The mid ‘70s party in a box
I spotted an interesting looking boxed set of ‘stuff’ on the Japanese auctions. Here’s a video about what this is and what it does. As well as linking neatly with some earlier videos, this one opens a window on the nascent days of a cultural phenomenon.
I hope the YouTube feedback for this video goes on to show there’s sufficient interest in this subject as I do have other devices I’d like to demonstrate that fall within the same category. Unfortunately the last time I covered something in this area, that video flopped. So we’ll see. On YouTube the only guaranteed certainty is complete randomness.
I trust your July 2021 is going fine. While I’ve got little of note to report, this shouldn’t prevent me from shooting a new rambling Patreon update video very soon.
EXTRA PATREON EXCLUSIVE VIDEO : 'Skip Intro' has another dodgy VHD for you on his channel. A never shown outside Japan (probably) 1987 documentary about special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull. There’s a full description over on YouTube https://youtu.be/8ZX7RynZRjU
Comments (103)
The way those discs are arranged in the case makes me think of the TOS tricorder. Really fascinating video, Mat. As others have said, I can't get my head around this thing's design being from the 70s.
The looks sold me on it too. It’s an intriguingly appealing case of stuff.
I imagined one of Matt’s muppet puppets singing and dancing during the karaoke part. Missed opportunity? Thanks for the fun video!
I loved watching this. What a great little device and nice to see one complete and in such good condition. It must have taken ages to listen to all those tracks!
It did take a while - but I was only listening long enough to ensure that I hadn't got a clue what each one was before moving on.
This was such an enjoyable video. Thank you Mat. Is there a complete track listing for this available? The book format of the panapic looked beautifully done. This would have been out when my parents in law would have been in their 30s so right up their alley. My wife now wants to buy one of these so she can see if her dad can remember and sing the songs. He's suffering from Alzheimer's and we haven't seen them since summer 2019, hopefully in 2022... Mat, thank you!
If you freeze the video at one minute in, you can get a nice clear screenshot of all the track titles in this set. They’re all readable in 4K (if you can read Japanese). I think they’d all be familiar tunes to people of a certain age who grew up in Japan. For me though, not so much unfortunately.
Interesting device! Well made too, as you said.
Very interesting. The karaoke bit is hilarious!
Great video Mat! Would love to see more of these. I really liked the music. Reminded me of Kill Bill 😁
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, or any Tarantino film post 2000.
🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹 POOO PO PO PPO PPO POOOOO POOOOOO 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
MVVblog 🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
I really enjoy the music on those discs.
Im with you on that one Matt. There is nothing worse than listening to someone who thinks they can sing but cant. The fact that you are prepared to go that extra mile for your passion is truly inspiring. Wonder why so many of these quirky gadgets all seem to originate from Japan ?
This is the type of content that keeps me coming back for more, what’s wrong with other Youtube viewers not liking this sort of topic?
For goodness sake Matt, why dont you scratch that itch and get yourself an audition on Britains got talent !! More singing on future videos please. Anyway, great video, an interesting insight into family entertainment before computer gaming conquere the world.
I’m definitely not a singer, I don’t like singing and if there’s ever a singer doing a show on a cruise ship I’ll always make a point of avoiding it. However if I’ve got a Karaoke machine in to show then I feel it’d be amiss of me not to try and demo it. The fact that I don’t like doing it and I’m terrible at it yet I’m doing it in front of thousands of people appeals to my odd sense of humour
Another fine video again.
I'd love to spend an evening with uncle Mat (maybe not doing karaoke, though) ;-)
Totally agree with that. Could learn so much from this guy.
Too many comments to skim through since I am so late to the party ... so to speak. When you said the French name or the song, I thought ... wait ... where do I know that from? ... but then you started in about Waterloo and I got confused ... and then you ... karaoked ... and I realized that I only knew it by the French version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B4CLQGxHmI You know we all like you, Mat, but Nataly does the song better. For those that don't know, Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte are the nucleus of Pomplamoose - they are all over YouTube if you like them. Also, Jack Conte and another dude started some little service called "Patreon" ... you may have heard of it. :-)
That's where I know the Pomplamoose name from. I thought it rang a bell despite the music not really being up my street.
Somebody get this man a record deal.
Is it just me, or does the device seem to have a Wow and Flutter issue? Is that even valid to ask on a device like this? Could it be the belts?
The Sopic one has wow & flutter out the wazoo. The Panapic is a little bit better. They are forty odd years old though - so it’s not unexpected.
So when I first say they Panapic video, I liked it but they whole think seemed childish to me since it reminded me of the records that were glued to cereal boxes when I was a kid. Your would cut the box apart and play the record with the (hopefully flat) cardboard attached. BUT, when I saw this video, it all made so much more sense. It showed that the circular disc was not a gimmick for the book, but rather a clever use of an existing technology. I don't know why, but for me that legitimatized it for me. I LOVED this video! It had humor, it had tech solving problems in a unique way (the FM mic has a real use here and not just as an annoying toy) and a great story. This everything I subscribe to see.
