only 78s

speaking of dust to dig, this looks cool, if only for the spooooooooky cover
http://www.dust-digital.com/images/320/dtd20-320.jpg
I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces: Music in Vernacular Photographs 1880-1955

... i listen to the wind that obliterates my traces brings together a collection of early photographs related to music, a group of 78rpm recordings, and short excerpts from various literary sources that are contemporary with the sound and images. It is a somewhat intuitive gathering, culled from artist Steve Roden’s collection of thousands of vernacular photographs related to music, sound, and listening. The subjects range from the PT Barnum-esque Professor McRea - “Ontario’s Musical Wonder” (pictured with his complex sculptural one man band contraption) - to anonymous African-American guitar players and images of early phonographs. The images range from professional portraits to ethereal, accidental, double exposures - and include a range of photographic print processes, such as tintypes, ambrotypes, cdvs, cabinet cards, real photo postcards, albumen prints, and turn-of-the-century snapshots.

The two CDs display a variety of recordings, including one-off amateur recordings, regular commercial releases, and early sound effects records. there is no narrative structure to the book, but the collision of literary quotes (Hamsun, Lagarkvist, Wordsworth, Nabakov, etc.). Recordings and images conspire towards a consistent mood that is anchored by the book’s title, which binds such disparate things as an early recording of an American cowboy ballad, a poem by a Swedish Nobel laureate, a recording of crickets created artificially, and an image of an itinerant anonymous woman sitting in a field, playing a guitar. The book also contains an essay by Roden.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2011/09/nostalgia.php

http://www.forumusic.co.uk/a_pile_of_78s.html

gorgeous.

since i've started this thread i've become a 78 guy :( buying 78s online monthly at least.

*made a lame joke; deleted it*

78-only guy who comes into our store wears microskirts in a kind of Catholic school girl plaid. He's in his late 40s at least and is either a creep or on the creep end of the autism spectrum.

i have met some totally fine 78 guys, really. dudes i would just hang with to have a beer or eat a burger.

if any of you weird 78 collectors are interested, here's a cool r crumb bbc radio series where he plays weird 78s. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/23609327190/sweet-shellac-and-now-for-something-completely

:D thanks

Why aren't hillbilly and the like collectible among 78 guys? I thought for sure those "Rockabilly guys" The ones who dress like greasers collect those?

Isn't Coral collectible?

rockabilly guys do buy the stuff, sure, but you can still find great records for cheap! especially since off-condition 78s of the post-war can still sound amazing. coral is collectible, i guess, along with the same guys who collect dion records and doo wop 45s on rama, but they are a dying breed.

fyi i got my copy of "i wish i was a mole in the ground" today along with a handful of other rekkerds by fate norris, fiddlin powers & family, the carter family, mainer's mountaineers, and riley puckett.

Really enjoyed reading this thread. As someone who's been into vinyl most of my life, 78 collecting has always been too intimidating.

Thanks for all the links and shop talk. Would loved to have seen/heard some of the now dead links and images.

i'm turning into one of these guys.
i actually have revised my original opinion, and i think most of the ppl i have met who collect 78s are totally cool people. there are some real weirdos out there but really i don't think there are more than in regular record collecting circles. i just encountered some freaks early on.

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/473971_392189110829334_196923011_o.jpg
this guy!

coolest guy in america?

definitely.
i wish the guy many many many years of good health, but i look at him and i can't help thinking -- what's happening to those records when he passes away? i mean, i just hope there's something along the lines of what's happening with John Peel's collection in the works? library of congress? what?!

i don't actually find joe b. that interesting--after you get past how seminal of a collector he is etc. he doesn't have a ton interesting to say about the music.

having an encyclopedic knowledge of pre-war american 'vernacular' music is enuff for me tbh. not everyone has to be an academic with critical insight imo.

totally agree, wish more people felt that way!

that said i love reading things like calt's skip james bio & the recent book about early country music & mill workers, which are full of critical speculation and supposition and in the case of the calt especially 'outside the box.' but it's not a pre-req for me.

bussard does make a hell of a mixtape though -- the few that i ordered back when he was doing that are awesome.

i'd guess he knows the ins & outs of the music about as well as anyone.

i feel like i'm biologically wired to value artifacts over theories about the artifacts, in general. i think it's just some kind of a mental orientation?

i tend to feel the same way. that is why i had such a lousy time in college where half my classes we were thrust packets of frustrating literary criticism as tho they were as valuable as or more valuable than the o.g. object.

