Centuries of Sound - pre-jazz-era recorded music

I need to follow this, will be a fascinating journey. George W Johnson (1891) is an interesting character not least that he apparently recorded each wax cylinder (25-50,000!) individually. Tim Brooks' book 'Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919' has quite a big section about him.

Ha, just noticed you've linked to that book in the sidebar. Co-sign on Greg Milner's 'Perfecting Sound Forever' too.

didn't realize richard jose was recording as early as 1892! i enjoy his last recording, an electrical recording of one of his early hits made in 1930. i have such a rough time with most recordings before about 1924 or so, though! the portable action keyring player analogy is right on. so little of value from these years was recorded, so little of that is preserved. just your occasional recording by joseph taylor, or polk miller, or europe's society orchestra.

This is awesome. Great project.

Thanks for the encouragement, all. Rushomancy - I had never heard of Richard Jose before this project, there are a lot of tenors to be dealing with in the early 1900s so quite possibly that's it for him. I agree of course that there is a lot of rubbish to get through in this era, but (as I'm doing everything a year ahead of schedule) I'm currently listening to 1906, and have to report that there is a wealth of great stuff already - Vess L Ossman, Bohumir Kryl, Bert Williams, Arthur Pryor, plus all manner of wonderful Russian discs. There is a big uptick in quality around 1897 and I'm still finding more than enough for each year (though I am working through over a thousand mp3s per year now and am going to have to come up with new strategies soon)

Oh wow, I'll be looking into this for sure.

oh, vess ossman totally holds up great today (when he's not being racist). that's the thing there - damn near everything that got recorded back then was racist! jesus, poor bert williams; shit back then was fucked. bohumir kryl i hadn't heard, but man, people just went totally bonkers for the cornet back then, didn't they?

Oh christ, yes, the racism everywhere is terrible, and applies on so many levels, major hurdle to get over, this is why there's still no Arthur Collins compilation out there, even though he was clearly the biggest star of the time. And yes, lots of cornet, also lots of xylophone and banjo, but very little piano recorded in the ragtime era. OTOH there are Russian, French & other recordings at this point, and much of this doesn't apply.

Fantastic project, Camaraderie, will be following this closely!

Ooh, this looks great - I'd been slowly working through a bunch of Canary Records comps plus Jonathan Bogart's Just One Song More project (1900-1930).

this is great stuff, i think i mentioned on the dj mix thread

this is awesome!

And the attention ramps up

http://www.avclub.com/article/blog-making-mixtape-every-year-invention-recorded--257770

I wonder if this fits in a little farther down the road...

Hear the Only Castrato Ever Recorded Sing “Ave Maria” and Other Classics (1904)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjvfqnD0ws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DjfUzOWK0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6U8VZ6riNk

great project, excited to follow along ...

And the attention ramps up

http://www.avclub.com/article/blog-making-mixtape-every-year-invention-recorded--257770

― Ned Raggett, Friday, July 7, 2017 5:50 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, thanks influencers of ILM! Must keep it up now (I would have anyway, but good to know someone's actually listening to it, none of my friends / family / colleagues are remotely interested, best I've got it "tell me when you reach the 20s")

Re: Alessandro Moreschi, yes, I like him (not many do) and will be including at least one recording at some point. One of his cylinders also has the first ever recording of a pope.

Thanks for the link to Just One Song More, shamefully wasn't aware of that.

New entry up - 1893

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/1893/

Unique Quartette – Mamma’s Black Baby Boy
Louis Vasnier – Adam And Eve And De Winter Apple (Excerpt)
23rd Regiment Band Of New York – A.O.O.S. March
John York Atlee – Anvil Chorus
George J. Gaskin – After The Ball
Issler’s Orchestra – On The Midway
Ada Jones – Sweet Marie
Unknown – Brown Wax Home Recording Of Speech In Afrikaans
Sergei Taneyev And Leo Conus – Leo Conus- Suite For Piano Four-Hands
Russell Hunting – Casey At The Bat
United States Marine Band – The Kiss Waltz
Arthur Houston – Flute Solo
Edward M. Favor – The Commodore Song
George H. Diamond – When Summer Comes Again
John York Atlee – Why Should I Keep From Whistling?

I'm currently editing 1895 and listening to 1907, so if anyone has any suggestions for those years, they would be welcome.

1894 is up! There is an actual song you might know near the start, and a lot of very nice piano stuff in the middle, some very nice cornet playing near the end... I mean, still not the easiest of listening but getting better.

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/1894/

Words on the blog, tracklist here:

Spencer, Wiliams And Quinn’s Imperial Minstrels – Minstrel First Part
Issler’s Orchestra – Electric Light Quadrille
Edward M. Favor – Daisy Bell
James Mooney – Arapaho No. 73. Ghost Dance
Unknown – Personal Message from a Grandfather to his Grandchildren (excerpt 1)
Standard Quartet – Keep Movin’
Harvard Clock Tower – Chimes
Unknown – Personal Message from a Grandfather to his Grandchildren (excerpt 2)
Jules Conus – Chopin-Sarasate- Nocturne In E-Flat, Op. 9, No. 2
Anton Arensky – Le Ruisseau Dans La Forêt In G, No. 15 From 24 Morceaux Charactéristiques, Op. 36
Lavrentii Donskoi – Rubinstein- O Pechal I Toska From Nero
Vladimir Wilschaw – Godard- En Courant In G-Flat, No. 1 From 6 Morceaux, Op. 53
Joseph Sawyer – Birthday Speech, October 22 1894
Anton Arensky, Jan Hrímalý And Anatoly Brandukov – Arensky- Piano Trio No. 1 In D Minor, Op. 32- Second Movement – Scherzo- Allegro Molto
Maria Ivanovna Gutheil – Rubinstein- Sail
Russell Hunting – The Old Man And Jim
Jules Levy – The Last Rose Of Summer
John MacColl – Campbells Are Coming
Brilliant Quartette – Blind Tom
James Mooney – Caddo No. 2. Ghost Dance
Dan Kelly – Paddy’s Wedding
Sousa’s Band – The Crack Regiment
U.S. Marine Band – The Enthusiast Polka
23rd Regiment Band – New York Herald
U.S. Marine Band – The Directorate March
Charles Asbury – Haul The Woodpile Down
Bison City Quartet – Mill Medley

I was thinking of making downloadable packs of mp3s for each year, would people be interested in those?

i would for certain

Ok, let's give it a try then.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/1zsjjdv4vjpcqak/Centuries%20of%20Sound%201894.zip

Ok if I do that directly? These recordings are all well out of copyright.

