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THE MUSEUM OF ME

by CHRIS BUTLER

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    A real, old-fashioned jewel boxed CD of new songs recorded on antique and obsolete recording equipment. includes a booklet explaining the technology used for each track

    Includes unlimited streaming of THE MUSEUM OF ME via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $10 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

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THE IDIOT TRAIL(v.4) the sign says...YOU ARE HERE! gee, that's a relief... a red dot...on a line of some lunatic's reasoning what logic!...what sense! so stupid, it's staggering an idiot...trail that doesn't know where it's going can't miss it?...oh, yes i can i can miss anything gimme a hint...and i'll drop it... like a bush league catcher with a hole in his mitt all the balls are taking crazy bounces proudly point out the joints on your strip but all i'll see are slaughterhouses if fun can kill ya and work can kill ya and love can kill ya and the air can kill ya that doesn't leave a whole lotta options... saddle up, buckaroos! it's all uphill from here mount yer big dumb animals take plenty of dope and beer the scenery's such a wreck it'll whack yer cameras...ya-hoo we're taking the idiot trail if fun can kill ya and work can kill ya and love can kill ya and the air can kill ya i guess there are a whole lotta options, afterall so be happy...but beware there's teeth behind the grin so sweet...so instant the hungry never win cold-cocked...cold cuts a deli of disarray is this art?...or an ashtray? the difference is moot, snuff out yer cheroot and see if anybody complains slice through the sky in a flying knife or you could always hop the bullet train if food costs money and clothes cost money and gas costs money and money costs money i guess ya need a whole lotta money... buckle up, buckaroos! ‘cause we're headed for angry weather and every part in this thing came from the lowest bidder last chance to use the can and call your mothers... we're taking the idiot trail yippy-ki-oh-ki-ah, huzzah, three cheers...YAHOO!
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about

1) The “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” movie soundtrack was old tunes recorded with new technology - ”The Museum of Me” is new songs recorded with old technology. My CD flips the idea behind that very successful release.

2) The New York Times recently ran a half-satirical/half-think piece on something they called ‘The New Old’ = a trend to reissue cool products from the past and the revival of moribund brand names like the new Mini Cooper, Danelectro guitars, Eames furniture, Triumph motorcycles, etc... ”The Museum of Me” is part of this trend. If Post-Modernism was a crunching together of the best bits from past designs, The New Old is reproducing a design in its original, ‘pure’ form... but with modern ‘materials’. In ”The Museum of Me”, the pure ‘design’ is the signature sound of these antique audio formats... think “new wine in old bottles”. If you want to get really theoretical about it, this CD is an exercise in Audio Industrial Design... something I’ll define as soon as I can think up a definition!

3) Two weeks ago, NPR’s Susan Stanberg closed Friday evening’s “All Things Considered” with a piece about a “new recording of Caruso”. It seems a classical record producer had taken wax cylinders of the famous tenor, digitally stripped-off the backing accompaniment and had an orchestra re-record the music. Am I in the zeitgeist or what? My tune "Thinkin’ About Them Girls" on this CD has me on wax cylinder and the other musicians on digital 8-track... a cross-format experiment I did three years ago.

4) I've always been fascinated by the idea of time travel. When I tried my first antique audio recording - "The Bottom of a Workingman’s Beer" on a wire recorder I’d found in a flea market - what went in was modern me... but what came out was a 50-year-old sound... it was as if I had transported myself back to the mid-20th Century!

5) - Or - these are just pretty good rock songs, the project is sequenced like a rock record... it IS a rock record. The antique audio angle is gravy.

credits

released April 12, 2014

All songs and noises c & p 2002 Chris Butler/Future Fossil Music (BMI), except where noted. Administered by Spirit Music Group.

All Edison songs recorded without electricity or microphones on 100-year-old wax cylinders using a hand-cranked Edison "Spring Motor" phonograph (c. 1989/serial number 26133) with a glass diaphragm cutter and a tapered, low-resonance horn. Engineered by Peter Dilg.

All Rolling Stones' Mobile Studio (R.S.M.S.) songs recorded by John Siket (with Jon Sabo assisting) on vintage 2-inch 16-track 3M machines and the Olympic/Helios 'Silver' console. Props to The Mutiny Zoo for supplying everything we forgot. Music by The Cranks - James MacMillan: bass, Paul Moshella: drums, Jim Higgins: guitar, CB: guitar. Mixed by John Siket at Theater 99, NYC, and ably assisted by Raeann Zschokke. Mastering: Tom Hutton, Bionic, NYC. Special thanks to Zack Wild for his patient help in resolving our sync issues.

All wire songs recorded on either a late 1940's Webster-Chicago 180-1 or an early 1950's Webster-Chicago Model 79 using World War II Navy surplus stainless steel wire, Type W-174 consumer wire and period crystal microphones. Initial mastering and editing by Dave Derr at Studio E, NJ. Special thanks to Tom Dowd for steering me to Dr. Marvin Camras, the inventor of the modern wire recorder.

The vintage tape song was recorded using a 1946 Brush BK-401 "Soundmirror", a single crystal mic and paper-backed tape.

The vinyl 45 was cut on a Model VMS62 "Special" Neumann lathe with a Neumann SX74 cutter by Paul Gold at Digi-Rom, NYC. Thanks to Al Grundy for steering me to Paul.

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CHRIS BUTLER Akron, Ohio

CHRIS BUTLER
Seminal New Waver from Northeastern Ohio. Member of Akron, Ohio’s Tin Huey in late ‘70’s. Songwriter/producer/guitarist for all Waitresses songs (including “I Know What Boys Like”, the “Square Pegs” TV show theme and “Christmas Wrapping”) in the early ‘80’s. Never stopped writing and recording. ... more

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