78 Collectors: Why are they so weird?

jealous much?

http://www.saturn-sound.com/images/post%20office%20telephones%20record%20-%2078%20rpm.jpg

http://www.tjsrecords.com/images/KKK.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/uk78rpmforum/index.2.jpg

http://www.mister78.com/78images/mister78.jpg

http://www.mattthecat.com/uploaded_images/78PilgrimGClefts-791550.jpg

http://totango.net/78_factory.JPG

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.index.html

http://lpcoverlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/fuzzy2.JPG

gayest polar bear EVER

this place in minneapolis is PACKED with only 78s, the dudes are kinda crusty but it's pretty neat:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/136959907_8ca82ea098.jpg?v=0

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1920-1929.pages/Dominion/image/dominion.gif

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Emerson.Record.1/image/emerson.record.1.gif

If you like authentic blues you'll love Blues Hammer

http://www.readyourselfaw.com/profiles/crumb/selfportrait_crumb.jpg

i used to have a turntable just for 78s but i don't anymore. i need to get one. you need a heavy arm/needle. they sound amazing though. just so damn heavy so i don't go out of my way to buy any. and i still see plenty.

curses! just go here:

http://www.readyourselfraw.com/profiles/crumb/selfportrait_crumb.jpg

http://www.tedstaunton.com/labels/1910-1919.pages/Phoenix/image/phoenix.gif

i used to have a turntable just for 78s but i don't anymore. i need to get one. you need a heavy arm/needle. they sound amazing though. just so damn heavy so i don't go out of my way to buy any. and i still see plenty.

-- scott seward, Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

the thorens PD 190 (i think that's the model number you can find pretty decently cheap used, it's got a 78 setting (but i think you do need a cartridge that can handle 78s) but anyway you can find those used, i saw one for about 175 and it's a good all-around turntable if you just want to have one...

I have a Thorens with a 78 setting, I think it's TD 170 or something. But I don't have a 78 cartridge, or in fact any 78s to play on it. My grandma has quite a few 78s stashed away somewhere but probably nothing that's worth me spending the ££ for a cartridge to be able to listen to.

sometimes they get the girl...

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/mgm/ghost_world/_group_photos/steve_buscemi4.jpg

the girl with the large ass and thighs

like you wouldn't do her...

the girl with the large ass and thighs

-- Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Wednesday, September 19, 2007 8:58 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

u mad (at titties)

big leg woman ain't got no soul

78 is the loneliest number.

god those rpm, can't wait for them

i've never met a 78 collector, but i sure would like to. i mean, it'd be better than meeting, say, a Nascar fan, right?

I have one of those library all-in-one units, like from an AV class in the 70's. It has the kind of needle you flip over to play 78s. My entire collection came from the dump here, one day I was doing a dump run for work and my friend who works there was like "you gotta take these". There were probably a dozen boxes. I gave a lot away to a local 78 fiend I know. There are a bunch of kids here in Eugene who have a 78 club where they all sit around and play their latest finds. They are younger than me but total geeks when it comes to shellac. They are all way into old time music and most of them play in bands.

I think of an entire scene of dudes like Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar when I think of 78 collectors.

I know this stuff is very collectible for older guys. Is there any demand for these records among younger listeners?

dreamy
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

uh
http://quandros.com/blog/FONOTONE_bussard.jpg

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=32147741

Joe Bussard's myspace site

I collect vintage 78's from the thirties. I don't like anything made after the the thirties. Rap music is pure garbage Now don’t classify that stuff as music, good Lord. You run into a teenager, 16 or 17, ask them what noise is. “I don’t know.” How could they know ‘cause that’s all they hear. All you gotta do is listen. It’s a shame that all that’s great in this country is gone. Rock music is garbage – Straight from hell. Look at the people who do it. Idiots, they’re like animals. 99% of ‘em’s drug heads. The Beatles are crap You ought to step on them. That’s what you do with beetles. It’s just a sign of the times, a bunch of weirdos banging crap. It’s too bad their plane made it over here. If one had to crash that should have been the one. That would have helped our music situation for years. Elvis Presley – Couldn’t stand him Stupid looking thing. I’m just tellin’ it like it is

What's wrong with tucked-in t-shirts? And Thora Birch, for that matter??

a few months ago i told a friend if i started collecting 45s to shoot me. later that weekend we were in a 45 only store digging for hours.

i will end up like one of these guys one day.

nah, i'm sure you've got too much self-awareness for that, and are also probably missing some borderline-Apergerian gene that those guys have.