^^ I for one would much prefer that to a mix, that would be awesome

Follow the Mediafire link, Le Bateau Ivre.

1895 is here.

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/1895/

Mixcloud / mp3 download / unmixed mp3 pack are all at the bottom of the blog post

Tracks

Vess L. Ossman – Cocoanut Dance
Russell Hunting – Casey As A Hotel Clerk
Baldwin’s Cadet Band Of Boston – The Liberty Bell
Edward M Favor – My Best Gal’s A New Yorker
Oriole Quartette – Brother Michael, Won’t You Hand Down That Rope
Sousa’s Band – Yazoo Dance
Issler’s Orchestra – Dixie
Aristide Bruant – Le Chat Noir
Holding’s Military Band – Overture Semiramide
Dan W. Quinn – Streets Of Cairo
Charles P. Lowe – Carnival Of Venice
Jean Moeremans – Carnival Of Venice
Unique Quartet – Who Broke The Lock?
Dickson – Dickson Experimental Sound Film
Leo Tolstoy – Spoken Word [14 February 1895, Russia]
Paul Pabst – Chopin-Pabst- Waltz In D-Flat, Op. 64, No. 1, “minute”
Josef Hofmann – Anton Rubinstein- Contredanse B, No. 3 From Le Bal, Op. 14
Paul Pabst – Tchaikovsky-Pabst- Paraphrase On Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66
Eugene Danton – Vive La Canadienne
David B. Dana – Evening Star
Baldwin’s Cadet Band Of Boston – Overture, Poet And Peasant
George W. Johnson – Listen To The Mocking Bird
Arthur B. Adamini – Caramba
Foh’s 23rd Regiment Band Of New York – The Melon Patch Schottische
George J. Gaskin – Sidewalks Of New York
Miss Alice Raymond – Love Me Little Love Me Long
Holding’s Military Band – Overture Semiramide
Issler’s Orchestra – Kentucky Jubilee Singers
Dan W. Quinn – Married Life
Sousa’s Band – Stars And Stripes Forever

Just put up mp3 packs for previous years

1858-1860
1878-1885
1887-1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893

Editing 1896, bit of a mediocre year tbh, better coming up in 1897 though. Currently listening to 1908, have to abandon my driftnet approach soon as have hit the magic "2000 tracks to listen to" mark, and there isn't really time in the month, especially with these 4 minute discs, but looking forward to putting all the weird Russian pre-revolution stuff out there. So, if anyone has any suggestions for 1909-1920 they would be very welcome indeed.

well, there's Before the Revolution: a 1909 recording expedition in the Caucasus and Central Asia by The Gramophone Company. probably already on your radar.

oh, and this is good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JFPzJaG2pg

Yeah, I have Before the Revolution, we'll see if it gets lost in amongst all the other Russian stuff. That Royal Marimba Band song is lovely though, have filed it away in 1915.

Editing 1896, bit of a mediocre year tbh

Such an ILM comment, I love it :-) The hot new sound at that time was car engines, IIRC.

This is an incredible project! Thanks for putting it all together.

1896 is up! Bit of a duff year, as said, but have tried to balance it out with a rambling, slightly pretentious essay on noise.

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/1896/ <-- Mixcloud / MP3 Pack / etc. are on the blog page, at the top.

Imperial Minstrels – The Old Log Cabin
George W. Johnson – The Laughing Song
William McKinlley – Speech to Republican Convention
Vess L. Ossman – The Stars and Stripes Forever
George Graham – Talk on Money
Columbia Orchestra – Virginia Skedaddle
W.O. Beckenbaugh – Sale of Toys, Dolls and So Forth on Christmas Eve Night
Steve Clemens – Darkys Patrol
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh’s Trip to Coney Island (Excerpt 1)
Brand’s Concert Band – Chimes of Normandy
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh’s Trip to Coney Island (Excerpt 2)
Empire State Concert Band – Belle of New York March
Bill Nye – On Tripe
William Paris Chambers – The Seraph
Josef Hofmann – Wagner-Brassin- Magic Fire Music From Die Walküre
John Terrell – a Few Words in Regard to Drinking
Gilmore’s Band – Grand March From Tannhauser
Russell Hunting – Casey at the Telephone (Excerpt 1)
Dan W. Quinn – Still His Whiskers Grew
Russell Hunting – Casey at the Telephone (Excerpt 2)
Edison Concert Band – Ouverture to ‘Der Tambour Der Garde’
Russell Hunting – I Wonder Why
United States Marine Band – the Directorate March
Len Spencer – Sale of Pawnbroker’s Goods (‘by Harry Spencer’)
Peerless Orchestra – Yankee Doodle Dandy Lancers
Sousa’s Band – The Darkie’s Temptation
George Graham – Street Fakir
Dorothy Hoyle – La Cinquantaine

I've also rewritten the 'about' page and optimistically put a suggestion form up there.

Listening to 1909 now, when I'm done with that I'll have a go at 2017.

1897 is here, incorporating a fair bit from "Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s" - making this perhaps the only NSFW mix I'll make pre-20s.

Mixcloud, mp3 pack, download, RSS here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2017/12/04/1897/

Tracks =

Students at Cornell University – New Years Day Party
Sousa’s Band (Trombone – Arthur Pryor) – Blue Bells of Scotland
Believed to Be Russell Hunting – Did He Charge Too Much
Vess L. Ossman – Old Folks at Home
Harry Heath – Speech With Church Chimes
Al Sweet – L’elegante [Élégante Polka]
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh on a Bicycle
Edison Brass Quartet – Come Where Lilies Bloom
‘Willy Fathand of New York City’ [Believed to Be Russell Hunting] – Sim Hadley on a Racket
Edison Concert Band – El Capitan March
‘Manly Tempest’ [Unknown Performer, Possibly Russell Hunting] – the Rascal Detector
The Columbia Orchestra – Sea Flower Polka
Len Spencer & Vess Ossman – Hot Time in the Old Town
N. R. Wood – Morning on the Farm
Edison Male Quartette – Annie Laurie
Drum Corps – Spirit of ’76
Garde Republicaine – Marche Des Petit Pierot
‘Charley Smith of Kankakee’ [Believed to Be Russell Hunting] – Out of Order
Fraulein Vioni Eidner – Der Vogelhandler, Act I- Die Nachtigall
Robert Green Ingersroll – On Hope
Cousins & De Moss – Poor Mourner
Harry Heath – Speech
Arthur Pryor – the Palms
Frank S. Mazziotta – Sleighride
‘Manly Tempest’ [Unknown Performer, Possibly Russell Hunting] – Gimlet’s Soliloquy
George Schweinfest – Bob White Polka
Russell Hunting – Casey’s Political Speech
Peerless Orchestra – My Babe From Boston
‘Charley Smith of New York City’ [Believed to Be Russell Hunting] – Reilly as a Policeman
George J Gaskin – Best in the House is None Too Good for Reilly
Charles P. Lowe – Leonora Waltz
The Columbia Orchestra – I Thought I Was a Winner, Or, I Don’t Know, You Ain’t So Warm
Billy Golden – Listen to the Mocking Bird
Thompson River Indians – Dance Song of Thompson River Indians
Joseph Norrito – Original Schottische
Sousa’s Band – Stars and Stripes Forever

Best thing on here = Arthur Pryor, on three tracks.