It's the collector mentality, I guess. I don't know that I think they're so weird, really. They're better at what they do than I am at what I do, that's for sure.

Working in a used record store for about four years, I ran into a lot of really obnoxious, anal retentive knobs. Most of them were 45 collectors. From my experience, they're the worst. Met a few 78 weirdos, but they were just kind of quirky, not outright jerks.

funny though, out of all those 78s bussard has, i wonder how many he'd say were total garbage.

i think i've already said this, but my dad is a 78 dealer and he often gets called out to guys' warehouses by the family after someone passes to assess consignment sales. It happens a lot.

got a note in my email today notifying me that i had won some records i bid on in the back of VJM -- a martin & roberts on perfect and pete pyle on bluebird

what is all this about "theories about artefacts" or whatever? you guys are reading an awful lot into my posts. i guess i just feel that for a guy who gets hella attention for having the most awesome record collection in the USA i don't find what he has to say very interesting.

ian since you watch out for these things, can you look out for piano and other 78s by a guy named "lee sims" (not frankie lee sims, just lee sims)? none of his stuff (well, save for one or two tracks) is on CD and most isn't on LP either. but he's great. i'll pay you for any of his 78s in decent condition.

funny though, out of all those 78s bussard has, i wonder how many he'd say were total garbage.

― tylerw, Friday, July 6, 2012 10:54 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

doesn't he pointedly not collect stuff (like any jazz post-1933 or whatever) that he thinks is trash? or he'll collect the valuable ones just so's he can trade them away for stuff he really wants.

When you consider that it's about two songs per record, it's not too hard to believe that he thinks all his records are cool.

I've got about a box of 78s now but I still don't have a way to play them. I play them on other people's record players sometimes. It seems like a tougher hobby than regular record collecting.

I peed my pants when I found some 78s lying around, including an entire Hank Williams set.

However, they sound like shit. I think archivists must like them for other reasons. God bless them, but they are a pain in the ass. The old stereos you can play them on are really cool though.

um, lots of 78s sound great.

and you can play them on lots of record players--was standard until the late '50s/early '60s really. not just gramaphones or whatever.

they last is the thing.

bebop 78s sound SO GOOD

tyler, thank you for that link to the r. crumb shows, i really enjoyed them, especially the last one on black string bands. i was surprised at how great most of the recs sounded (i'm used to hearing skip james 78s that are more crackle than music) - dunno if the discs had been sonically tidied up, or if crumb has enough coin to only collect the most pristine examples of such, or what. it was also amusing to me hear 'respected american cartoonist robert crumb' drawling on BBC Radio 3, which is as 'straight' an institution as you can imagine...) Could have done w/ a few more tales of rec collecting/hunting and maybe a lil less primo levi, but o/wise it was fab, so thanks again.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/384439_10151844526147137_1286166921_n.jpg

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everybody wants a key to my cellar

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okay, that's it. just some stuff i picked up this morning before i'd had my coffee. greenfield usually more of a doris day kinda town.

that tom hutchinson is actually tom ashley under a pseudonym and i would like to buy it from you if it's not cracked? can we talk abut this?

i don't usually photograph labels and post 'em online but i got some good ones from my pal.. so.. in honor of skot's birthday, i will take a few photos

except i can't find the camera

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/8044267473_371837e3b3.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8044279354_c3f9c0527f.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8044280296_2530891d44.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8455/8044281310_ce392aa7ae.jpg

those are in order:
chubby parker
tommy dandurand as UNCLE STEVE HUBBARD
rayne-bo ramblers (flip side is THE BLIND FIDDLER, good cajun record)
blind lemon jefferson (looks bad, plays decent!)

I'm old enough to (barely) remember when Sears sold records, but never knew they once had their own label

they didn't ~really~ have their own label -- they would lease titles from other record companies, often changing the artists name to a pseudonym, and press on their own budget imprint.

so Sears cheaped out even way back then....

the info on 78 labels amuzes me, like how the older ones were cleanly styled and had just the essentials but as time went on more and more legal crap had to be squeezed into the border. And why did they feel a need to clue you in on what style the music was? like "a foxtrot"?

that's for the consumer!

well since Sears used pseudonyms to avoid paying royalties or whatever, customers had no idea who the recording was of, only the name of the song. At least you knew it what style of music it was before you bought it ...

it wasn't really to avoid any kind of payment, it was just a distribution arrangement in a way -- the pseudonyms were so that the label the recording is leased from could still sell the recording for a higher price than the sears price. some pseudonyms were also to avoid breaking a contract w another label.