"Asperbegerian"

eh, never mind.

what i'm saying is you're probably too self-aware, as well as able to balance any compulsive crate-digging with healthy socializing to wind up as one of "those guys"

it's spelled ass burgers

right.

Bussard's so old school he doesn't even like swing.

"Lemme play you one of the last real jazz bands, Joseph Robechaux and his New Orleans Rhythm Boys, recorded in New York City in 1933," he says of the record, "King Kong Stomp" on Vocalion. "You can hear it slip into the swing [he slurs this word as a ready-made profanity], but it's still good, one of the last really hot jazz songs. But that beautiful tone, that perfection, is starting to slide."

I saw an amazing vintage HMV gramophone at a car boot last weekend. £30. Wish I'd taken the thing. I just love the way they're completely portable. And no batteries! Fuck a ghetto blaster...

joe bussard otm

Item: RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM (180160742569)
Subject: Re: Question for item #180160742569 - RICHARD HITTERS CAB1NEERS EVERYBODYS 1063 78RPM

Q: hi, is this hot fast paced jazz, really hot, burn you hot, need a pucket of water hot- or is it slow dance music also how many records did this group do? and is everybody's record label a spinoff of victor records thankyou

i like this joe bussard guy.

ha ha, yeah, joe bussard is pretty hilarious in his claim that jazz died somewhere around 1932 ... the guy does not mince words! his stories about finding 78 collections off in the hills are practically erotica. He used to have a Web site where you could order homemade cassettes of his old 78s -- i have two of them and they're awesome! Not sure if he still does that though ...

http://www.youtube.com/user/78MAN

for all your 78 viewing needs

http://blog.dinosaurdiscs.com/

It's not on 78 but this Paramount thing on Third Man is nuts and beautiful and completely awful all at the same time:

http://www.secretdecoder.net/blog/2013/09/30/the-rise-fall-of-paramount-records-1917-1927-vol-i/

that gives me a stomach ache

hey weirdos! has there been any discussion of this book in here?
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/amanda-petrusich-book-interview-record-collectors-do-not-sell-any-price/Content?oid=14146401

read an excerpt a little while ago (on pitchfork I think?). will read! she is a good writer.

i'm not sure i care much about the lives of 78 collectors, but the historical stuff will probably be pretty interesting.
there's a book release party in brooklyn on friday, but i don't think i'll be able to make it due to work.

i liked this part

That ended up being a sort of perfect storm for me, and I would say probably halfway through the research and writing of the book, I wanted to be a part of that process—I wanted not only my own collection but I wanted some sense that I played a role in protecting this music that was so important to me. Even talking about it now I'm like, "Amanda, that sounds crazy." I sound like a crazy person. But I got the bug a little bit.

i dunno, pretty much every story i read about joe bussard cracks me up or has something incredible in it. i might check it out

yeah i like living vicariously through these kooks!

we live in a duplex and we met the guy who lives in the other half of the duplex the day we moved in. he has this incredible old victrola and a collection of 78s and his place is pristine, all brass and polished wood and lovely old vintage posters. we were excited to be record pals. anyway we've seen him probably a dozen times in the 2+ years since, not once since november. but we see his car. no one ever goes over there. when he's home at night, no matter the time (if it's dark at 5, even) there's no light inside.

he's also a tv editor, who themselves are a weird breed.

several of our other neighbors who live around us have asked us if anyone lives there because they haven't seen anyone emerge or enter the other half of our building.

is your neighbor terry zwigoff?

78s make me really happy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9DpR7gPBYo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQizk0q3WK4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJjVptKLyc

he's like a weird version of stephin merritt. strange thing is, if you only saw him outside you'd think he was an aging roadie, he drives a big ol mustang and wears baseball caps. seems(ed?) like a nice enough guy.

i like old music and i like a lot of people who collect old music (like ian!) and i like going over to people's houses and having them play rare beautiful music from 78s for me. but i do not get this whole niche market for profiles/books/etc. about 78 collectors. it seems like there's a new article (saying the same old thing) on joe bussard every three months.

also, omar little, you should probably check on your neighbor. just give his doorbell a ring in one late saturday/sunday afternoon.

it's like now that all the prewar musicians are dead the focus has shifted to the collectors, curators, etc. which is fine i guess but isn't 1/10th as interesting as the music to me. there's still a ton of old music that remains to be explored and understood.