I'm now working on 2017, need suggestions of speech clips, overwhelmed with music already.

Please let me know if you have any comments.

Mr Snrub - I don't have that track, can you please send it to me?

1898! A bit late. Blog post includes a glossary of the (popular American) musical landscape of 1898, which may be interesting to people.

Mixcloud, mp3 pack, download, RSS are all here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/1898/

Tracks

A. L. Sweet – Bugle Call – 00:00
Vess L. Ossman – Bunch of Rags – 00:08
Garrett A. Hobart – Words Of Welcome – 02:32
Arthur Collins – Zizzy Ze Zum Zum – 02:44
Harry Spencer – Side Show Shouter – 03:28
Edison Brass Quartet – At A Georgia Camp Meeting – 04:05
Dan W Quinn – At A Georgia Camp Meeting – 04:42
Gilmore’s Band – At A Georgia Camp Meeting – 05:35
William Jennings Bryan – Crown Of Thorns And Cross Of Gold – 06:45
George Rosey’s Orchestra Of New York City – Cotillion March – 07:01
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh On A Street Car – 08:05
Sousa’s Band – Love Thoughts Waltz (Trombone – Arthur Pryor) – 08:49
Buffalo Bill – Sentiment On The Cuban Question – 12:02
Columbia Orchestra – Charge Of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders – 12:21
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh Comments On The Spanish Question – 14:39
Edison Concert Band – Medley Of War Songs – 15:09
Chief trumpeter Cassi of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders – Bugle Calls – 17:24
Otto Mesloh – Tyrolienne – 18:07
Russell Hunting – Casey As Umpire At A Ball Game – 19:28
Columbia Orchestra – The Darkey’s Dream – 19:44
Ruby Brooks – The Darkies Dream (Banjo Solo) – 21:12
T. De Witt Talmage – Sermon On The Mount – 22:21
Frank C. Stanley – A Hundred Fathoms Deep – 22:36
W. F. Hooley – Ingersoll At The Tomb Of Napoleon – 24:40
F. Jardella – Spaghetti Polka – 24:55
Dr. B. Sunderland – Lord’s Prayer – 26:45
Jennie Hoyle – Musin Mazurka – 27:03
Unknown Performer, Possibly Russell Hunting – The Whores’ Union – 28:29
Joseph Pizzarello – Nocturne – 28:55
Sandra Droucker – Etude In F-Sharp – 30:58
Edison Symphony Orchestra – Donau Weibschen Waltz – 32:20
W. F. Hooley – Talmage On ‘Infidelity’ – 34:38
Sousa’s Grand Concert Band – The Jolly Coppersmith – 34:52
Frank S. Maziotta – Old Folks At Home – 37:27
August P.Stengler – Old Folks At Home – 39:09
John Terrell – Casey’s Address To The G.A.R. – 41:05
Otto Mesloh – Tyrolienne – 41:46
Cousins & Demoss – Who Broke The Lock – 43:08
Vess L. Ossman – Pretty Little Queen – 45:20
The Greater New York Quartette – The Sleigh Ride Party – 47:50

Sorry to say I have not yet found the time to complete my 2017 mix.

this rules

yeah really

Thanks!

I was considering running a poll on here for best pre-1900 recordings, do people think that's a good idea?

wasn't aware of Vess Ossman until now, what a great discovery for me

Arthur Pryor really stands out here as modern sounding, compared to many of the other players. Having grown up in a Victorian-era milltown, I can picture this stuff played in the town bandstand and old hotels and other mansard-roof brick buildings around town. Thanks!

I was considering running a poll on here for best pre-1900 recordings, do people think that's a good idea?

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, January 9, 2018 10:46 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yeah

1899 is here, I think it's actually pretty listenable this time, much better than 1898, which was leagues ahead of 1897. I wrote what was supposed to be a short blog post about "Hello, Ma Baby!" to go with it too, and it ended up being pretty long.

Said blog is here, along with mixcloud, mp3 download, mp3 pack, etc. etc. - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/1899/

Tracklist here for the record. Lots of little clips of Len Spencer as he was producing copious spoken word stuff at this point.

