My personal favorites are:
1. the "hip-pocket" flexi-discs of the 60's that could be taken to the
beach!
2. Cereal box recordings by Bobby Goldsboro
3. The 7 inch 78 format used by the House Of Boscul Coffee Company
4. Favorite commemorative recoding is the album celebrating the Golden
Anniversary
of the Panama Canal...okay folks that's all for me...

aa
On Saturday, July 5, 2003, at 11:56 AM, Steven Smolian wrote:

> Actually, many of them appeared as 78s, 45s, LPs, cassettes, etc., and
> I've
> been assembling a collection of them.  I'm presently at over 7,000
> items, so
> far with half listed in a spread sheet.
>
> Example: Our local high school issued an Audio Yearbook in 1962.  A
> number
> of my pals are included as is a clip from the earliest recording of
> one of
> the rock bands spawned by this class.  I still go to hear the band
> reunions.
>
> I think I've tracked the "Firestone Christmas Record" annual
> phenomenon to
> Goodyear Tires, Columbia SA which issue predates any of the US ones.
>
> There's a variety of carillon music put out by the major bank in many
> large
> towns and small cities.  Banks used to have carillons the way churches
> have
> bells.
>
> At least one appliance manufacturer had a paper 33 with verbal
> instructions
> attached to its new washing machines.  I kept the record but, in this
> case,
> have not been seeking the rest of the package.
>
> A whole bunch of people issued records to aid hunters- duck calling,
> etc.  I
> have one group where I think you plugged the record player into your
> pickup
> lighter socket and played the appropriate call while sitting in your
> blind
> at the ready.
>
> There have been many oral history LPs related to various events and
> causes.
> I understand that for the 100th anniversary of the US Red Cross is now
> on
> CD.
>
> Many schools and summer camps issued LPs of their camp songs, reviews,
> Broadway musicals with less-than-famous casts, etc.
>
> Though there may be doubts about the technical proficiency of the
> performers
> and technicians, this group nonetheless serves as an audio time
> machine to
> cultural and social activities and attitudes which, though they seem
> unimportant when made, take on considerable interest with the passage
> of
> time.
>
> etc.
>
> Of course, I'm not sure where I'd draw the line if offered the entire
> archive of a busy karaoke bar.
>
> Steve Smolian .
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Richter" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2003 10:50 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Long-term/preservation audio
>
>
>> At 03:36 AM 7/5/2003 -0500, Brandon Burke wrote:
>>
>>> I obviously can't disagree with this argument altogether but, were
>>> you to
> only
>>> select one, by what process would you choose a lone representative
>>> recording of
>>> each of these songs?  Is a recording recorded at a campfire in Omaha,
> Nebraska
>>> in 1954 more 'authentic' than one performed by a group of girls in
> Brooklyn in
>>> 1978?  Seems to me that there's a legitimate case for preserving a
>>> number
> of
>>> interpretations.  It is, after all, modern folk culture.  It goes
>>> without
>>> saying
>>> that no one has the funds to preserve everything, so I'm not
>>> suggesting
> some
>>> sort of W.W.A.D.? (What Would Asch Do?) theory, but there are some
> serious
>>> issues involved in deaccesioning recordings of this nature.
>>
>> Oh, I would not make the selection - at least not willingly. If I had
>> to
> do
>> so, I'd establish some criteria for selection and limit the process to
>> perhaps one, but more likely two or three. It is the idea that there
>> is
>> some compelling interest in preserving everything which is anathema
>> to me.
>> There are many reasons for that reaction; one is that since we cannot
>> preserve all, there is no sense in preserving any. The archivist who
>> insists on the impossible will have to deal with the threat of doing
>> the
>> possible - nothing at all.
>>
>> Judgement must be used in spending limited funds and finite time on
>> preservation of what approaches infinite material. I believe the
>> archivist
>> of audio material could take the lead of those preserving historic
>> sites
>> and buildings. Every hovel has a history and some day a former
>> resident
> may
>> prove to have been a pivotal figure. But that possibility does not
>> ensure
>> that it is worthy of protection from the march of progress. Our
>> criteria
>> will be different in part because preserving one recording does not
>> impede
>> development; however, the resources used for our noble objective will
>> not
>> be available for other, lesser ones - such as preserving buildings or
>> providing pre-natal care to the needy or books for the lending
>> library.
>>
>>
>> Mike
>> [log in to unmask]
>> http://www.mrichter.com/
>