people who would buy the R. Crumb "Pioneers of Country Music" trading cards, look at the pictures, but not read the backs or actually spend time engaging with the music.

this is just an image i have in my head, sort of illustrating i think the shift from the focus on music to the focus on strange people who collect this outdated stuff. it's a bit annoying.

something i'm not sure the public at large understands is the legit satisfaction people get from collecting or other hobbies. mystery writer Lawrence Block writes about it really when his hit man character Keller becomes absorbed by stamp collecting -- it's engaging with something on such a complete level that you don't notice hours have passed, you don't stop to do something else, you're just 100% involved with this thing you're doing and that is making you feel really happy.

sorry weird post

good post

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/why-nerdy-white-guys-who-love-the-blues-are-obsessed-with-a-wisconsin-chair-factory/

this was informative for a know-nothing like myself:

http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/the-first-ever-blues-record-is-up-for-sale-on-ebay/

and what a beautiful, beautiful song too!

A Monumental Sales of a Korean 78rpm Record in an Auction!!

A couple of hours ago, there was a sensational auction result of a Korean 78rpm record - on Japanese Yahoo auction page. The record in question is Nitto 2249, recorded in August 1926, and issued September of the year. It contains two sides by Korean soprano, Yoon Shimdeok (Korean ; 윤심덕, 1897 ~ 1926). The A side contains a song called "The Praise of Death" (Korean ; "사의 찬미, Saui Chaanmi"), and the B side contains "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" , the famous Easter Hymn written by Charles Wesley. The final price of this record was 5,213,111 Yen (or $42,000), no other Korean 78rpm record had ever reached this price so far. Here is the background story of this record. Some people out there might find this boring, but I think some of them might find the story quite fascinating.

The singer, Yoon, was one of the earliest Korean female singer trained in Western operatic voice, but after several personal crisis and depression, she committed suicide with her lover, playwright Kim Woojin (Korean; 김우진), by jumping off from the ferryboat in the ocean, on August 4th, 1926. Her suicide created a national sensation at that time, and there were a couple of TV dramas and two films based on her life and death ever since.

Just before her suicide, between July and August 1926, she recorded 32 sides for Japanese Nitto Record company, most of which consisted of some operatic arias (Traviata, Aida, etc.) and few songs (including a couple of Stephen Foster songs and few Christian hymns). All of them were issued after her death, between October 1926 and February 1927. Most of them, however, apparently had dismal sales, judging by their current near non-existent status. Out of those 32 sides, there are only 4 sides of her known to exist, with two sides coming from the only known copy.

Her biggest sales, however, was a song called "The Praise of Death" (Korean ; "사의 찬미 Saui Chaanmi"), an adaptation of Ion Ivanovici's "Waves of Danube Waltz", with consistent themes of death in the lyrics. The lyricist is not credited on the label, but judging from few newspaper articles of the period and a couple of publicity materials, it is most likely Yoon herself who wrote the lyrics. Because of her sensational suicide and the public's interest on her new recordings, this record had a huge sale at that time, probably about 50,000 or 60,000 copies - no other Korean records at that time had a sales close to that number.

However, in the turmoils of Korean war and other catastrophic events that plagued the Korean modern history, almost all of the copies of this record literally disappeared. Also, another possible factor of the record's extinction is the pressing quality of the original record. Although relatively well-recorded, Nitto Records of the late 1920s employed a sort of laminated pressing, with a exceedingly bad quality paper lamination base that were notoriously prone to moisture swelling. By the 1960s, this record was completely banished from the sight. When a radio drama series based on Yoon's life was produced in the late 1960s, the producers searched everywhere for this record, but they could not find a copy of it, as a result, they only had to play an acoustic recording of "Waves of Danube Waltz" in the program (I have a tape of this episode)

The first copy of this record that ever turned up in modern record collecting world was found in a dumpster in the late 1970s. It was a very rough, worn copy, with several skips and many other blemishes which rendered the record almost completely unlistenable. Nevertheless, the record was "transferred" (i.e. the record was played on a Victor Credenza and recorded with a microphone and dubbed on a reel tape), and reissued privately on a LP album. The record was later sold to a record/phonograph collector, who donated his entire collection of records to a Christian sect, and no one has ever seen this copy (and the rest of collection) since 1997.