Len Spencer – Promotional Message On The Edison Phonograph (Extract 1) 0:00
Arthur Collins – Hello, Ma Baby! 0:58
Len Spencer – Promotional Message On The Edison Phonograph (Extract 2) 3:26
Vess L. Ossman – Little Bit Of Everything 4:33
S. H. Dudley & Arthur Collins – Three Minutes With The Minstrels (Extract) 7:00
Edison Concert Band – Second Connecticut March 7:24
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh And The Lightning Rod Agent 8:53
Jean Moeremans And Jacques L. Van Poucke – Polka Variata 10:20
B. Russell Throckmorton – The White Man’s Burden (Kipling) (Extract 1) 11.51
Anton Arensky – Arensky- An Der Quelle In A, Op. 46, No. 1 12.16
B. Russell Throckmorton – The White Man’s Burden (Kipling) (Extract 2) 13:00
Columbia Orchestra – The Lime-Kiln Club 13:46
Edison Minstrels – Minstrel Potpourri (Extract 1) 16:27
Edison Quartette – Sunshine Will Come Again 16:39
Edison Minstrels – Minstrel Potpourri (Extract 2) 18:56
Will F. Denny – You Can’t Think Of Everything 19:11
Billy Golden – Rabbit Hash (Extract) 20:08
A. L. Sweet – Arbucklenian Polka 20:16
Imperial Minstrels – Upon The Golden Shore (Extract) 21:39
Columbia Drum, Fife and Bugle Corps – the Girl I Left Behind Me 21:54
Peerless Orchestra – Admiral Dewey’s Arrival In New York 22:47
Orchestra – The Mosquito Parade 23:49
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh At A Baseball Game 25:43
James C. Mcauliffe – Mrs. Mccloud’s Reel 26:14
Peerless Orchestra – Ma Ragtime Baby 27:39
Len Spencer – Auction Sale-Household Goods (Extract 1) 29:44
Unidentified Barrel Organist – Street Piano Number Two 30:29
Len Spencer – Auction Sale-Household Goods (Extract 2) 31:55
Dan W Quinn – Glorious Beer 32:32
Len Spencer – Auction Sale-Household Goods (Extract 3) 33:34
W. C. Townsend – The Pixies 33:54
William Jefferson (Len Spencer) – Cinderella (Extract 1) 35:43
Albert Benzler – Tell Me With Your Eyes Medley 36:25
William Jefferson (Len Spencer) – Cinderella (Extract 2) 37:23
Jacques L. Van Poucke – Fantaisie Variée 38:02
William Jefferson (Len Spencer) – Cinderella (Extract 3) 39:18
Joseph P. Cullen And William G. Collins – Twin Star March 40:11
Sig. Adamini – Los Ojos Negros 41:26
Vess L. Ossman – Whistling Rufus 44:24
Peerless Orchestra. – Whistling Rufus 46:58
Roger Harding & Steve Porter – The Imperial Minstrels (Extract 1) 49:24
Joseph P. Cullen And William G. Collins – Twin Star March 49:38
May Kelso – Because 50:52
Roger Harding & Steve Porter – The Imperial Minstrels (Extract 2) 52:36
Jean Moeremans – The Little Speranza 52:53
George P. Watson – Snyder, Does Your Mother Know You’re Out? 54:27
Orchestre Boldi – L’amour Et La Vie À Vienne 56:48
Unidentified Chimes – Home, Sweet Home 59:35

I was considering running a poll on here for best pre-1900 recordings, do people think that's a good idea?

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, January 9, 2018 10:46 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yeah

― budo jeru, Tuesday, January 9, 2018 10:08 PM (four weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Great, I'd like to go ahead with this, then. I remember there was a thread with a schedule for polls, would anyone mind me diving in there are starting a new one rather than waiting my turn for too long? Reckon I could start this at the end of Feb.

Mixcloud won't let me play this latest mix, as apparently it violates US terms for streaming mixes:

US Rules:

• Maximum 4 tracks by an artist (and max 3 consecutively)

• Maximum 3 listens to a show during any 2 week period

Thanks, I thought I could foil this by putting a full stop at the end of his name for some of the tracks, but apparently the system is smarter than I thought. I have contacted mixcloud and am trying to resolve it, but we'll just have to see. In the meantime there's the mp3 there too I guess.

a thread with a schedule for polls

oh wow i didn't even realize this was a thing

I'm not sure it is a thing as I can't find it, maybe I dreamed it. Long list of upcoming artist polls with poll-runners listed, last one was New Order? Anyway, not sure there is enough interest, will leave it for now.

no, it's around somewhere, search "ILM artist poll" but I can't find the thread where people discuss the order of the polls

ILM Ballot Polls for 2014 and beyond -- order, timing, "I would have voted if I'd known about it," etc

1900 is here, and it's turned out to be the shortest mix since 1897 for some reason.

Mix, blog, mp3 pace are all here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/03/05/1900/

Tracks are

Emperor Franz Joseph – Oldest Magnetic Recording On Poulsen 0:00
Edison Concert Band – Champaign Gallop 0:09
Film Soundtrack – Cyrano de Bergerac 2:11
Edison Grand Concert Band – Mr. Thomas Cat 2:36
Arthur W Haddon – Brown Wax Home Recording Of Talking 4:41
Vess L Ossman – A Coon Band Contest 5:03
Sousa’s Band – A Coon Band Contest 7:18
American Quartet – A Night Trip To Buffalo (Excerpt 1) 9:05
Arthur Collins – The Mick Who Threw The Brick 9:26
American Quartet – A Night Trip To Buffalo (Excerpt 2) 10:31
Charles P. Lowe – Brilliant Gallop 11.08
Len Spencer & George Schweinfest – The Arkansaw Traveler (Excerpt 1) 13:15
Will F. Denny – Doing His Duty-Ooty 13:27
Len Spencer & George Schweinfest – The Arkansaw Traveler (Excerpt 2) 15:41
George Schweinfest – Robin Adair 15:54
Len Spencer & George Schweinfest – The Arkansaw Traveler (Excerpt 3) 17:12
Charles D’ Almaine – Polish National Dance 17:28
Aumonier – Le Cor 19:36
Paul Daraux – Les Myrtes Sont Fletries 22:01
Choir with Alessandro Moreschi – Tui Sunt Coeli 23:26
William Jennings Bryan – Imperialism Speech (Excerpt) 25:48
Peter Dawson – The Miner’s Dream Of Home 26:10
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh In A Chinese Laundry 29:54
Oppakekepei – Kawakami Noburo Isao 31:04
Siam Theater Ensemble (Berlin) – Kham Hom 32:30
Harry Spencer – The Absent-Minded Beggar (Kipling) 34:22
Edison Male Quartet – Vesper Service 35:30
William F. Hooley – A Record For The Children 36:38
Arthur Collins – Mandy Lee 37:18
Frank Kennedy – Schultz At The Paris Exposition 40:51
Peerless Orchestra – Hail To The Spirit Of Liberty 41:26
Wilson Gabo, Cora Gabo And Unidentified Accompanists – Brown Wax Home Recording Of Harmonica Solo Talking 43:40
Vess L Ossman – The Old Folks At Home 45:04
Performer Not Given – Brown Wax Home Recording 47:27

My highlights - last bit of 'Mr Thomas Cat', Vess L Ossman's version of 'Old Folks At Home'

1901 - big upswing in listenability after a bit of a fallow one last year. Starting to get some Russian recordings here - would suggest listening to these even if you aren't into a whole hour of 1901, think I will be making a compilation of them to share eventually. Also two recordings from Bert Williams, who is an all-time-great AFAIC.

The mix is here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/04/02/1901/ along with download, mp3 pack, blog entry, all the rest.

I was considering running a poll on here for best pre-1900 recordings, do people think that's a good idea?

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, January 9, 2018 10:46 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hell yeah

― budo jeru, Tuesday, January 9, 2018 10:08 PM (four weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Great, I'd like to go ahead with this, then. I remember there was a thread with a schedule for polls, would anyone mind me diving in there are starting a new one rather than waiting my turn for too long? Reckon I could start this at the end of Feb.

