Audities 3
A look at a few more unusual or interesting recordings that I've acquired over the last few months. This Patreon edition has different audio playing over the outro text scroll than the version youtube subscribers will get to see/hear. I thought it might be pushing my luck with copyright to make this public in this incarnation.
Hopefully there will be another new video along in a few days. I'm also intending to do another Patreon only update soon. However this is dependant on a new video camera arriving first, because I'd like to shoot it with that. If there are any things you would like me to mention please let me know.
Audities 3: More unusual recordings (Patron Edition) (YouTube)
Comments (61)
Great vid, also! I love how you take care to have different shots of your devices playing when you have a long music section. You could have easily just had your camera sit on a single shot, but that extra effort is really appreciated by me!
where on earth do you even FIND a 25 year old promo tape !?
It was just on ebay - I suspect these oddities come from estate sales - or someone getting rid of dad's old junk they found in the garage - 1990s fifty-odd year olds are getting to be quite elderly now.
Look at all the people you've inspired! Very, very cool! That In Living Color theme song really takes me back.
Always dig these Audities updates! Wow that Fox tape though, some great tracks there. I pity your inbox with the inevitable wave of people asking for the whole tape, copyright be darned.
Yes you know how it is “Of course you can share it...you bought the tape”. Just like movie companies would be totally cool with me distributing MKVs of the Blu-rays I bought.
Great video. Although I was hoping the Aphex Twin Collapse EP on chrome cassette that I told you about would get a mention.
I've got it somewhere - but I've only played a couple of minutes of it. When I get the chance I'll give it another try.
Being a big fan of both television and music, love the video. Thanks Mat. Also a great job of doing different angles during your two minute audio segment. You took what could have been a boring static shot and turned it into a visually exciting piece of work. Kudos, my friend.
Thanks for noticing that. As long as you don’t pay any notice to the tape counter that section works about as well as I could have hoped. I got inspiration from a TV show that (hopefully) will be featured in a couple of weeks (as soon as I sort out all the auto-content matches on the video).
loved that clean version of the Simpsons
Excellent video as always, Mat. How on earth do you find things such as that Fox tape? I can't imagine what sort of Ebay search would find things like that! (You don't have to say, that's part of your skill set. I'm just impressed, that's all.) :-)
I can't remember how I came across it. However I held off buying it a while and it was re-listed a couple of times before I eventually decided I should buy it.
Great video! The “best of the worst” song from the Fox reel needs to get sent to RedLetterMedia, they have a VHS-centered YouTube show by the same name.
I doubt they could use it - but if they get in touch I'll send it over.
Hi Jean, I can't answer the DCC machine question but Mat's original "cassette" video has a lot of very good information: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoSQP2yUYA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVoSQP2yUYA</a> All I ever had were Dolby B and C machines and chrome tapes (I liked Maxell and TDK). I usually went without Dollby NR and I stilll thought the quality was quite decent. Kind regards, Stephan
Thank you Stephan, I remember having seen that video and of course I loved it. Thanks for pointing me to it again.
Hi Mat, indeed another great video, thank you. As I consider you a whole lot more an expert in audio than I am, I was wondering, since DCC-players could also play cassettes, do you think it would be a good investment to buy a DCC for the maximum quality of playing my cassettes? If not, what would be the best cassette player you would suggest to buy? I know that you have made some videos as well about cassette players, Dolby B-C, metal tapes etc., but in my case it would be more for playing cassettes than to record new ones. (I know that DCC-players can't record on old format cassette tapes). Thanks for your answer and for your lovely videos! Kind regards, Jean Loyens, Genk, Belgium
First - I wouldn't recommend a DCC machine for normal cassette playback. They are not the most reliable devices nowadays unfortunately - even though back in their day they were great cassette players. You should look at the videos on Dr DCC's channel to see the kind of work that's often required to get them up and running again - and it's well beyond amateur tinkering. So instead I would recommend a good quality standard cassette deck. There are thousands of these - so I can't pick one specific model out. You can narrow the list down by picking a few priorities. First - decide what look you like - analog needles and a silver finish of a 70s model, the black plastic and LEDs of the 80s or a 1990s sophisticated understated model and also do you want a full size deck or midi/mini. Then we get into the whole business of picking out a decent quality model from the hundreds that are left. First if you are buying off ebay - look to buy one from a reputable seller who specialises in old HiFi - and who says it's been serviced and gives details as to the work done. This is important as most of the good devices are over 20 years old now. I tend to buy cassette recorders from Germany. They often bought the best, looked after them and had a good repair network - they also pack them well for shipping. Next as far as my personal preferences go: Even if I'm not using Dolby - I'd at least look for a deck that has Dolby C and Dolby HX Pro as this indicates a certain standard - you don't get these features on the cheapest basic budget machines. I'd also go for a Direct Drive mechanism as this means there are no belts to perish/stretch. But really the main thing is to get a machine you will love to look at. It might sound superficial, but no one is buying a cassette deck because it's simple and convenient - they're buying it because it's something they desire - so get a desirable model. Finally once you have found a model - read up on it on forums like Tapeheads.net and see if you can find some videos of it working youtube before committing to buy it.
