The Optic Earful

For any of you who are design/typeface sluts, I just scored the album of a lifetime on Ebay...

Here's the story:

My dad worked at an ad agency (in the late 60's) and got this promo record from a type house called "The Optic Earful". It's basically a record that has different typefaces intoduce themselves, and then there is a song that is supposed to demonstrate the feel of that typeface. eg. "I'm Optima!" and then there is a 10 secnd bossa nova number...

It is the bomb, I assure you.

My parents sold it at a garage sale, and I have been seeking it ever since.

It has only been on Ebay twice, and the first time it went for 150 dollars - too rich for me!

i waited 3 years, and it showed up on Ebay again - this time I scored it for 9.99.

I will make mp3's of the sounds soon - if you are intersted let me know.

That sounds reeelly cool. Are you going to put mp3s up on your website? Does the album cover show all the typefaces?

Excellent score Tikifish! let me know when you have Mp3s of it.

Reminds me of something else that's not as obscure, but still pretty out-there: "Colors" by Ken Nordine. It's the same thing... each 90 second audio track describes a color in free-verse. Ken Nordine (announced-turned-psuedo-beat-poet) wrote them and recorded them. Each one was done as a radio spot for a paint company. Again, doesn't sould like it's as cool as yours but it's a similar vein.

~Hanford

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2002-09-07 14:40 ]

Is it ethical to distribute MP3's of this record? The typesetting company is long defunct, but of course it was manufactured by a major record company. I kinda feel it's such a treasure that not spreading the love would be a shame!

I got to have a copy! Let me know if you want some payola for it.

Johnnie (design/typeface slut) Velour

I just love stuff like that! Can't wait to hear a sample.

Ethical? Definitely not.

But worth doing anyway? I'll feel a little guilty about listening to it, and my gut tells me I want to get the MP3s JUST to determine whether or not I want to buy the LP. But to show people how cool it is.... well, that's a decision you have to make.

Often times stuff like this gets published with a plea to the original arists. The publishers of the Langley Schools Music Project even set up a trust fund for the performers, if they ever request royalties.

~Hanford.

I looked up the name of the composer but unfortunately his last name is Smith so a google search was useless.

I'd love to distribute copies of this record...

It's not like you can buy it anywhere anymore, and I bet there are only a couple dozen of them in existence now, sitting in someones basement...

On 2002-09-07 15:05, tikifish wrote:
Is it ethical to distribute MP3's of this record?

Actually, from a musician's standpoint, many if not most artists are pro-MP3 distribution on the net. Courtney Love (believe it or not) gave a well-known speech about this at a recent industry conference. It's only the record companies who are fighting it because they are extra greedy and stupid. Musicians don't make money from sales of records - only from publishing, licensing and live performance. Distributing music via the internet is just another promotional tool to get people to buy other products. If you distribute MP3's - you are actually helping to build demand for the record.

Bring on the MP3s... This message was brought to you by the ever popular web font, Verdana, doo doo dee doo doo la la la...

Right on Cherry!

If it's an LP that is not available on CD, and especially if it never will be, make the MP3 and send them around. Maybe it'll get so popular, someone will find the master and make it a high quality CD.

The CD I sell of exotica stuff, is all off LP. I draw that ethical line. If I make a mix of CD recordings, I won't sell it, but give it away or charge my cost. No profit. But the hundreds of hours I have put into making records into CDs is my added value. I become the producer again. I am bringing music to people that may never hear it otherwise. That's promotion.

So please share your treasure. The Swank Pad broadcast needs more quirky lounge classics like this. Oh. Can I use it on my broadcast? ; ) And if you need a host for the MP3's, I can put them on my server and you can make a page for them or whatever and then the bandwidth and disk space is on me when people download them (if that's a concern). I have a second server from the Swank Pad site that I use for storage and larger images and stuff.

Oh, Swanky, I would love for you to broadcast some of it! It's too cool. But of course I shouldn't play it up too much cause when things are played up too much they can often be disappointing - especially as I have a nostalgic attachment to it!

Jason (The newlywed Mr. Tikifish) was working on making some of the record into MP3's today but there was a 60hz buzz on it when we recorded it so we will still try to make a better recording by re-grounding it and playing with noise reduction.

I also have this dream of sampling some of my polynesian records, melding it with the Optic Earful, and making an ambient type song called the Poly-Optic Earful... I have to learn Jason's software first. I was only in a band once, back in the 80's and I played a moog, of all things (borrowed, sadly... where is it now?)... so I have to learn the new technology before I create my phonic font masterpiece, ahah!

What software do people recommend for making MP3s? I must admit to being way behind the times with a ton of vinyl just waiting to be liberated. I am PC windows based.

A hum from a record is often from a poor ground.

I use Sound Forge, but it may not be the best. It does a whole lot more than I really need, but it does all the things I want as well. I think there are ActiveX plug ins for vinyl recording too.

If you start doing it, email me and I'll let you know the steps I use to do everything and various tips that will help.

I also use a free software called CDex to convert from wav to MP3 and back.