Keepsake for My Lover
If you only had a minute to say something, what would you say? Janine H Jones explores the 'voice recording booth'. From 2016.
'Like talking on the phone but a thousand times more thrilling,' voice recording booths invite you to 'hear yourself as others hear you' by entering a weird machine to cut a record.
Once a technological novelty, these recordings leave a unique legacy and a wonderful world of audio peculiarities, which serve as a vital reminder for how we communicate today.
Once a staple of seaside resorts and arcades, famously used in the films Brighton Rock and Badlands, they returned to prominence when Jack White restored a booth, on which Neil Young recorded his 2014 album.
While the discs speak for themselves, the booths ask questions about us and how we choose to present ourselves to the world.
Janine H Jones crosses the Atlantic, to meet the people who have restored these booths, to find out what’s the value of putting our money where our mouth is and speaking out loud. Recording personally and for posterity, why are people in their droves returning to make a permanent record, instead of the infinitely editable yet intangible digital recordings offered by the technology in our pocket?
Contributors:
* Bill Bollman (Record booth restorer)
* Alisha Edmonson (Songbyrd Cafe)
* Will Prentice (British Library)
* Digby Fairweather (jazz musician)
* Ben Blackwell (Third Man Records)
With special thanks to:
* The British Library
* The Imperial War Museum
* Jason Spellman, Ben Soundhog and Mike Hale for donating their discs to the project,
* Cai Strachan for digitising the donated discs and donating the first disc that sparked the whole idea
Producer: Hannah Loy
First broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 in October 2016.
Last on
Music Played
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KRIS RESNICK
The Record (Baby I Love You)
Composer: YOUNG. Performer: Ben E. King.- Rhino/Atlantic.
- n/a.
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KRIS RESNICK
The Record (Baby I Love You)
Composer: YOUNG. Performer: Ben E. King.- Rhino/Atlantic.
- n/a.
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KRIS RESNICK
The Record (Baby I Love You)
Composer: YOUNG. Performer: Ben E. King.- Rhino/Atlantic.
- n/a.
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Bob Dylan
THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN
Performer: Wanda Jackson.- Third Man.
- 82876876062-NA.
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Larry Coryell
Interlude
Performer: Charlie Byrd.- Five Four.
- FIVE FOUR 2.
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Larry Coryell
Interlude
Performer: Charlie Byrd.- Five Four.
- FIVE FOUR 2.
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Larry Coryell
Interlude
Performer: Charlie Byrd.- Five Four.
- FIVE FOUR 2.
-
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Karen Elson
100 years from now
Performer: Karen Elson.- XL.
- B003FVCZ90.
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Karen Elson
100 years from now
Performer: Karen Elson.- XL.
- B003FVCZ90.
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Digby Fairweather
Run Rabbit Run
Music Arranger: Denny Wright. Music Arranger: Digby Fairweather.- Black Lion.
- B005W9QN50.
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Tony Sperry
Record Hop Blues
Performer: The Quarter Notes. Performer: Tony Sperry.- Ace Records.
- B000TGC73I.
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Tony Sperry
Record Hop Blues
Performer: The Quarter Notes. Performer: Tony Sperry.- Ace Records.
- B000TGC73I.
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Robert Johnson
Phonograph Blues
- CBS.
- 467-2462.
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The Playmates
While the Record Goes Around
- Collectables.
- COL-CD-5418.
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John Paul Lawler
Record Player
Performer: Inchinchilla.- Coney Island Discs.
- B009E03MH0.
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John Paul Lawler
Record Player
Performer: Inchinchilla.- Coney Island Discs.
- B009E03MH0.
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John Paul Lawler
Record Player
Performer: Inchinchilla.- Coney Island Discs.
- B009E03MH0.
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LIGHTFOOT
IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND
Music Arranger: N/A. Performer: Neil Young.- Third Man Records/Reprise.
- TMR-245..
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David Mysterious
Keepsake for my Lover
Performer: David Mysterious. Performer: Hannah Loy.
Broadcasts
Thu 27 Oct 2016 11:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4- Tue 14 May 2024 10:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Tue 14 May 2024 16:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
- Wed 15 May 2024 00:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 Extra
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