So you would know how to dance to the song.

favorite genres of music on 78 labels --

barn dance with calls
stomp
two-step
reel
old-time song with banjo

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/nyregion/rescued-kurt-weill-recording-is-sweet-vindication-for-accidental-discoverer.html

innerestin'

people almost never bring me 78s at the store.
this one guy dan does -- a collector from upstate (moving back to brooklyn!)

got these for myself from him today --

byrd moore and his hot shots 'frankie silvers' / 'hills of tennesee'
north carolina ramblers 'too young to marry' / 'ragtime annie'
gid tanner & riley puckett 'fox chase' / 'arkansas traveler'
burnett/rutherford/moore 'cumberland gap' / 'goodnight waltz'
narmour & smith 'captain george has your money come?' / 'the sunny waltz'

i love old-time music. these were all on columbia except the burnett/rutherford/moore which was on champion and the narmour & smith which was on okeh.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/music/rare-robert-johnson-record-turns-up-at-jerrys-records-662343/

Came here to post that Jerry's link. Jerry's vast offerings of 70s compilations of pre-war music, sold for a few bucks at a time, did a lot for my musical education. I wonder how hard it will be to find a buyer. It seems like if any 78 era musician would might have a stigma of being over-praised among 78 collectors, it would be Johnson.

i keep waiting for a story like this to pop up with some new skip james or something no one's ever heard. sigh, oh well.

man you kind have to wade through some 'pitch corrected' shit on youtube, huh.

unskewed pitch

it wasn't such a big deal in 2005:

http://www.popsike.com/ROBERT-JOHNSON-Dust-My-Broom-VOCALION-03475-E/4801793362.html

and this version is even scarcerer:

http://www.popsike.com/Original-Robert-Johnson-78-record-Dust-My-Broom-Conqueror-label-1937/200717160756.html

still all in all they could get 3 or 4 grand at auction. still think it was kind of rude to gloat about it in a newspaper.

yeah i was kinda wondering whether the story was the editor's idea or

might not even be worth as much as a necros single when you get right down to it:

http://www.popsike.com/php/detaildatar.php?itemnr=170923607910

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/01/03/saved/
good article!

http://db66abc2c256b763aaef-ce5d943d4869ae027976e5ad085dd9b0.r76.cf2.rackcdn.com/2013/57/672/a-detail-of-a-drawing-by-robert-crumb_original.jpg
jerry's in the news again. with added r crumb
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/art-architecture/rare-lp-spins-into-trade-for-drawing-by-noted-artist-677032/#ixzz2M7UrICDc

imo the better version of "i heard the voice of a porkchop" is the one by jim jackson -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU0ZEMYsCpA

hey ian a friend of mine is in white plains/westchester clearing out his mother's house and found ~100 old blues 78s & is wondering if there's somewhere he can bring em to try to sell some or put them in good hands. do you know anywhere in nyc he could bring them? would you be interested?

i'd be interested in em for sure. you can have your friend email me -- dr.carl.sagan @ gmail.com. i am in brooklyn, would love to take a look at em. do you know some the artists or the general era? Stuff after the mid thirties is less interesting to me, and condition is v important, but i'd be interested in talking to yer friend. since i am currently unemployed i would also be interested in selling on consignment or buying 'em from him.

don't know about condition or year or anything, but he should be emailing you. thx a lot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IKjwSWReaU

got dis one in da mail today.

some other recent arrivals --
dykes magic city trio - frankie / poor ellen smith (great tunes, not the greatest copy but listenable!; brunswick)
tom owens barn dance trio - ocean waves / stony point (gennett)
byrd moore & his hot shots - careless love / three men went a-hunting
bunch of carter family and darby & tarlton records

i love 78s :(

are you tucking in your t-shirts now?

NEVER

:)

lol

but are you wearing suspenders and a boater yet?

NEVER

i am, however, buying expensive discographical reference volumes and putting check marks next to records i own.

jealous much?

