Here are a couple of recordings featuring my mother, my grandmother, my father, and friends. These are older, most likely from the mid 1970s. The sound quality is poorer as well. Part 1 sounds considerably better, (in my opinion) partly because I think it was originally recorded on my Roberts open reel full-track mono recorder. Part 2 may have been recorded on my Norelco 1530 cassette recorder. I’m really unsure about the microphones, but the Sony F-98 dynamic comes to mind. The sound quality changes a lot at about -3:07 on the counter, (Part 1) when I’m with friends (the Williams family of 180G fame) from high school. I may have been recording on a different machine, a vintage Voice of Music open reel, possibly from the 1950s. It has a particularily “tinny” quality, probably because of an impedance mismatch on the mike input. The fidelity is reduced further, due to rerecording any open reel recordings to cassette, most likely on the Norelco cassette recorder, which was mono and had no noise reduction. If the original open reel tapes are located, they will be posted here.
I must say my behavior on these tapes is quite juvenile and somewhat embarrassing, especially when I ask my grandmother to read song lyrics and liner notes from my Mothers of Invention album, “Uncle Meat.” With that in mind, I hope the dumbness of it all makes you laugh. I must be humble, and remind myself, “The importance of all other persons is staggering.”
Direct mp3 download or play: Mr. and Mrs. Lober, My Mother and Grandmother, Williams Family – Part 1
Part 1
Direct mp3 download or play: water heater-head in curlers-whistling – Part 2
Part 2
4 users commented on " Untitled Family Tape From Mid 1970s "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback“…when I’m with friends (the Williams family of 180G fame) from high school.”
So this is who lived at 180 G Street in Martinez? I always presumed it was your house. Very interesting!
Thank-you for that thought. It reminded me to link “180G” to NEGATIVLAND: A Big 10-8 Place (http://www.negativland.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=6) where track 3, side 2 “180-G, a Big 10-8 Place, Pt. Two” will give you a little more insight to life in Contra Costa County in the 1970s. Well at least how I perceived it to be.
I love you so much for sharing these recordings. They’ve been enjoyed by me, my family, and friends for years. They’re charming and funny, and a window into a world that there’d be no way to witness otherwise. Thank you.
Another fine family outing. Should put this into my ipod during the next train trip….