If records are ‘Vinyls’ then this is a Chocolate
In this short video I’m attempting to play a record made out of chocolate.
Given the Christmas connection, this video might seem a bit premature, but then again we are living in the future here on Patreon. It’ll be more appropriate when it hits youtube in a week, although I started working on this back in October. As you’ll see in the video, there was a complication.
To keep things fresh I like to do experiments with the videos, so this time I’ve tested out the idea of making an additional edit of the video, one that’s more suited for sharing.
It’ll be interesting to see whether this blipvert version generates any interest. I’d better be clear here though to allay any potential concerns - this is an experiment at making an additional version of a video - it’s not a replacement for the full length one, that stays untouched and remains as long as it needs to be.
Regardless, I found it fun to make and if you want to see it, all 43 seconds of it, it’s here: https://youtu.be/cVGFV9A3gLc - but ‘spoiler alert’ - I’d recommend watching the full (interminably long) eight minute version first.
UPDATE: Pleeeeeese don’t worry about the short version. It’s an experiment, one designed to appeal to anyone other than subscribers and Patrons. Experimenting with ideas is what keeps me engaged and interested - if I’m not able to try out new ideas, things get stale.
Comments (79)
I am glad you are ok. Finally had time to do some YouTube today. First thought was oh no Covid. I saw the other answers. We also saw the twinkly XMas tree. Very cool. My family was looking at some large store display trees based on the same concept.
Someone on a YT channel I subscribe to made a copy of a record by pouring silicone resin onto it then using the resulting soft negative as a mould to cast a positive using a hard polymer resin. The resulting record clone played pretty well from memory. I'd be surprised if you couldn't do the same with chocolate and make your own playable, edible records. Ben from the 'Applied Science' YT channel made chocolate holograms by using a diffraction grating as a mould. This suggests that chocolate can be formed into shapes with 10's of nanometre resolution. I reckon if you could cover it in reflective metal (by vacuum deposition, sputtering etc.) a chocolate CD could be a reality..
Taking one for the team eating it as a diabetic!
Damn... now I want to build the chocolate record maker machine!
I'm glad you're back.
I can't wait for the chocolate CD episode
There's novelty, and then there's this. A fun little idea, and after the year we've had, we could all use something light hearted going into Christmas. I wonder what the result would have been with an 85% dark chocolate.
dig it! i appreciate the dedication. the short video is fine; good idea to have alongside the normal big video :)
Pretty cool! Silly, but cool!
Somewhere I've got a single sleeve from the 60s that once contained a chocolate record. It never even crossed my mind that the record could've been played, I assumed it was a novelty just to be eaten.
Listen. Eat. Repeat. I live in an area that this could only be shipped to during about 6-8 weeks of the year otherwise it would arrive as a puddle.
Making records out of Chocolate is almost as old as the recording technology itself - the German chocolatier Stollwerck had massed-produced them as early as 1903. For more information; here's a page from a well-respected phonograph collector's page: http://edisontinfoil.com/stollwercks.htm Also, here is my friend Don Wilson's video who made a plastic replica (made by directly moulding the original) of the genuine 1903 Stollwerck Cholocate record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN97Nqj7cQ8
Cool! Also, Stollwerck makes me think of Stollen (German fruitcake). Lots of sugar to go with this video. 😶 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stollen
Thumbs up on the blipvert version. It's a good teaser for the main and I can see how it would appeal to rabble-rousers and the unanointed alike.
Haha, eating the chocolate! The commitment, taking the video home. Mery Christmas Mat!
Enjoyed both videos! Hoping the abridged version goes truly viral this Christmas, so you may gain additional followers. I recently suggested that perhaps more "clickbaity" (for lack of a better word) "PB&J" videos every other month or so could be a way of gaining the algorithms' attention. Perhaps the 'blipvert' method is the correct recipe? To continue the sandwich analogies, let's call it a "canapé". 😁 Merry Christmas, Techmoan!
