27: The People’s Choice

A neuroscientist who goes by “Dave Soldier” when he’s not in the lab has a diverse musical background. He’s had a role in assembling the Thai Elephant Orchestra and making music with the Kropotkins along with countless other projects. One of Dave’s most unique projects, “The People’s Choice Music,” was inspired by a duo of Russian conceptual artists, Komar and Melamid. In this satirical survey, Dave gathered information on what elements could help him write the most wanted and unwanted songs.

Watch a VH1 “Rockumetary” on “The People’s Choice Music”

Hear the Most Wanted and Unwanted Music:

26: Gennett Records

The early recorded history of jazz, blues, and country music in America usually isn’t associated with a place like Richmond, Indiana. However, for a brief period early in the 20th century the Gennett record label based in Richmond recorded music from artists such as Gene Autry, Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Hoagy Carmichael. Learn about the history of the label from Rick Kennedy, the author of Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy.

Music featured:
Charley Patton – Down the Dirt Road Blues
Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts – Deer Walk
Bix Beiderbecke – Davenport Blues
William Harris – Bullfrog Blues
Hoagy Carmichael & Pals – Stardust
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Chimes Blues
Jelly Roll Morton – King Porter Stomp
Scrapper Blackwell – Blue Day Blues

Recommended:
Blind Lemon Jefferson – Mosquito Moan
Charley Patton – Spoonful Blues
New Orleans Rhythm Kings – Mr. Jelly Lord
Fletcher Henderson – Honey Bunch
Marion McKay – Hootenanny

Sounds Used (freesound.org):

‘locomotive.wav’ by laurent, ‘Stem_Train.wav’ by knufds,

Note: When the episode was originally published, we used an incorrect estimation of the number of white males in the KKK in Richmond in the 1920’s. The issue was corrected in this version of the program. We regret the error.

 

Learn more at the Starr-Gennett Foundation website.

25: The Packard Campus

Cold War tensions led to the creation of a Federal Reserve bunker inside of Mount Pony in Culpepper, VA in 1969. The bunker stored cash and currency that could help restart the United States economy in the event of a catastrophic incident. Such an incident never occurred and the location remained largely unused through the the 90’s. The location has since turned into the home of the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. Learn about lost films, the National Jukebox, IRENE, how big a petabyte is, and much more on a tour of the facility featuring Gene DeAnna and Matthew Barton.

Photos are used with permission of Glenn Fleishman of The Magazine and The New Disruptors. Read more about the Packard campus in his feature for Boing Boing. Find more images in his Flickr gallery.

This episode used the following sounds from freesound.org:

‘typewriter22.oog’ by tams_kp, ‘Pinning Machine 02.wav’ by dnewtonjr, ‘Steam Whistle.wav’ by NLM, ‘44_black_powder.wav’ by Jon285