In 1963-4 two Atlanta residents collected live recordings at freedom movement events in the deep south, mass meetings, sermons, rallies, interviews. Their collection, now at the Library of Congress, is called “Movement Soul.” This interview is with one of the recordists, David Baker; slideshow sequenced by Max Darham. “Movement Soul: Civil Rights- Live:”
“Iraqi Kurdistan is an expansive look into the daily lives of the Kurdish people of northern Iraq. These images provide an alternative perspective on a changing culture, one different from the destruction and discord that dominates so much media coverage of the region. Here are policemen seated on the floor, eating lunch and laughing, old men taking care of their fields and young girls celebrating at a suburban birthday party.
There is also hardship and tribulation, to be sure; the Iraqi Kurds endured generations of brutality under Saddam Hussein. His genocidal campaigns cost close to 200,000 lives.
“The Professor” (formerly of WFMU’s Audio Kitchen) now curates an online museum, The Audio Kitchen blog, where you can listen to “Found Sound, Amateur Recordings and Homestyle Noise,” read about the tapes’ content, where they were discovered or created, and how to submit and discuss similar recordings.
For instance, here’s some found Answering Machine Recordings. These days our missed calls are recorded on digital voice mail, but not long ago we recorded our missed calls on cassettes, The Audio Kitchen dispenses this outdated technology to display many interesting and somewhat amusing glimpses into peoples lives.
There are mounds of found sound and recorded messages the Professor has documented and is sharing with everyone that cares to look and listen. He also hosts The Radio Kitchen, Adventures in Amplitude Modulation:
“The Radio Kitchen is a blog about lo-fi old fashioned terrestrial radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (on medium wave and the shortwave bands). You’ll find that most posts actually contain audio files relevant to the subject matter discussed in each entry, while others may concern radio topics: radio reception, audio archiving, and general news related to AM and shortwave radio broadcasting.”
“Jill Homer, of Juneau, Alaska, is training to ride her bicycle in the Iditarod Trail Invitational — 350 miles of wintry pedaling over tough terrain. It’s the same course used by the famous sledding race.”
“Jill is an Alaska journalist who likes to bicycle in horrendous conditions and eat goldfish crackers and Pepsi for breakfast. Jill records her daily adventures in pictures and words.”
Happy Birthday to radio’s Some Assembly Required on their 9th year of ops and 200th broadcast. Since 1999 sound artist Jon Nelson (of Escape Mechanism) has hosted the series, which “features work by a variety of artists and groups who work with bits and pieces of their media environments, giving something back to the cultural landscape from which they so enthusiastically appropriate.”
“MTV’s Choose or Lose and the John S and James L Knight Foundation present Street Team ‘08: 51 state-based citizen journalists covering election ‘08 from a youth perspective. Armed with laptops and video cameras, and charged with uncovering the untold political stories that matter most to young people in their states, they will submit weekly reports online and via mobile.”
“We hope to find out whether or not our most important political event — the election of a president —matters to young people, and whether or not if matters more when it comes to them through the lens of their issues and the screen of their cell phone,” said Eric Newton, vice president of journalism at the Knight Foundation. “We also hope to find out what important youth issues are being overlooked by traditional media as the Street Team coverage goes beyond the presidential horse race.”
An audio slideshow about the Burmese political rock band, Iron Cross. Photos, text and audio by Scott Carrier (from his HV/NPR story); music by Iron Cross; slideshow sequenced by Max Darham. “Rock the Junta: Iron Cross- Burma:”