Terrific video! It feels like you and the chocolatemaker are cut from the same cloth. They're not the kind of people who would make a chocolate record unless it actually played music, and you're not the kind of person who could buy a chocolate record without getting it to actually play. And I can't wait for the comments on the hi-fi forums. "Well, no wonder it sounded like garbage. He was using the wrong cartridge for a recording with so much brass. I would gone with a vintage Weber Audionics CA-7, ideally one manufactured in the New Bedford plant before they moved their operations to Dedham. I could also tell by the dropoff in the midhighs that it's been wayyy too long since he dusted the heatsinks in his phono preamp..."
Pff.. Everyone knows you need licorice cables when playing chocolate. 😒
Hmm, now I'm just wondering if a dark chocolate record would work better.
You showed the blank B-side and I immediately wondered if you cut a track into that side and play it back. Perhaps "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch"
Growing up in the 1970s we had a local record shop called "Licorice Pizza". They always had the new singles first. But they also sold licorice in strands that were then formed into a disk shape. A fun novelty! Coincidentally, that record shop was in my hometown of Torrance, California. And I just noticed the guy above me has Torrance as a surname!
There was a Licorice Pizza in my hometown of Upland, California in the 70s/80s as well. I don't recall ever going in--I was more of a Music+ and Wherehouse kind of guy.
Maybe this was the record that Kenny Everett was eating on that recording on your Schaub Lorenz Music Centre?
You’ve got a good memory.
You made me laugh at the end with the comment about your insulin. I wonder how many times the record can be played before it’s unplayable. Now if the record played I Believe In Miracles by Hot Chocolate - now that would be a thing! Have a great Christmas, Mat. Be well.
The people who made this started off by demoing a Hot Chocolate record at a faire, but no doubt the copyright legality of that is questionable. As far as plays go - it depends how beaten up it gets on each play. On mine it was definitely sounding a lot worse by play two, you might get three goes, but the first would be best.
Thanks Mat. I want some chocolate now. I'm off to raid the fridge and have some insulin too. (I'm a type 1 diabetic like Mat)
Wouldn’t these be perfect for Desert Island Discs? Once the Castaway had finished listening to the records, they could eat the damn things! Dessert Island Discs? Coincidentally, I have several vinyl records that taste better than they sound. Great stuff, Mat - I hope you found your insulin i time!
The temptation to write something about dessert island discs is strong...but I’ll resist.
That short version would be perfect embedded into a tweet, I reckon. I know you don't use twitter anymore, but I could see it getting a few retweets! :)
That’s really the kind of application I was thinking of - few people would share a nine minute video in their social media feed - but 43 seconds...well we’ll see.
Technically a donut!
From the Mrs - ~"I've seen it all now!". I'm glad the edible record is a thing - but I can't see I'm going to be trying one soon! Thanks for doing it for me! :-)
You actually got some sound out of a chocolate record, Mat. A genuine Christmas miracle!
Loved seeing the meter from last time and laughed out loud as well when message came up. Classic from start to end! Happy xmas to you too.
That's made me think, you could have a scratch'n'sniff record that plays smells at specific points in the recording. Someone should take the temperature of Tangerine Dream, Hot Chocolate, Butthole Surfers etc.
There's been a scratch 'n' sniff record in a previous video, though just the sleeve, as it's probably best not to run your fingernails over a record!
Merry Christmas. Thanks for all the cheer.
That's brilliant! You do suffer on our behalf, Mat. :-) Well done and if it's not too early or too late, a very merry and healthy Christmas to you, your Missus and parents. SB
I couldn't leave this one half finished, I just had to hear it for myself...so I'm glad we got there in the end. I hope you have a good Christmas too.
A merry Christmas to you as well! That was a really fun video. As was seeing a couple of the old players coming of the bench. Also... I take it we will not be seeing that vu meter in the background of the next release. I think you left only about three seconds before pointing it out. Truly laughed out loud when the message popped up.
I think I'll try a different position - and perhaps dim it down. I briefly figured out how to dim it the other day, but then lost the option again.
Nice video. Never imagined an edible record. And a Merry Christmas to you as well.(early but still)
Neat. I was wondering if you were going to eat it at the end. It seems like Chocolate might be a bit too soft for this application. Maybe some time of hard candy like a giant lollipop would make more sense.
Somebody call Kate Bush - I'd pay good money for an edible chocolate pressing of "Eat The Music"!
Have you tried it with the rokblok?