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, February 6, 2018 10:50 PM (two months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Anyone still up for this? There wasn't much enthusiasm on the polls thread.

rocking, keep on keepin' on

this is so cool!

have you already talked about how you go about finding this stuff? no need to divulge the secret sauce or anything, but i'm curious about how you go generally about it - whether you first identify potential tracks by reading about them and then trying to track them down, looking through old comps for tracks from a certain year, some goldmine blog out there with a bunch of this old music archived, etc. at any rate it's evident that it must take a ton of work, and the effort you put it into it really shines through.

I probably did, but no harm in saying again. For the early years there are quite a few websites with cylinder and record archives. I put up a list of them here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/sources/sources-web/ As of 1905 I was still mainly using bits of python code to crawl these sites, download everything, then upload the folder of mp3s for that year to my phone, and spend a month listening and deleting until I'm down to 60 or so tracks. Then I leave the files in a folder for about a year until they come around in the cycle to editing, at which point I spend a week sorting and doing restoration work, then three weeks editing the mix in adobe audition.
As I'm a year ahead with the listening phase I'm actually on 1917 now. When I was listening to I think 1910 I realised that the folder of mp3s was becoming completely unmanagable (there were over 2000 for the year) so I shifted to using a spreadsheet I made. This has top-ranked tracks from a few different sites like tsort, rym and acclaimed music, plus a number of other lists I found, and some curated compilations listed here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/sources/sources-cds/ - This means I only have about 300 tracks to listen to for 1917, which is much more managable. I plan to incorporate ilm lists when I get a bit further forward.
It does take quite a bit of work, yeah, but it's something I enjoy doing.

1906: Bert Williams, Scott Joplin, the Victrola and some more things.

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/1906/

Tracks

Herr Dr. Professor & George Donahue – Bringing In 1906 0:00
Bert Williams – Nobody 0:18
Ada Jones And Len Spencer – Bashful Henry And His Lovin’ Lucy 3:00
United States Marine Band – Maple Leaf Rag 3:24
Edison Minstrels – At The Minstrel Show no. 3 5:17
Vess L. Ossman – Medley Little Bit Of Everything 5:57
Prince’s Military Band – Destruction Of San Francisco 8:01
General William Booth – Don’t Forget 9:36
Edison Concert Band – Chopin’s Funeral March 9:54
Orchestra Of The Republican Guard – Dawn With Torches 10:15
Marianna Cherkasskaya, Nina Panina, Acc. Orchestra – Already The Evening Enfolds The Distant Fields 12:00
Alexander Davydov – Hermann’s Appearance In The Countess’s Bedroom 13:22
Mlle Korsoff – Il Bacio (Arditi) 15:24
Richard Waldemar – Der Fensterputzer- 1. Teil 18:12
Leo Tolstoy – Thoughts From The Book ‘for Every Day’ 18:50
Selma Kurz, Acc. Orchestra – The Bird In The Forest 19:05
Arthur Pryor’s Band – Carmen Selection 20:07
Siegel-Myers School Of Music – Vocal Record F 22:40
Bob Roberts – He’s A Cousin Of Mine 23:04
Cal Stewart – Uncle Josh At The Roller Skating Rink 25:09
Charles P. Lowe And The Columbia Symphony Orchestra – Medley Of Popular Airs 25:20
Len Spencer & George W Johnson – The Merry Mail Man 26:31
Edison Male Quartet – Stop That Knocking At The Door 27:44
Harry Spencer – Sale Of Pawnbroker’s Goods 28:37
Albert Muller (Xylophone) With Orchestra – Katie 28:55
Ada Jones and Len Spencer – Mandy And Her Man 32:08
Ada Jones – Waiting At The Church 32:20
Two Unidentified Men – Black Wax Home Recording Of Two Unidentified Men Singing And Laughing 33:25
Ebrahim, Royal Orchestra – Bidad (Homayun) 33:44
Hopi Indians – Eagle Song 34:54
Ajukutôk’ – Kayak-song 35:36
3 women and 3 men – Traditional song 36:00
Patápio Silva – Primeiro Amor 36:08
Vengopal Chari – Laughing 37:24
Boris S. Troyanovsky – Mazurka No 4 37:35
G.Marenich, A.Leverenko, Ryabtzov – Three Paths Across The Field 38:55
John Taylor – Speed The Plow Reel 39:50
Thomas A. Edison – The Liver Complaint Story 41:08
Bohumir Kryl – Sing, Smile, Slumber 42:02
Polish Band – Down The Petersky 43:43
Dranem – Le Gardien Des Ruines 45:36
Charlus – S’ils Parlaient 46:23
Albert Benzler – Spoontime 47:44
Len Spencer And Alfred Holt – Barnyard Serenade 48:45
Helen Trix – The Bird On Nellies Hat 49:03
Edison Concert Band – Old Heidelberg 50:16
James C. Mcauliffe – The Minstrel Boy 52:20
The Scots Guard Pipers – Sword Dance 53:23
Mah Thane May – Yodaya Bwe Gyi 54:32
Miss Gauhar Jan – Hindustani Female Song 56:08
Professor N. M. Chuckerbutty Of Calcutta – Esraj Instrumental- Bahar Kawali 57:21
Nebe-Quartett – O du fröhliche, o du selige Weihnachtszeit 58:41
Nebe-Quartett – Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht 59:34
Columbia Quartette – Steamboat Medley 1:00:29
John J. Kimmel – American Cake Walk 1:00:46
Billy Murray And The Edison Male Quartet – Lazy Moon 1:02:01
Ossman Dudley Trio – St. Louis Tickle 1:03:47
Columbia Band – An Arkansaw Husking Bee 1:05:57
Edward Meeker And Joseph Belmont – Song Of The Nations 1:07:56
Eugene C. Rose – La Traviata- concert Waltz 1:09:45
Figure Five Orchestra – Lanciers From Miss Dolly Dollars 1:11:50
G. H. Chirgwin – A Few Eccentric Gaglets 1:13:40
Herbert Lincoln Clarke And Leo Zimmerman – Cousins 1:14:07
National Military Band – The Girl In The Train 1:14:47
Bert Williams – Pretty Desdamone 1:16:14
Len Spencer – Meister’s Musical Masterpiece 1:18:55

Bert William's "Nobody" - still hit material if you ask me.

Agreed! Such a great song and such a unique performer. Been reading this book which is partially about him.

