Centuries of Sound

MP3 (full mix) | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) So, were you expecting 1910? Well the bad news is that it’s going to be another month until that’s ready. The good news is that I have finally finished this mix for 2017. It has been a bit of a monster, or a menace, is … Continue reading "2017"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack Many people have observed that as we get older, time seems to pass more quickly – and it seems natural to apply this to civilization in general. But while it’s true that technology has had some disorientating lurches forward over the last … Continue reading "1909"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack I’ve lived through a couple of decades of recorded sound now – perhaps you have too – and as a result the world of 1908 seems almost entirely alien from the perspective of 1888. Recording technology has improved a great deal of … Continue reading "1908"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack This week has seen the passing of Geoff Emerick, who served as sound engineer on The Beatles’ Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road albums, starting at the age of just 20. His death hasn’t generated as much interest as those of George … Continue reading "1907"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack Williams & Walker are a great deal to blame for being the originators and establishing the name “coon” upon our race. They met a white man in San Francisco by the name of McConnell, who put them on the circuit. In order … Continue reading "1906"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack When people imagine the future, we often imagine new technologies, but we rarely take the time to consider how those technologies will change how we live our lives, or how we see the world. When the internet started becoming popular towards the … Continue reading "1905"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack One of the least thought about, but perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the way we listen to music is its loudness – that is, the quantity rather than just the quality. Modern day audiophiles will be familiar with the … Continue reading "1904"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack   “Under it all there’s a sort of strong, dark pulsing, the dimly recorded echo of the thundering rhythm: trombones, sousaphones (named after your man, of course), drums. The dynamics build to a controlled climax, the sound getting heavier and heavier as … Continue reading "1903"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack 1902 is the year everything started to explode. Not particularly in the world of music, not really in the world in general, but very much so in on my computer in 2018. Suddenly there is just so much out there to listen … Continue reading "1902"

Psst – come and join my Patreon here – https://www.patreon.com/centuriesofsound – and get access to our radio podcasts in January! MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack   Escaping a blinkered view of early 20th century recorded music sometimes seems like an impossible task. If the Edwardian era is … Continue reading "1901"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack Is this a new century? Difficult to get agreement on this one, but it’s certainly a new decade, and changes are very much in the air; changes that haven’t quite filtered through entirely to the mix you’re about to hear, but which … Continue reading "1900"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack “There probably has never been a sweeter, more naturally musical baritone voice than his… …Arthur Collins managed invariably to get into the wax the impression of a warm, lovable personality. The unctuous sound of his chuckles in dialect work is unfailingly charming. … Continue reading "1899"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack “The country is awakening to the real harm these “coon songs” and “rag-time” are doing… It is an evil music that has crept into the homes and hearts of our American people regardless of race, and must be wiped out as other … Continue reading "1898"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack “He told them he wanted a certain cylinder containing a particularly obscene song. He claims in his affidavit, on which the warrant was issued, that Hunting sold this cylinder to him and then in his presence made him another equally objectionable record, … Continue reading "1897"

MP3 direct download | Itunes | Mixcloud | Feedburner (RSS) | MP3 pack In a tiny, bare-walled back room a man sings into a huge metal horn. The sound causes vibrations in the air, which travel down the horn, compressing into a smaller point, causing a diaphragm to vibrate. The diaphragm pushes a metal stylus, … Continue reading "1896"