The second copy of this record was discovered from a personal collection of a college professor, and later purchased by the Musicology department of Seoul National University (for a "hefty sum") in the early 1980s. It was transferred to a DAT tape, but this was the time that no one in Korea knew anything about the correct playing stylus, so the record was played with an LP stylus, with terrible surface noise coming out as a result. Without careful handling, this record was later smashed by a careless librarian (who mistook it for an ordinary LP record), and is now in 4 pieces....
frown emoticon

The third copy, discovered by a demolition worker in an attic of a house around 1987, was purchased by Dr. Bae Yeon-Hyung, the head of The Korean 78rpm Archive Project (http://www.78archive.co.kr/v2/index.php), in 1989 for about $3,500. This is a copy that was first transferred with "right" equipment and has been reissued numerous times in CDs and other modern media. The copy is overall in a good condition (I would say "G" in record grading terms, or 7 out of 10 in grading scales), and plays quite nicely with 3.5mil TE stylus, except for two greyed blasting spot with Yoon's high notes. I had a privilege of transferring this copy digitally by myself. It also holds the record of being one of the most longest Korean 10-inch recording (4 minutes 49 seconds at 76rpm). The performance, compared with its legendary status, is not so great in its musical quality. It seems Yoon's musical training (3 years or so) was not sufficient enough to give her steady notes, and her voice, overall, sounds very nervous. Of course, you cannot judge her voice from this sole rather dim example, but until ANY copy of her other records will turn up, her reputation should only be judged by this record. The other known two sides of Yoon, containing "The First Nowell" and "Sea of Galilee", has never transferred or even shown to the public, although I personally had a privilege of seeing and holding the record (the owner refused to play the record for me, unfortunately).

The fourth copy, turned in Japan Yahoo auction site in 2006, was in a mint condition. It was purchased by a scholar/collector for about $8,200. Sadly, this individual is one of the most notoriously obstinate person when it comes to sharing his collection to the world, and so far there was no transfer of this record ever shared to the collecting world or to any serious researchers.

This copy, which appears slightly less clean than Dr. Bae's copy, was listed in a Japanese record seller's Yahoo auction page with the minimum bid of 3,000 yen (roughly $25) in the morning of July 14th. Apparently the seller was not aware of its legendary status. Words got around, and the price quickly rose to 100,000 yen (roughly $920) in less than 24 hours. By the end of the week (in the morning of July 20th), it already reached to 1.2 million yen (roughly $10,000), and final price was 5.2 million yen! I think I know who got the copy of this record, but I will keep my mouth shut until everything gets clear and the record is shipped to the buyer. For me, this is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE - it is simply not worth THAT much amount of money, even with its legendary rarity.

^^^^ read this on a facebook post shared by excavated shellac/jonathan ward -- super cool. i love hearing about this insane stuff. it is exciting.

i am listening to skillet lickers records at the moment. literally, right now. some old-time music snobs sort of gloss over just how GOOD they were, in their preference for some more obscure string bands. and maybe because they made so many records. but they were really great, and i think their best performances are among the best records made in the string band style. lowe stokes, one of the skillet lickers' fiddlers, i would consider one of the greatest fiddlers of the era. top 5. he made some really great records. yep.

wow. i literally just found this thread to ask a question about 78 rpm records inspired by my research on that very korean release. O_O

after reading that i don't need to know anymore, but i'll ask it anyway: does anyone know when 78 rpm "albums" (i.e., the first albums ever released) started being produced? i.e., collections of 78s grouped together much like an album of photos, and sold as a set. i've googled around a bunch, but from wiki to the few articles i can find, no one wants to seem to put any kind of year on it. (though i do know now that they weren't made obsolete by good-quality 33 1/3s until 1948)

saw ian nagoski speak about recorded birdsong yesterday and it was awesome -- he was not weird at all! really engaging speaker and nice person too.

he's a very nice person! and a good speaker. and he puts out magnificent releases. he also tried to crowdfund his vasectomy.

wow, cheers to him for wanting a vasectomy -- did he succeed?

excellent speaker -- i appreciated the use of repetition of key terms so we could go home and google later
it was kinda weird because i wasn't sure where to look while the records were playing so i looked at one of the speakers

haha speaking of speakers

i don't know if he ended up getting a vasectomy, but he was roundly pilloried for trying to get his friends to pay for it.

it's pretty weird
i guess that means he is officially weird, like other 78 collectors

yes!