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Lost_Sounds.html?id=JvdRQ_mgynoC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y

i would like to read that book someday

Just wanted to note that I have an actual real radio show on an actual real radio station now. Local radio, and monthly, but still the big time as far as I'm concerned. I roped in a friend to talk about the recordings rather than just play them - a less ideologically pure concept, but probably more palatable on a Saturday night, especially as we're going to be doing the first ever recordings and they are not really that listenable however you spin it.
It's on Cambridge 105 at 8pm BST tomorrow (Saturday) - if anyone is interested you can stream it here - https://cambridge105.co.uk/

My mate Rich has a show on there sometimes. I've been meaning to catch up with your project (time, time...) - will listen to the show.

Finally finished 1907 - here it is! - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/10/04/1907/

Think this one is easily the best so far, 1906 was a bit of a lull but there was so much good stuff out there for this year, especailly if you're into any sort of Latin-American music.

Here's what we have

Enrico Caruso – Vesti La Giubba (I Pagliacci) 00:00
Unknown – Sunderland Home Cylinder 33 02:17
Vess L. Ossman – Maple Leaf Rag 02:23
Orquesta De Enrique Peña – Los Guajiros De La Yaya 05:01
Octavio Yáñez – Anita 06:27
Ángel Villoldo – El Negro Alegre 08:34
Orquesta De Pablo Valenzuela – Happy Hobbs 10:11
Steve Porter – Flanagan’s Troubles In A Restaurant 12:14
Edison Vaudeville Company – An Amateur Minstrel Rehearsal 14:25
Billy Murray – I’d Rather Two-Step Than Waltz, Bill 14:52
Peerless Trio – Three Rubes Seeing New York 15:56
Ada Jones And Len Spencer – Burying The Hatchet 17:52
Eddie Morton – That’s Gratitude 18:33
Peerless Quartet – The New Parson At The Darktown Church 21:03
Ada Jones And Billy Murray – Smile, Smile, Smile 21:34
Albert Whelan – The Miser 23:51
Arthur Pryor’s Band – The King Of Rags 24:14
Yolande Noble And Percy Clifton – Buying The Christmas Dinner 25:54
Zonophone Concert Band – The Smiler 26:22
Carl Lüdicke – Der Musikalische Clown 28:18
Edison-Orchester (Berlin) – Alarmierung Der Berliner Feuerwehr 29:57
Gustav Schönwald And Fraulein Vincent – Am Telephon 30:17
Steidl-Quartett – Katzenliebe 30:48
Gustav Schönwald – Nachtliches Abenteuer Eines Studenten 31:53
August Molinari – Street Piano Medley 32:41
Gilbert Girard And Len Spencer – The Vagabonds (Roger And I) 34:49
Antonio Scotti – Sortita D’amonasro 35:14
Emma Calve – Habanera from Carmen 36:01
Maria A. Mikhalova Acc. Boris S. Troyanovsky – Why Should I Live And Grieve Alone? 37:30
Dmitry Bogemsky – The Tossing Of The Steamer 39:30
Orchestra ‘Harmonia’, Conductor Vasily Varshavsky – Sighs 40:06
P. A. Strakhov – The Departure Of A Train 40:56
Chorus Of Terek And Kuban Cossacks Of The Guards Of The Governor Of His Imperial Majesty In Caucasus, Conductor Mikhail Kolotilin – Walking On Water 41:15
Choir Of Makvaneti – Naduri 42:09
Count Leo Tolstoy – Excerpt From ‘Guidelines For Everyday Living’ 43:46
Choir Of Tbilisi – Metiuri 43:54
Victor Orchestra – A Hunt In The Black Forest 44:43
Mme Rollini – Ne M’ Chatouillez Pas 46:59
Bérard – Chargez 48:32
John J. Kimmel – Cakewalk 49:14
Fréjol – C’ Que Tu M’as Fait 50:24
Unknown – Sunderland Home Cylinder 18 51:41
Vesta Victoria – It Ain’t All Honey And It Ain’t All Jam 52:10
Edison Vaudeville Company – At The Village Post Office 53:19
Florrie Forde – I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside 53:42
Ada Jones – I’m In Love With The Slide Trombone 55:30
Edith Helena – Cavalleria Rusticana. Intermezzo; Arr. 57:42
Edison Venetian Trio – Sonoma 59:36
Gramophone Orchestra, Conductor I. P. Arkadev – The Music Box 59:49
Picolines Duet – Two Little Finches 1:00:43
Arthur Pryor’s Band – The Lion Chase 1:01:35
Banda De Policía – Álbum Recreativo Variacones De Saxofón Soprano 1:04:55
Antonio Hidalgo – Un Meeting De Raza 1:06:48
Martin Silveira – Nueva York 1:07:15
Arturo De Nava – Décimas Del Sargento 1:08:31
Uncredited Ensemble – Khaek Lopburi 1:09:42
Albert Benzler – The Chapel In The Woods 1:11:11
Alice Shaw & Her Twin Daughters – Spring-Tide Revels 1:12:10
George Islon – Christmas Eve In The Old Homestead 1:12:57
Billy Murray – So What’s The Use? 1:13:23
Percy Clifton – Dick Whittington 1:16:27
Edward M. Favor – Theodore 1:16:47
Choir Of The Royal Court Opera With Orchestra And Church Bells, Acc. Harmonium, Bells – Silent Night, Holy Night 1:18:47

wonderful, thanks! i wish i had a million twitter followers so that i could share this with more people.

Thanks KM! So do I (but currently 999,786 short)

Just put up my mix for 1908

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/1908/

The mix, along with blog post about vaudeville, mp3 download, mp3 pack, mixcloud upload, is there.

This one was a bit of a nightmare to make as rotten horrible me-from-a-year- ago had left nearly 130 mp3s in the folder and cutting good stuff was like pulling out teeth, think it has turned out well but have been listening to it all way too long. It's a 50% original vaudeville & music hall mix, loads of catchy tunes and quite a bit of comedy which has dated pretty well - better than anything I'd encountered previously.

I have had "Cohan's Pet Names" in my head for about a year and have been writing alternative lines for it, like "Don't call me darling, dear, because it rhymes with Carling beer, and that's a drink for twats in wetherspoons" - now I can finally share this affliction with the world.

Also! My Cambridge 105 shows are now up on Mixcloud - I'm posting them with this tag - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/tag/cambridge-105-shows/ - and the third episode is going out this Saturday at 8pm.

1909 do do do do do do 1909 do do do do do do 1909

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/1909.jpg

Listen, download, do a few other things here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/12/03/1909/

Artists include George Formby Sr, Enrico Caruso, Polk Miller, Fred Van Eps, The Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, Eddie Morton, Bohumir Kryl, Billy Murray and Harry Lauder.