The music bits were great, thanks for including so many, and they sounded so clear and clean. Love that Revox!
I echo that. Quality would suffer if it was a weekly schedule - I might suffer withdrawal symptoms if it was monthly, but you’ve hit a happy medium. Lastly on you Revox playback - what size is the take up reel? Looks bigger than the Fox 7” - and wondered if it was one of those non-standard efforts (even though it looks beautiful!).
Thanks - the take up reel was supposed to be 7” - although I haven’t measured it. I’ll need to take another look at it now to find out for myself.
IDK about the other supporters but speaking for myself I just wanted to say that I don't expect weekly videos or a specific schedule. I love your channel and watch every video but I'm fully aware that you're just one person doing all the work and the quality of the videos you put out is astounding. I guess I want to say that quality over quantity is more important for me and that I don't expect a one-man-show to be able to stick to a specific release schedule.
Thank you for expressing that. It has been a worry from time to time. I'll add a section in about this in a future update because it's quite a complex subject and it's difficult to know what's the right thing to do.
What a delightfully roundup of cool stuff! I have made a promise to myself: sometime in 2019, I am going to put out a flexidisc! I don’t know what’s going to be on it, but I want to press a flexidisc of something fun for people to have in 2019. Why a flexidisc? Why not! Great video as always, sir!
Here's another vote for an upload of the full Fox tape.
I'd love to - however the legalities of distributing something that isn't mine is a big worry.
You made a brilliant audio edit of the School Drugs track ending dead with a Spock pinch! And that Fox tape is a true time trip. The Simpsons theme was penned by Danny Elfman, a well-known Hollywood composer and arranger. Thank you, Matt, for a great 12.15 interlude.
Dang the mixes on that Fox tape sound SO GOOD. It's crazy how mix/master trends change over the years. Any chance you'll do a full recording of the tape? I'd love to hear the whole thing, and possibly sample it.
really enjoyed that one Mat, can't put a finger on why specifically. I'm sitting here grinning, the fox reel was superb. As always, thanks for making :D
I really appreciated the full "It's on Fox" outro. Thanks for putting that there, it's painfully 1991.
Holy crap, that hit me right in my 1991. Love it. I miss themes like this.
That funky fox theme suits quite well your outro, good choice!
Thanks for posting this, also on behalf of the DCC Museum :) (oh and my favorite part of the Fox tape was the Parker Lewis Can't Lose theme).
Hopefully it will drum up interest in the documentary. I'm glad I hung onto the tape for six months as it's a more opportune time to feature it now.
Dang that tape is awesome, would so want a full recording of it!
Those of you who did not grow up, as I did, exposed to American media during the 70s and 80s, might not recognise the Fox theme as being based on black gospel music. Infused with emotion. They certainly used it to meet the expectations of their target audience. And let's not forget, that was and is a huge audience.
Don't confuse Fox, the TV network with local affiliates, with Fox News Channel or any of the dozen other Fox-branded cable channels.
So do you figure that there was a cabal of old-school sound engineers at Fox Television who just Were. Not. Going. To. Give. In. to this new digital stuff and insisted on 7 1/2 ips? Different era for me so not as many fond memories of those Fox clips as for some here, but I totally get it. If it was 10-15 years before that, I'm sure my eyes would be all leaky ... :-D
I'd like to imagine it was an old school TV producer sitting in an office smoking a cigar who demanded it on tape. "Hey Jim, that DAT you sent upstairs came straight back again - Lou says he wants it on tape" "What, like a cassette". "No, he wants Reel to Reel". "Dammit, what's next. Where the hell did we put that old Revox?" "Oh, and those video promos - he wants them on 16mm"
As usual, great stuff. Love the 'It's On Fox' theme.