That birdsong comp he did last year is WILD.

yeah, he also did the comp of all laughing records!

i just buy whatever he releases (on bandcamp, usually), it's almost always gold.

yeah, i'm a fan of that approach -- i probably wouldn't buy a fancy physical collection of laughing songs, but $4 on bandcamp is worth it.

i made a Vocalian playlist. 142 songs. roughly 1925 to 1935.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqITlO71C61yE3UW4WAf_96-dqfX_0Zsj

uh, Vocalion. i can't spell.

78 collectors: still weird.

https://www.facebook.com/100000638567220/posts/2813960045301920?sfns=mo

keep the king of weird 78 collectors in your thoughts

Received “Do Not Sell At Any Price” from Mrs HD for Xmas. Really looking forward to it — I like Petrusich’s writing & I like record collecting so it should be a good day’s read.

8 tracks were better?!

It was a good book! I ploughed through it in a day. It got quite interesting toward the end where she began to examine how the tastes of white men had basically shaped the narrative around early 20th century recorded music, what was worth saving & what was worth pursuing to the obsessive degree that collectors of rustic music do... and then it just kind of petered out after a quick detour into the Epirotic Vival (“revival” is too strong a word for something that didn’t have much of a first life). It was a bit frustrating in that way; I’d have liked her journey to have got there by about Chapter 4 and then take us somewhere else, but she’d already clearly spent a lot of money & time on the project & .... how many rabbit holes can you fall down before you have to call time? Well worth a read, esp for those of us who ponder the question posed by the thread title. Sequel, please.

Joe Bussard
59m ·
Hello everyone,
It is disappointing that we have to be posting this. Unfortunately, it has been made extremely obvious that we can no longer leave the planning of visits to Joe’s record room up to him or his guests.
Joe is on hospice care, as of last week. We are unsure how much time he has left, but we are caring for him at home so he is able to spend his remaining time as comfortable as possible and around his records.
While we are happy to have people visit and keep him company, the usual day long trips to Joe’s are over. And this is not the choice of my grandfather - unfortunately, he is never going to understand the severity of this situation or the risks associated with having groups of strangers in his room for 6+ hours a day. So, as his caretakers, this is the decision that is being made and the new rules in place. He simply cannot be entertaining visitors for hours, up and down the stairs, or exerting all his energy with multiple guests.
If you would like to visit Joe, please contact us via FB message or you can email me (em✧✧✧.anderson✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧). Anyone who visits needs to show proof of a negative COVID test within the last 24 hours. If you have any chance of exposure, please be respectful and do not visit. Visits will be limited to two hours and two people. If anyone chooses to not follow these requests, or speaks directly with Joe to plan a visit and does not consult with me or my mom (Joe’s daughter), you will be asked to leave our house immediately.
We thank you for understanding and respecting our wishes during this time. While Joe would love to have dozens of people in our home for hours a day, it simply is not safe for him and we need to put these restrictions in place for his well-being.

:(

Oh no!

Joe Bussard 78 record collector RIP.

Who will get his collection?

This old long read on Bussard by writer Eddie Dean for Washington City Paper was a fascinating take on Bussard and his musical views and approach to life

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/274356/desperate-man-blues/

RIP.

a couple months ago i talked with somebody who visited joe over the summer. i'm guessing he must have gotten in before his family took over scheduling visits. joe sold him a (cracked) blind lemon jefferson record for $20 -- wow! this kid was like 18 and so stoked on it.

he's a legend for the record cleaning video alone.

i loathe to speculate on what his family is dealing with re: his collection

i imagine the dust to digital guys are working with the family

Am now on the hunt for Annette Hanshaw records. The most charming and disarming of the pre-war pop-jazz honky chanteuses.

https://consequence.net/2023/08/internet-archive-lawsuit/

Major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Capitol have filed a copyright lawsuit against the Internet Archive and its founder Brewster Kahle over the “Great 78 Project,” an initiative aimed to preserve and provide free access to pre-1972 musical works from artists like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.

In the suit filed Friday (August 11th), the labels claim that the project — which Internet Archive describes as a hub for “the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records” — violates copyright laws, and argues that by “transferring copies of those files to members of the public, Internet Archive has reproduced and distributed without authorization Plaintiffs’ protected sound recordings.”

https://great78.archive.org/

in other news, new r crumb yoga mat just dropped

https://cdn.platformart.com/original_images/a119a596-1581-4568-a757-a6818bb52cb2.RCRUMB_YOGAMAT_unrolling_animation_1.gif

https://www.platformart.com/artworks/r-crumb/shape-up-yoga-mat