Category:
Music

Hi-Fi Addiction

Back in 1957, Dr. H. Angus Bowes argued that many Hi-Fi enthusiasts were, in fact, addicted to their music systems in an unhealthy way. I'm sure there are still people today who exhibit similar symptoms.

The addict gets a great feeling of control when, with a flick of the wrist, he can attenuate his treble, emphasize his bass, turn the volume down to a whisper or blast his neighborhood with a "Niagara" of sound.

One addict said he would not be satisfied until he could hear the drip of saliva from the French horns as they were emptied after a powerful brass passage, Dr. Bowes reported.

El Paso Herald-Post - Apr 15, 1957

Posted By: Alex - Wed Oct 19, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Psychology, 1950s

Haysi Fantayzee

Here's a live performance by a New Wave band that has arguably aged less well than many others, such as Blondie and The Cars. The rest of their 13-track playlist is here.

Their Wikipedia page says:

Haysi Fantayzee was an avant-garde, new wave pop project emanating from the Blitz Kids street arts scene in London in the early 1980s. The group's music combined reggae, country and electro with political and sociological lyrics couched as nursery rhymes.[3]

Catapulted to stardom by their visual sensibilities, Haysi Fantayzee combined their extreme clothes sense – described[4] as combining white Rasta, tribal chieftain and Dickensian styles – with a quirky musical sound comparable to, but distinct from, other new wave musical pop acts of the era, such as Bow Wow Wow, Adam and the Ants and Bananarama



Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 18, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, 1980s

Symphony of the Birds

Jim Fassett, musical director at CBS Radio in the 1950s, took pre-recorded bird songs and arranged them into a three-movement "Symphony of the Birds." After its release in 1957, the record gradually acquired a following, largely due to being an early example of experimental music, but also because it was such an oddity. It was eventually reissued in 2006.

Note: Discogs.org (and every other site I can find that discusses the album) says it was released in 1960, but newspapers and magazines were discussing its release in 1957.

More info: soundohm.com



Tampa Bay Times - Apr 28, 1957

Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 14, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1950s

Third Ear Band

Let us know when you bail.

Their Wikipedia page.



Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 13, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Toshi Ichiyanagi, RIP

The avant-garde composer was Yoko Ono's first husband, with, apparently, a similar flair for the experimental.







Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 10, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, Avant Garde, Obituaries, Asia, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

WABOT-2, the Organ-Playing Robot

WABOT-2 was created in the early 1980s, but I can't find any info on what's become of him since then. Whoever now owns him should be renting him out to play at weddings and funerals — recoup some of that $1.2 million it cost to build him.

More info: Waseda University

Belleville News-Democrat - Sep 13, 1984





Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 08, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Robots, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, 1980s

Dick Hyman’s “The Man From O.R.G.A.N.”

Sometimes Alex and I appear to be coordinating our posts, but it's only coincidence. This time, however, I made it intentional!

Let's see WABOT-2 play better than Dick Hyman!

His Wikipedia page.

Embedded player below track listing.





Posted By: Paul - Sat Oct 08, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Movies, Music, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, Television, Ridiculousness, Foolishness, Public Ridicule, Silliness, Goofiness and Dumb-looking, 1960s

Papaya Mama

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 07, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1950s, Caribbean

The Miss Atlantic County Queens

A little tangent off our usual thread of "Odd Beauty Queen Titles." Six singing title-holders. I only wish one of their appearances had been recorded.






Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 06, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Music, 1970s

The Armagh Rhymers

The music seems straightforward Celtic Folk. But those costumes (and the video's opener) sure are weird. Suitable as we approach Halloween. Not sure how any little kids in the audience might react.




Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 05, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Cryptozoology, Music, Creepy, Eerie, Spooky, and Disturbing, Europe

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Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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