― scott seward, Wednesday, September 19, 2007 1:49 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No longer...

naw man, i still covet the collections of the 'advanced' 78 collectors i know... going to dudes houses and hearing $1000k+ blues and string band records... o_O;;

Always interesting to meet the people you see dropping $$$$ per record

http://www.eastriverstringband.com/radioshow/?p=771

^^^ R. Crumb's favorite dance bands, part 2.

http://blog.dinosaurdiscs.com/

It's not on 78 but this Paramount thing on Third Man is nuts and beautiful and completely awful all at the same time:

http://www.secretdecoder.net/blog/2013/09/30/the-rise-fall-of-paramount-records-1917-1927-vol-i/

that gives me a stomach ache

hey weirdos! has there been any discussion of this book in here?
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/amanda-petrusich-book-interview-record-collectors-do-not-sell-any-price/Content?oid=14146401

read an excerpt a little while ago (on pitchfork I think?). will read! she is a good writer.

i'm not sure i care much about the lives of 78 collectors, but the historical stuff will probably be pretty interesting.
there's a book release party in brooklyn on friday, but i don't think i'll be able to make it due to work.

i liked this part

That ended up being a sort of perfect storm for me, and I would say probably halfway through the research and writing of the book, I wanted to be a part of that process—I wanted not only my own collection but I wanted some sense that I played a role in protecting this music that was so important to me. Even talking about it now I'm like, "Amanda, that sounds crazy." I sound like a crazy person. But I got the bug a little bit.

i dunno, pretty much every story i read about joe bussard cracks me up or has something incredible in it. i might check it out

yeah i like living vicariously through these kooks!

we live in a duplex and we met the guy who lives in the other half of the duplex the day we moved in. he has this incredible old victrola and a collection of 78s and his place is pristine, all brass and polished wood and lovely old vintage posters. we were excited to be record pals. anyway we've seen him probably a dozen times in the 2+ years since, not once since november. but we see his car. no one ever goes over there. when he's home at night, no matter the time (if it's dark at 5, even) there's no light inside.

he's also a tv editor, who themselves are a weird breed.

several of our other neighbors who live around us have asked us if anyone lives there because they haven't seen anyone emerge or enter the other half of our building.

is your neighbor terry zwigoff?

78s make me really happy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9DpR7gPBYo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQizk0q3WK4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJjVptKLyc

he's like a weird version of stephin merritt. strange thing is, if you only saw him outside you'd think he was an aging roadie, he drives a big ol mustang and wears baseball caps. seems(ed?) like a nice enough guy.

i like old music and i like a lot of people who collect old music (like ian!) and i like going over to people's houses and having them play rare beautiful music from 78s for me. but i do not get this whole niche market for profiles/books/etc. about 78 collectors. it seems like there's a new article (saying the same old thing) on joe bussard every three months.

also, omar little, you should probably check on your neighbor. just give his doorbell a ring in one late saturday/sunday afternoon.

it's like now that all the prewar musicians are dead the focus has shifted to the collectors, curators, etc. which is fine i guess but isn't 1/10th as interesting as the music to me. there's still a ton of old music that remains to be explored and understood.

people who would buy the R. Crumb "Pioneers of Country Music" trading cards, look at the pictures, but not read the backs or actually spend time engaging with the music.

this is just an image i have in my head, sort of illustrating i think the shift from the focus on music to the focus on strange people who collect this outdated stuff. it's a bit annoying.

something i'm not sure the public at large understands is the legit satisfaction people get from collecting or other hobbies. mystery writer Lawrence Block writes about it really when his hit man character Keller becomes absorbed by stamp collecting -- it's engaging with something on such a complete level that you don't notice hours have passed, you don't stop to do something else, you're just 100% involved with this thing you're doing and that is making you feel really happy.

sorry weird post

good post

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/why-nerdy-white-guys-who-love-the-blues-are-obsessed-with-a-wisconsin-chair-factory/

this was informative for a know-nothing like myself:

http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/the-first-ever-blues-record-is-up-for-sale-on-ebay/

and what a beautiful, beautiful song too!

A Monumental Sales of a Korean 78rpm Record in an Auction!!

A couple of hours ago, there was a sensational auction result of a Korean 78rpm record - on Japanese Yahoo auction page. The record in question is Nitto 2249, recorded in August 1926, and issued September of the year. It contains two sides by Korean soprano, Yoon Shimdeok (Korean ; 윤심덕, 1897 ~ 1926). The A side contains a song called "The Praise of Death" (Korean ; "사의 찬미, Saui Chaanmi"), and the B side contains "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" , the famous Easter Hymn written by Charles Wesley. The final price of this record was 5,213,111 Yen (or $42,000), no other Korean 78rpm record had ever reached this price so far. Here is the background story of this record. Some people out there might find this boring, but I think some of them might find the story quite fascinating.