Although I own a working DCC machine, I’ve never held a prerecorded tape in my hands, much less opened one. Very satisfying. I love the reel tape. At some point I found a reel of tape from a local food chain called (oddly enough) Piggly Wiggly. The tape was for their in-store music system, and had the obligatory awful covers of pop tunes, interspersed with prompts to check out the specials on eggs or whatever, and their “Shop the Pig” jingle. Not nearly as nice as the Fox reel, but still a nice trip down memory lane. Incidentally, the Piggly Wiggly mascot was a pig in a butcher’s hat, which always troubled me. Oh, you said that we should ask if we’d like you to mention something in your next update. I’d like you to mention squab. Thank you very much.
Oh the flood of memories inspired by that Fox reel, was not expecting that. Thank you so much for this an every video you do.
That's incredible... I could literally feel myself getting older during the 90's montage. Now take your damn hipping-hopping music and get the hell off my lawn. Also, this needs to be your theme song: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465zEG7MKmo" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465zEG7MKmo</a> Cheers.
One of my absolute favourites that one.
Hi Mat, Loved the Fox stuff, what a find that 1/4 tape was especially with the original Simpsons theme clean of FX. Thanks for reminding me to back the DCC Documentary. I found it a week ago but was at work and then forgot after my shifts ended. I still have a blank Philips DCC tape that came free with a UK hi-fi Magazine when the format launched but never used it as went for Minidisc when I could afford it as it also worked very well for theatre sound FX due to instant access and the SONY hi-fi decks all having an auto pause option betwee tracks. I used to do a lot of amateur theatre. Sadly shift work put pay to that but a Minidisc is still in use in my hi-fi. If DCC had been available and minidisc not I would so have bought into it if only for better home recording from the radio than analogue. Need my fix of Radio 4 comedy!
Nice, also used MD for theater soundtracks (kid troup) after several years of 1/4 tape and Revox. Our Sony deck had of course the awesome auto pause feature but also a PS/2 plug to connect a keyboard so I would nicely label all tracks with the proper cue etc. Also did a whole bunch of cut/move/join edits right on the spot during rehearsals when we before always had to ship the tape reel back to the editor for changes. The memories, that last year I did the sound for them (and first we had the MD) was in 2001...
Great to hear the eternal "Woo! Yeah!" sample at the end there. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woo!_Yeah!" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woo!_Yeah!</a> I remember when I young I was convinced it was "Woah! Cat!" - may have been something to do with the fact that when I first heard it, the artist was called Don Pablo's Animals - it was their version of 'Venus'. It came on a flexi disc stuck on the front of a Kellogs cereal box, no less - that was circa 1990, so I'd have been 10.
I loved the Fox audio tidbits on open reel! This really took me back as a teenager in the 1990s, someone gave me an old CEI Cuemaster77, which is a quirky Australian made machine. A school friend somehow had an open reel copy of a 1990s Coke commercial. I still remember how amazing that reel sounded sounded on the professional CEI machine.
Some of these things have probably never been head - it's a bit like that old advert reel I have, they cut them down - talk over the top, perhaps only put them out in mono. It's always nice to find something like this.
It was fucking stellar how you stopped the playback of that record at the same time as the scene from Star Trek IV did :P Just wish that song made it to the soundtrack :P
Can you commission someone to do a new version of 'Its on Fox' for you, but with Techmoan channel lyrics eg: Want cassettes? But got no time for regrets, It's on Tech (mooooaaaannnn), Need your fix, of vinyl and guitar licks? It's on Tech (mooooaaaannnn), You want dash cams, and puppets in yo jam, It's on Te-eee-echhhhh (moooooooooooaaaaaaaannnnnnnn)
I like it, It would be new take on a rip-off of a C+C Music Factory song that was a copy of loads of earlier things. Although the new lyrics also remind me a bit of the theme to 'Rentaghost'.
Holy cannoli! I care little for grungy, noisy punk music, but that FOX reel and it’s glorious early 90s stuff went straight into my musical heart! 💖 I always claim I’m an 80s guy, but being at the prime of my youth back in 1990, I have to admit both decaded appeal greatly to me! 😎
I'll be listening out for the 'orchestra hit' and the 'Wooh! Yeah!' sample in your future releases.
Superb video. Thanks for the support of the Digital Compact Cassette.
Hey - thanks for the new DCC it's a great addition to the collection. Just so you know, I plan to put this video out on Tuesday.
OK so that's today's ear worm sorted
Unfortunately (speaking from experience) - the infection lasts a bit longer than that.
Dear Mr Techmoan, whilst I enjoyed your funky outro, I have had to put new batteries in Grandma's pacemaker as a direct result, a warning next time please Sir! Nice video.
hahaha nice little change up on the outro!