My ears!!!! 😉
What a wonderful video. The panopic is still one of my favourites by you as I genuinely think its one of the most aesthetically beautiful objects you have shown. The idea or placing a little tower on a book and having that play the music; well it just felt like it's the kind of thing you would see in a 70s sci fi movie. As a guess at what the future might look like, but instead they made it and it just didn't catch on. So this video is just so fascinating to see the earlier version of it in action! I feel like there is an alternative universe where this became the "cassette" and portable music was on a machine a lot like this, just shrunk down.
Ditto on the singing Mat, I was giggling uncontrollably for a few minutes and I really enjoyed the vid. Also impressed with the sound quality of the both devices (given their intended use). As stated we’ve got to see either puppets crooning to the Waterloo. Lol 👍🏻!!!
Did you intend the "reassembling" montage to look and sound like a "Mission: Impossible" intro? That was very cool!
It wasn’t a conscious decision. I just felt it was odd when played in silence.
Mat, one of these days you will have to learn japanese 😄
I’m still working on English.
10:20 I notice the motor in the Sopic is labelled Matsushita which was Panasonic's parent company. I wonder who actually made the Sopic. Something I wondered as soon as I saw the rotating stylus is how they get the signal back to the electronics. Slip rings or some other method ?
Loved the video, the singing was fire, wouldve loved to see the puppets singing, also, do you plan on having any more "Flippin eck" mugs for sale? Id love to buy one
Maybe one day. I’ve been trying to rethink the merchandise stuff and haven’t got very far with it.
Great video as always Mat - a distinct touch of George Formby about your singing. It's turned out nice again! btw, I came across a Nivico mini-record player in a junk shop recently - similar idea to the GP-N3R you reviewed recently. Unfortunately, it was labelled as non-working or else I might have bought it. Have you come across that brand before? - a search reveals Nivico is a predecessor name for JVC. I can send a photo if you're interested.
No the name doesn’t ring a bell.
DR DCC Hi Mat. What a fantastic video. The amount of research is almost curator like. Very informative and enjoyable. Would you be able to share the amount of time it did take to get this video together, including the research?
This is one of the quick ones. It only took about four days from the beginning to the upload. For one reason and another I’ve taken a couple of days off this week.
joe dassin is flipping heck in is grave
You did better than Dick Van Dyke!
I laughed my A** off at the comment! I have seen so many videos about about Dick Van Dyke had the worst (and some say offensive) accent ever and then you apologized to him for yours. That's humor!
Parties in Japan in the 70's must have been the worst!
I'm sure that the Sake made them seem much better :-)
Surprisingly good audio from that little machine. Very impressed.
It was like being there (Waterloo Road) in 3D UHD, who do I see about a refund. :-)
I especially enjoyed the Douglas Trumbull doc. Such an interesting filmmaker, model builder, special effects wizard etc. I’ve seen a few other docs on him and continue to learn new interesting things about him.
Jack Dee once said that a literal translation of karaoke is - let's go find another pub - and while I agree with the sentiment I will always watch a techmoan karaoke video.
This made my morning most enjoyable! If "Uncle Mat" or more appropriately Big Brother Mat showed up with this I would say, "Forget a party" spend the afternoon looking through everything in it. Then I would proceed to record all the songs into one audio file. A few tiny details; 1. 11:52..did the focus drop out all the sudden or am I imagining it? 2. 18:31 White blob next to "Man Pure Heart" is that an artefact of translation software? 3. 8:32 No snark about the plastic (?) flipping out? That all being said, I love it.
Mat, personally I love this sort of thing. Thought the Panapic video was great, found the Korg personal karaoke device super interesting, I say keep 'em coming!
Good to know - many thanks.
Many thanks for the Douglas Trumbull feature, Brainstorm was/is one of my faves since the premiere, now I will enjoy your new video, thanks!
I love it too. I've been meaning to watch it again as it's been a while since I last saw it. You can tell it's film directed by a chap who is both highly technical and loves cutting edge tech. Many directors know everything about direction but really haven't a clue about the tech stuff - so whenever they show something that's supposed to be hi-tech, it inevitably all feels wrong.
Mat, I don't consider this a karaoke technology video, I consider it a technology video from you, and thus fascinating. Keep 'em coming.
This is why I kept the 'K word' out of the title. It seems to be a massive turn off for many. Or more like a 'don't turn on' in the first place.
A classic Mat episode--a real treat for my Saturday morning. Upon hearing the music from the disks you played, it sounds like something Quentin Tarantino would feature in his movies. Also get a kick out of the Patreon profile photo. It seems fitting that "publicity" photos of you should be posed with some sort of AV gear in the shot. This esthetic reminds me of a local radio & TV broadcasting company that back in the 1950s mandated that in publicity photos of all key employees, there would be a large microphone prominently displayed in the foreground, even for photos of employees who were never on air such as admin staff.