The singer, Yoon, was one of the earliest Korean female singer trained in Western operatic voice, but after several personal crisis and depression, she committed suicide with her lover, playwright Kim Woojin (Korean; 김우진), by jumping off from the ferryboat in the ocean, on August 4th, 1926. Her suicide created a national sensation at that time, and there were a couple of TV dramas and two films based on her life and death ever since.

Just before her suicide, between July and August 1926, she recorded 32 sides for Japanese Nitto Record company, most of which consisted of some operatic arias (Traviata, Aida, etc.) and few songs (including a couple of Stephen Foster songs and few Christian hymns). All of them were issued after her death, between October 1926 and February 1927. Most of them, however, apparently had dismal sales, judging by their current near non-existent status. Out of those 32 sides, there are only 4 sides of her known to exist, with two sides coming from the only known copy.

Her biggest sales, however, was a song called "The Praise of Death" (Korean ; "사의 찬미 Saui Chaanmi"), an adaptation of Ion Ivanovici's "Waves of Danube Waltz", with consistent themes of death in the lyrics. The lyricist is not credited on the label, but judging from few newspaper articles of the period and a couple of publicity materials, it is most likely Yoon herself who wrote the lyrics. Because of her sensational suicide and the public's interest on her new recordings, this record had a huge sale at that time, probably about 50,000 or 60,000 copies - no other Korean records at that time had a sales close to that number.

However, in the turmoils of Korean war and other catastrophic events that plagued the Korean modern history, almost all of the copies of this record literally disappeared. Also, another possible factor of the record's extinction is the pressing quality of the original record. Although relatively well-recorded, Nitto Records of the late 1920s employed a sort of laminated pressing, with a exceedingly bad quality paper lamination base that were notoriously prone to moisture swelling. By the 1960s, this record was completely banished from the sight. When a radio drama series based on Yoon's life was produced in the late 1960s, the producers searched everywhere for this record, but they could not find a copy of it, as a result, they only had to play an acoustic recording of "Waves of Danube Waltz" in the program (I have a tape of this episode)

The first copy of this record that ever turned up in modern record collecting world was found in a dumpster in the late 1970s. It was a very rough, worn copy, with several skips and many other blemishes which rendered the record almost completely unlistenable. Nevertheless, the record was "transferred" (i.e. the record was played on a Victor Credenza and recorded with a microphone and dubbed on a reel tape), and reissued privately on a LP album. The record was later sold to a record/phonograph collector, who donated his entire collection of records to a Christian sect, and no one has ever seen this copy (and the rest of collection) since 1997.

The second copy of this record was discovered from a personal collection of a college professor, and later purchased by the Musicology department of Seoul National University (for a "hefty sum") in the early 1980s. It was transferred to a DAT tape, but this was the time that no one in Korea knew anything about the correct playing stylus, so the record was played with an LP stylus, with terrible surface noise coming out as a result. Without careful handling, this record was later smashed by a careless librarian (who mistook it for an ordinary LP record), and is now in 4 pieces....
frown emoticon

The third copy, discovered by a demolition worker in an attic of a house around 1987, was purchased by Dr. Bae Yeon-Hyung, the head of The Korean 78rpm Archive Project (http://www.78archive.co.kr/v2/index.php), in 1989 for about $3,500. This is a copy that was first transferred with "right" equipment and has been reissued numerous times in CDs and other modern media. The copy is overall in a good condition (I would say "G" in record grading terms, or 7 out of 10 in grading scales), and plays quite nicely with 3.5mil TE stylus, except for two greyed blasting spot with Yoon's high notes. I had a privilege of transferring this copy digitally by myself. It also holds the record of being one of the most longest Korean 10-inch recording (4 minutes 49 seconds at 76rpm). The performance, compared with its legendary status, is not so great in its musical quality. It seems Yoon's musical training (3 years or so) was not sufficient enough to give her steady notes, and her voice, overall, sounds very nervous. Of course, you cannot judge her voice from this sole rather dim example, but until ANY copy of her other records will turn up, her reputation should only be judged by this record. The other known two sides of Yoon, containing "The First Nowell" and "Sea of Galilee", has never transferred or even shown to the public, although I personally had a privilege of seeing and holding the record (the owner refused to play the record for me, unfortunately).