Posting today's Cambridge 105 radio show because it's the first one I really feel happy with - we talk about the music and events of 1892 and 1893, and there is a surprising amount of sex and violence involved.

https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/centuries-of-sound-on-cambridge-105-radio-episode-4-1892-1893/

This month is very much not "pre-jazz-era recorded music" - it's my 2017 mix, finished a year late, at the time when people are perhaps least interested in reliving 2017.

MP3 pack not available this time for obvious reasons, mp3 is on mediafire because too big for libsyn, no blog post because I really couldn't work out what that should be, aside from that though...

All is here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/2017/

Tracklisting

Godspeed You Black Emperor! – Undoing a Luciferian Towers 0:00:00
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Deadly Valentine (Soulwax Remix) 0:01:16
Jeff Beal – House of Cards S05E03 Closing Titles 0:04:00
Danny Brown – Ain’t it Funny 0:05:27
Zimpel-Ziolek – Wrens 0:06:28
Superorganism – Something for Your M.I.N.D. 0:09:08
Big Shaq – Man’s Not Hot 0:10:57
Todd Terje – Jungelknugen (Four Tet Remix) 0:13:15
Kendrick Lamar – FEEL. 0:15:31
Blanck Mass – Hive Mind 0:18:57
Trio Da Kali & Kronos Quartet – Lila Bambo 0:21:50
The Horrors – Something To Remember Me By 0:25:13
Self Esteem – Your Wife 0:27:16
Roger Robinson – Welcome to Dog Heart City 0:29:11
Caroline Spence – Softball 0:31:16
Leif – July V 0:34:20
Cardi B – Bodak Yellow 0:37:49
Avelino (feat. Stormzy & Skepta) – Energy 0:39:05
Orbital – Copenhagen 0:40:26
Strobes – OK Please 0:42:25
Tom Zanetti featuring Sadie Ama – You Want Me 0:44:20
Justin Adams ft. Anneli Drecker – Wassoulou 0:45:34
Denzel Curry, Lil Ugly Mane – Zeltron 6 Billion 0:47:18
CCFX – The One to Wait 0:48:50
Kero Kero Bonito – Rock & Roll Star 0:52:20
Yaeji – Raingurl 0:55:15
Nite Jewel – 2 Good 2 Be True 0:58:01
Colin Stetson – Spindrift 0:59:48
Vince Staples – Crabs in a Bucket 1:01:40
Tove Lo – Disco Tits 1:03:32
Special Request – Stairfoot Lane Bunker (Minor Science Remix) 1:05:22
Baxter Dury – Porcelain 1:08:03
Antwood – Disable Ad Blocker / Sublingual 1:09:30
Chino Amobi – Eigengrau (Children of Hell II) 1:11:06
Hammock – When The Body Breaks 1:12:17
James Holden & The Animal Spirits – Thunder Moon Gathering 1:14:22
The Jungle Giants – Bad Dream 1:16:31
Rose Elinor Dougall – Stellular 1:18:08
Grace Mitchell – Now 1:20:15
Lindstrøm – Tensions 1:21:30
The Seven Fields of Aphelion – Drift (Losing Light) 1:22:57
Young Fathers – Only God Knows 1:23:30
Bjork – Arisen My Senses 1:25:53
clipping. – The Deep 1:28:23
Kelly Lee Owens – Anxi 1:30:22
Photay – Off-Piste 1:32:22
Lost Souls of Saturn vs. Mashrou’ Leila – Bint El Khandaq 1:34:43
Alessandro Cortini – Vincere 1:36:36
Nilüfer Yanya – Baby Luv 1:39:07
Kesha ft. The Dap-Kings Horns – Woman 1:41:42
KIASMOS – Blurred 1:44:03
Oliver – Chemicals (feat. MNDR) 1:46:27
Lingua Ignota – Woe to All (On the Day of My Wrath) 1:48:09
Jlin – Kyanite 1:49:32
Migos – T-Shirt 1:51:16
Ghostpoet – Freakshow 1:53:44
Meridian Brothers – Yo Soy Tu Padre, Yo Te Fabrique 1:55:33
Lanark Artefax – Touch Absence 1:57:49
Aldous Harding – Imagining My Man 2:01:06
Moses Sumney – Doomed 2:04:11
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Who I Am And Why I Am Where I Am 2:05:59
Lorde – Green Light 2:07:49
Visible Cloaks – Screen 2:10:18
Ibibio Sound Machine – Give Me a Reason 2:11:45
Mondo Grosso – Labyrinth 2:13:50
Bing & Ruth – Starwood Choker 2:15:55
Brian Eno & Kevin Shields – Only Once Away My Son 2:17:53
Rapsody feat. Lance Skiiiwalker – Power 2:20:00
Susanne Sundf›r – The Sound of War 2:23:13
SZA – Supermodel 2:25:57
Sinkane – U’Huh 2:27:55
Bicep – Glue 2:29:46
Leif Vollebekk – Elegy 2:33:36
Tornado Wallace – Voices 2:36:45
Ryuichi Sakamoto – Life, Life 2:39:27
Pippa Murphy – Small Consolation 2:40:35

Back to the past, here's 1910.

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/1910.jpg

This was quite a beast to make, probably the most intensive so far as I was using scripts to trawl various cylinder / 78rpm archives and ended up with over 3000 tracks to whittle down. After this point I'm largely relying on compilations and other people's lists, which may mean a few less leftfield choices, but there was no other choice.

Blog post with photos, mixcloud, download link, full tracklisting is here - https://centuriesofsound.wordpress.com/2019/02/07/1910/ - No more mp3 pack as I was beginning to get referrals from some automated bot run buy a copyright lawyer, and while I consider all of this to be well out of copyright apparently it's a little more complicated than that. Artists this time include Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, Agustín Barrios, Bert Williams, Arthur Collins, Fisk University Jubilee Quartet, Sophie Tucker, Irving Berlin, Vess L. Ossman, Ernest Shackleton and Nellie Melba

Other new things - I've spruced up the home page with a snazzy index - https://centuriesofsound.com - and have started a Patreon, to try to claw back a little of the money I spend on the project (and try to justify spending all my time on it to my family!) Making this Patreon (and not using a picture he sent) has apparently pissed off my sole contributor, a person who runs a minor record label in the UK, he said "so you didnt use my picture. I decided to do my own yearly music project now and i wont be charging people for it." so look out for that, I guess, but just to be clear the mix is still free to download and without any adverts, and will stay that way.