The Rokblok was destroyed in the making of the video about it. You can see part of it being used to hold a salt and pepper pot in some of the puppet outros that followed that video.
This is very cool. I wish they shipped to US. Also, pardon my asking, but why haven’t you a sense of taste, sir? I hope you haven’t been ill with the virus!
It’s a dull story - but it’s been gone for years. If I got COVID I’d almost certainly be dead due to having all the pre-existing conditions that make it deadly.
Somehow my comment doesn't show up on YT, so I'll post it here: You can actually make holograms out of chocolate too! They are basically just ridges with a specific pattern as well (albeit tiny ones). Here's one example, even explaining how to make them yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsDnkrDvkBo
Yes I’ve seen those in the shops, I can’t remember where though.
No need for an abridged version. This was enjoyable as is. The back story gives it more flavor! Merry Christmas
I like to experiment - without that there’s no fun in life.
The abridged version is a bit like "The Fast Show" where they pitched a "Harry Enfield" TV show to the media with a highlight reel and realised that they should just make a show with only the punchlines. It makes me think that a video with highlights from videos from the past year might be a good idea - and might get people interested in going back to other videos they might have missed.
Not a bad idea - it’s interesting to me to experiment with ideas.
The abridged version is a good idea, but I'd say it's TOO abridged. Those who watch it are likely to want at least a small bit of context about where it came from and maybe a snippet of the failed attempt for some humor.
For a lot of today’s generation videos can’t be short enough. To some, a GIF is like watching the extended edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy - I really like the edit.
Bonus points for using the term "blipvert" :-)
Very amusing Matt and just right for Christmas. I think the recording was made with a chocolate microphone and a chocolate tape recorder. I'm sure I saw a 50% coco solids setting on my turntable.
I have a nasty $35 one (the cheapest available with an Audio Technica MM cartridge) so I have to get one of these and give it a try, or make one of my own!
Seeing my stylus is about the same cost as ten full Crosleys, I'd best not try it on there!
A local supermarket a few years ago made an anise flavored, black, hard candy. It was tasty, but it came in a form that looked and felt like shards of broken black glass. It seems to me now that it would be the perfect candidate for making edible records.
Actually, come to think of it, shellac itself is edible. It's used to glaze and seal some cadies and pills. If there were any money in it , I'm sure the food scientists at Mars or Cadbury could come up with a great sounding edible record. Or even Clark Griswold! He invented that non-nutritive varnish crunch enhancer....
Belgium chocolate? Not Swiss?!? 😱 Amaï zeg! Just kidding! 😜 Nice concept! And cool to hear it actually work, thank you very much! And I hope the Mrs. can enjoy the chocolate then 😉
Your Spinbox did prefer to eat instead of playing that chocolate record. After laughing out loud to that mess (sorry), I said to myself luckily he didn't try it on an "upright" turntable. Ooh, you did, and I am surprised that it worked. Unfortunately, there is no chocolate left to try it on your record runner. ;-)
Honestly the curiosity of whether or not my turntable (old Aiwa PX-E850 - I'm not wealthy) will play it makes me want to buy one more than the original concept, although that seems very well executed. I didn't know chocolate could hold such fine detail. Probably would never have seen this so thanks for doing this.
Hey I thought you had diabetes. :) Interesting video... I always wondered about things like this a Chocolate Record. ;)
I'm a type 1 diabetic too. We can eat anything that is not poisonous just like you. We have an insulin shot if we eat or drink high sugar foods. I don't think Mat ate the whole record. Best wishes.
Sounds like it's being played through a Fudge Pedal.
The blipvert version is certainly straight to the point.
I think the visualization is cool, not annoying. Loved the video!
That sounds better than I expected. I'm honestly pleasantly surprised.
Why hello there :)
More use than a chocolate teapot!
When I was a kid I wanted to do this whenever I saw chocolate novelty records in various shops, so I can’t believe this is actually a thing that exists. Thanks for potentially sacrificing some of your cartridges for our amusement!
Never seen one of those before! Really really cool!
Nice video realy fits my taste! As a bit of trivia he concept of chocolate records is actually pretty old. There were choclate records and special gramophones for these made by the german Stollwerk company in the early 1900’s
I’d imagine these taste better now though.
Delicious 🍫