The fourth copy, turned in Japan Yahoo auction site in 2006, was in a mint condition. It was purchased by a scholar/collector for about $8,200. Sadly, this individual is one of the most notoriously obstinate person when it comes to sharing his collection to the world, and so far there was no transfer of this record ever shared to the collecting world or to any serious researchers.

This copy, which appears slightly less clean than Dr. Bae's copy, was listed in a Japanese record seller's Yahoo auction page with the minimum bid of 3,000 yen (roughly $25) in the morning of July 14th. Apparently the seller was not aware of its legendary status. Words got around, and the price quickly rose to 100,000 yen (roughly $920) in less than 24 hours. By the end of the week (in the morning of July 20th), it already reached to 1.2 million yen (roughly $10,000), and final price was 5.2 million yen! I think I know who got the copy of this record, but I will keep my mouth shut until everything gets clear and the record is shipped to the buyer. For me, this is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE - it is simply not worth THAT much amount of money, even with its legendary rarity.

^^^^ read this on a facebook post shared by excavated shellac/jonathan ward -- super cool. i love hearing about this insane stuff. it is exciting.

i am listening to skillet lickers records at the moment. literally, right now. some old-time music snobs sort of gloss over just how GOOD they were, in their preference for some more obscure string bands. and maybe because they made so many records. but they were really great, and i think their best performances are among the best records made in the string band style. lowe stokes, one of the skillet lickers' fiddlers, i would consider one of the greatest fiddlers of the era. top 5. he made some really great records. yep.

wow. i literally just found this thread to ask a question about 78 rpm records inspired by my research on that very korean release. O_O

after reading that i don't need to know anymore, but i'll ask it anyway: does anyone know when 78 rpm "albums" (i.e., the first albums ever released) started being produced? i.e., collections of 78s grouped together much like an album of photos, and sold as a set. i've googled around a bunch, but from wiki to the few articles i can find, no one wants to seem to put any kind of year on it. (though i do know now that they weren't made obsolete by good-quality 33 1/3s until 1948)

saw ian nagoski speak about recorded birdsong yesterday and it was awesome -- he was not weird at all! really engaging speaker and nice person too.

he's a very nice person! and a good speaker. and he puts out magnificent releases. he also tried to crowdfund his vasectomy.

wow, cheers to him for wanting a vasectomy -- did he succeed?

excellent speaker -- i appreciated the use of repetition of key terms so we could go home and google later
it was kinda weird because i wasn't sure where to look while the records were playing so i looked at one of the speakers

haha speaking of speakers

i don't know if he ended up getting a vasectomy, but he was roundly pilloried for trying to get his friends to pay for it.

it's pretty weird
i guess that means he is officially weird, like other 78 collectors

yes!

That birdsong comp he did last year is WILD.

yeah, he also did the comp of all laughing records!

i just buy whatever he releases (on bandcamp, usually), it's almost always gold.

yeah, i'm a fan of that approach -- i probably wouldn't buy a fancy physical collection of laughing songs, but $4 on bandcamp is worth it.

i made a Vocalian playlist. 142 songs. roughly 1925 to 1935.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqITlO71C61yE3UW4WAf_96-dqfX_0Zsj

uh, Vocalion. i can't spell.

78 collectors: still weird.

https://www.facebook.com/100000638567220/posts/2813960045301920?sfns=mo

keep the king of weird 78 collectors in your thoughts

Received “Do Not Sell At Any Price” from Mrs HD for Xmas. Really looking forward to it — I like Petrusich’s writing & I like record collecting so it should be a good day’s read.

8 tracks were better?!

It was a good book! I ploughed through it in a day. It got quite interesting toward the end where she began to examine how the tastes of white men had basically shaped the narrative around early 20th century recorded music, what was worth saving & what was worth pursuing to the obsessive degree that collectors of rustic music do... and then it just kind of petered out after a quick detour into the Epirotic Vival (“revival” is too strong a word for something that didn’t have much of a first life). It was a bit frustrating in that way; I’d have liked her journey to have got there by about Chapter 4 and then take us somewhere else, but she’d already clearly spent a lot of money & time on the project & .... how many rabbit holes can you fall down before you have to call time? Well worth a read, esp for those of us who ponder the question posed by the thread title. Sequel, please.