1911

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/1911.png

Slightly (well, nearly half an hour) shorter mix this time, as the driftnet era draws to a close - this means more pop! hits and less unlabelled home-made cylinders, which is a shame on one hand, but a massive relief on the other.

This one features Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Gene Greene, Enrico Caruso, Fred Van Eps, and the first recording of Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Full track listing, download, all that sort of thing, to be found here - https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/03/08/1911/

The radio show (which is discussion + music rather than just the recordings) is up to the end of the 19th Century now - this can be found here - https://centuriesofsound.com/tag/cambridge-105-shows/ or with everything else on my mixcloud here - https://www.mixcloud.com/centuries_of_sound/ - oh and the patreon, let's not forget that - https://www.patreon.com/centuriesofsound.

Any help publicising / useful advice still gratefully received!

Here's 1912

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/1912.jpg

https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/04/04/1912/

70 minutes of music and speech, all from 1912, available to download / stream, etc. through the link, and some notes on Edison's diamond disc and how it relates to poptimism, yes really.

wow

The Boston Public Library 78rpm Collection:
http://www.metafilter.com/180215/The%2DBoston%2DPublic%2DLibrary%2D78rpm%2DCollection

way behind on the centuries of sound things, but the ones i've checked out have been amazing. great work.

Thanks for kind words, Tracer Hand & tylerw!

The Boston Public Library 78rpm Collection:
http://www.metafilter.com/180215/The%2DBoston%2DPublic%2DLibrary%2D78rpm%2DCollection

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, April 4, 2019 11:21 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, have seen that, but the days of sorting through every mp3 available are now unavoidably behind me - 3000 tracks was the limit I couldn't really get past in a month - if someone wants to pick out some gens from there then please do! Otherwise it is another useful source for records I hear about elsewhere, so

I put up a new version of the first mix, previously called "1859-1860" but now called "1853-1860"
This is because
* Loads of new phonoautograms have emerged
* The blog post was inadequate and I hadn't figured out the formatting
* It is the most viewed page on the site and was the worst page on the site

Here's the new one: https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/04/17/1853-1860/

Also, I have been nominated for this thing

cool, i didn't know there were more phonoautograms!

Congrats on the nomination!

A (proof)reader’s note: There are two instances in the article where it says “1960” where 1860 is meant.

Thanks on both counts, fixed now.

I'm at home ill today and apparently have a fever, so not surprised there are typos, probably shouldn't be writing it now.

1913 is here and it is hot! as in hot! dancehall! ragtime!

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/1913-cover.jpg?w=497

https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/05/09/1913/

All listening options and blog post under the link.

"Too Much Mustard" is a delightfully cautious title for trying out this ragtime abandon.

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/1914-small.jpg

1914 features a bit of war, a lot more hot dance ragtime, some other things of interest.

All the usual stuff is under this link - https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/06/06/1914/

thank you for this !

as always i really appreciate the curation, the paragraphs providing commentary and contexts, the whole thing is just so good

Thanks, budo jeru.

I'm listening to 1926 right now and am really looking forward to getting onto this era, the increase in quality in a decade is astounding.

1915

https://centuriesofsound.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/1915.jpg

This one is odd, understandably there's been a huge downturn in music production, and this sort of novelty pop version (with sound effects!) of hot ragtime has come in to fill the void, so a really different mix, not the best one probably, but certainly nothing like either 1910 or 1920.

Probably a good job this isn't a one I want to promote particularly as this is the crazy time of the year for me at work, and I have to apply for my wife's residence extension, what spare time I have is spent making the things. 1917 will be big, of course.

Anyway, stream and download are here - https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/07/04/1915/ - patreon for bonus gubbins now.

Hey not a regular poster round these parts but just wanted to say on behalf of lurkers everywhere that this whole project is simply fantastic work and it's just as interesting to read about/listen to the "off" years as anything else, please keep the good stuff coming :)

^^^

Reading this at the moment, may be of interest to you. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51rnr9i4%2BDL._SX351_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Looking forward to the 1917 mix more than before with jazz arriving on the scene.

Ha, maybe needed a carriage return or two.

Thanks Windsor Davies (not THE Windor Davies, surely), I don't want to ever complain about doing this as it's a labour of love, but it is quite a bit of labour at the moment due to these work and family commitments, also the articles and interviews seem to have dried up now, not sure if it's because it's been covered already or people are waiting for the good stuff, but guess it's sort of the right time for a lull, will be going into the jazz age in September, which is luckily the time work gets less intensive.

These are the seven weeks of the year when my fairly leisurely job becomes a 60-plus-hours-per-week nightmare, so have had little time for this, however, thought I would share this on here:

I have put the spreadsheet I operate from on Google Docs for anyone to edit / add stuff. It's here, instructions on the first tab, other tabs for each year, I am working on 1928 right now, so this weekend is probably the last chance to change that one.

I'm sure you are well along into your 1917 mix, but "Groung (The Crane)" by Zabelle Panosian has become held me rapt since discovering it a few years ago:

https://canary-records.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-servant-of-your-voice-april-1917-june-1918

Yes, obsessed with that CD! And will be featuring two tracks when I get there (just finishing off 1916 right now)

yay!

Only taken me two years to read this thread but wow, what an amazing project. Absolutely fascinating stuff.
(I feel like the sleeping guy Colbert mentions at the beginning of your 2017 mix!).

Thanks NedX!

Here is 1916! A really quite important and exciting year it seems, half of the mix is so close to jazz you can taste it, and it builds up towards the end, so if you check out nothing else (don't advise this) please take note of last 5 mins or so.

https://centuriesofsound.com/2019/08/08/1916/

I am utterly shattered from my work which is much much more intense in the summer, so not sure how I managed to get this one together but wow do I need some sleep, may be a slightly feverish tone to the blog post for this reason.

Reading this at the moment, may be of interest to you. Looking forward to the 1917 mix more than before with jazz arriving on the scene.

― Dan Worsley, Friday, July 5, 2019 8:26 AM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink

Got this now thanks, and eager to read in the few weeks off I now have, looks excellent.

Might have to start a new thread next month as we will actually be in the jazz age, any suggestions for a name?

Continued here - Between the Wars AKA The Jazz Age AKA Centuries of Sound Volume 2

I am trying to make films to match the sounds. Results so far are uh, mixed, should improve once I get to a time with more than 3 seconds of surviving film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibVP_08-158

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUVDtmAgCV0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm1eUlGViOk