The QT vibe I picked up, as well. I wanna know what those tracks were now. When I get off work, I'm off to the Google machine to try to hunt them down if no one beats me to it
Hearing you sing in a 'cockney' accent has made my millennium, nothing can top that now for me.
I'm just waiting to be told that it's insensitive cultural appropriation.
It's interesting that "Waterloo Road" came out the year after "Waterloo Sunset". Probably made for plenty of accidental sales and jukebox plays...
When you say that you hope that the YouTube feedback shows interest in this category, what category do you mean? Karaoke? I hate karaoke, but I'd still be interested in seeing more like this (and your singing demo). Is it just that these devices are too niche to get lots of views?
Yes, videos about Karaoke technology.
For something that's essentially a novelty/toy it's awfully well thought out and constructed. I'd hate to think how cheaply built a modern reproduction of this would be
As others have said the player itself looks surprisingly modern for its age. As for the cockney karaoke, it did make me smile but I have mixed feelings over my reaction as I generally despise karaoke, and yet this amused me. Good job!
Great video very interesting would love to see more of this kind of video. Would like to have heard green green grass of home though a song about an death row prisoner being executed has always seem unusual choice for a song. Did anyone else have a fraggle rock flashback with the uncle matt reference? All best
It's not a memorable backing tune (for me at least) - you could have played me the whole thing and then asked what it was and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have a clue. It's only when the vocal melody is stacked on top that it becomes recognisable - and then only about half way in.
Very cool. Any chance we can get a picture of the track list?
It's in 4K so if you do a snapshot of 01:00 that'll get you a nice sharp image of all the songs.
I hope YouTube doesn't content ID match the demo section of the video.
On the contrary, TM should license it so it will content ID match on other people's videos.
It would only be truly “in a box” if the player and microphone would fit in the box as well, now wouldn’t it? 😏
Oh man - please don't fall into the pedantry trap - only disappointment and ruin lie down that path. I've known people whose lives have literally been ruined by literalism. Besides which, it was delivered from Japan to my house inside one cardboard box...so that'll do me.
I've got that karaoke stuck in my head now. I need it as a ringtone.
It'd certainly make you answer the phone quickly.
Thanks, Skip! Hopefully he'll be able to upload some of these Sopic discs one day.
There's some dodgy music here - you heard the best of it. I was hoping for more funky stuff, but it's mostly very traditional and played in a very basic way.
I want a Techmoan Karaoke-Off video now. Maybe someday? Mat vs Mat? 🤞
I think a lot of people would prefer Karaoke-Off.
The best part is seeing that the reasonably priced WD-40 contact cleaner works just as well as that ludicrously expensive DeOxIT (or whatever it’s called!). So much cheaper! Great to hear your mellifluous cockney singing voice.
My expensive DeoxIT leaked everywhere. I previously used a contact cleaner from Maplin...but no chance of buying that again. My advice, get the cheapest one you can - I assumed though that with the WD-40 branding on it then it's got to have some level of quality control.
I endured the 45 seconds. Totally worth it! Hope the video will be a hit on Youtube.
I think you made a typo on 'enjoyed' ?
A great video Mat. Thanks for taking the unit apart. The tongue in cheek department wonders if the tune would get a content match from the "Kenny Everett – The World's Worst Record Show " LP on K-Tel records. Best wishes.
It's definitely a bit Sid Snot.
Japanese cultural history, some interesting old tech and a song from Mat. My Saturday is complete!
Very interesting video, and yes could easily be mistaken as a Bluetooth speaker as it doesn’t look it’s age.
Watching this really put a smile on my face?
I was going to say 'I'm glad', but then I saw the question mark and now like yourself I'm not too sure.
This is interesting, the sopic player's design and logo could very well be from today, doesn't look from the 70s at all, unlike the panapic one... the construction inside is another story though!
Fascinating as always, and great to take a look inside this miniplayer this time! Also I think you should use that little drum track for all your ‘rebuilding’ montages, it worked really well!
I kept a copy of the whole disc just in case.
I need to find the previous video where Mat serenaded us with his “excellent” karaoke skills. Thanks, another lovely random find!
Turns out I am thinking of the rendition of “Get Lucky” from The Floppy Disk Boombox.
[Off-topic] Liking the new Patreon profile picture.
It's a bit artificially perky for my normal taste but a few people said they liked the image when it came out of the medical printer, so I scanned it in.
🤣 The full demonstration made my day again :-D. As always, thanks for posting!
surely the aux setting on the mic mixes the mic with the input? you could plug the player into the mic and transmit your singing and the record at the same time?
ok this is what I get for commenting before the video finished.
Well... At least we can't say we weren't warned
It's such a modern looking little thing, it could easily be confused for a Bluetooth speaker.
Buongiorno