Joe Bussard
59m ·
Hello everyone,
It is disappointing that we have to be posting this. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely obvious that we can no longer leave the planning of visits to Joe’s record room up to him or his guests.
Joe is on hospice care, as of last week. We are unsure how much time he has left, but we are caring for him at home so he is able to spend his remaining time as comfortable as possible and around his records.
While we are happy to have people visit and keep him company, the usual day long trips to Joe’s are over. And this is not the choice of my grandfather - unfortunately, he is never going to understand the severity of this situation or the risks associated with having groups of strangers in his room for 6+ hours a day. So, as his caretakers, this is the decision that is being made and the new rules in place. He simply cannot be entertaining visitors for hours, up and down the stairs, or exerting all his energy with multiple guests.
If you would like to visit Joe, please contact us via FB message or you can email me (em✧✧✧.anderson✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧). Anyone who visits needs to show proof of a negative COVID test within the last 24 hours. If you have any chance of exposure, please be respectful and do not visit. Visits will be limited to two hours and two people. If anyone chooses to not follow these requests, or speaks directly with Joe to plan a visit and does not consult with me or my mom (Joe’s daughter), you will be asked to leave our house immediately.
We thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes during this time. While Joe would love to have dozens of people in our home for hours a day, it simply is not safe for him and we need to put these restrictions in place for his well-being.

:(

Oh no!

Joe Bussard 78 record collector RIP.

Who will get his collection?

This old long read on Bussard by writer Eddie Dean for Washington City Paper was a fascinating take on Bussard and his musical views and approach to life

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/274356/desperate-man-blues/

RIP.

a couple months ago i talked with somebody who visited joe over the summer. i'm guessing he must have gotten in before his family took over scheduling visits. joe sold him a (cracked) blind lemon jefferson record for $20 -- wow! this kid was like 18 and so stoked on it.

he's a legend for the record cleaning video alone.

i loathe to speculate on what his family is dealing with re: his collection

i imagine the dust to digital guys are working with the family

Am now on the hunt for Annette Hanshaw records. The most charming and disarming of the pre-war pop-jazz honky chanteuses.

https://consequence.net/2023/08/internet-archive-lawsuit/

Major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Capitol have filed a copyright lawsuit against the Internet Archive and its founder Brewster Kahle over the “Great 78 Project,” an initiative aimed to preserve and provide free access to pre-1972 musical works from artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.

In the suit filed Friday (August 11th), the labels claim that the project — which Internet Archive describes as a hub for “the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records” — violates copyright laws, and argues that by “transferring copies of those files to members of the public, Internet Archive has reproduced and distributed without authorization Plaintiffs’ protected sound recordings.”

https://great78.archive.org/

in other news, new r crumb yoga mat just dropped

https://cdn.platformart.com/original_images/a119a596-1581-4568-a757-a6818bb52cb2.RCRUMB_YOGAMAT_unrolling_animation_1.gif

https://www.platformart.com/artworks/r-crumb/shape-up-yoga-mat

I guess this is as close to a Dust-to-Digital thread there is, so might as well post this (very cool) news here:

https://dusttodigital.substack.com/p/dust-to-digital-radio-is-here-new

Earlier this year, the Dust-to-Digital Foundation partnered with the University of California, Santa Barbara to begin sharing something extraordinary: 50,000 recordings we spent the past 15 years digitizing from collectors, now available to anyone who wants to hear them. These rare performances and historical recordings can be explored on demand through UCSB’s platform — a deep well of musical discovery.

Today, we are bringing that same material to you in a new way: Dust-to-Digital Radio, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the Dust-to-Digital website and via Apple iOS and Android apps.

Throughout 2026, we will be building out the station’s programming to draw from three main sources: the historic recordings the Dust-to-Digital Foundation has rescued and digitized, the Dust-to-Digital label’s catalog of award-winning releases, and the contemporary performances from around the world that we share on Dust-to-Digital’s social media. It’s a continuous journey through time and place, curated by us, always playing. Whether you tune in at noon or midnight, you will encounter music that deserves to be heard — recordings that might have been lost forever, performances etched in time, voices and instruments from across generations and continents. Additionally, the mobile app includes liner notes for what you are hearing, giving context and story to each broadcast. It is an infinite box set in your pocket.

Two years later, and that limited edition yoga mat is still available. It's almost like the Venn diagram of yoga mat owners and Crumb admirers solely overlapped with Aline.

it doesn't seem like it is for sale still? i'm sure there were plenty of people who like yoga and crumb but didn't want to pay $250 for a novelty collector yoga mat