Noise in the Groove: The Origin of Sound Recording Ramsey Janini

Hello, and welcome to the show. This episode introduces the main themes of the podcast. I explain what sound recording means to me and why I think it’s worth thinking about. You’ll also get to listen to the first recognisable and audible recording of the human voice.

Here we go. We set off on our unexpected journey into the audible past, beginning with the question, ‘Why are we in England?’ But then: Edison and Tesla, deafness, tinfoil, circus elephants, mechanical menaces, canned foods, corpses, and a new and wonderful phonograph.

In this episode I discuss the ideas and research of the historians and philosophers who have informed and influenced the way I think about recorded sound. I talk about: fabulous phonographs, soundscapes, perfect prisons, self-subjugation, technological determinism and the wonderful worlds of Friedrich Kittler and Jonathan Sterne.

It’s rollin’ round the bend. We begin where we left off in episode 2, and from there: Moore’s law, AI, alchemy, the Emerald Tablet, Edison, the earliest recording of a train, self-help books, Darwin, scientists, proper operators, Yankee swindles, and beyond.

This episode starts with a story that sends us back to the 10th of March of 1879. From there, we try to get a sense of what it was like to encounter and listen to recorded sound for the very first time. After that, we add a bit of physiology and music to the mix,+ Read More

Welcome to Tales in the Groove, a NITG spinoff exploring my favourite stories, legends and myths from the history of sound recording and recorded music. We start the series with a story about the death of Joseph Stalin, the life of the amazing Maria Yudina, and a midnight Mozart recording session. The episode ends with the adagio+ Read More