the PORTABLE BOOED USIC BUSKING UNIT NUCLEAR BRAIN PHYSICS SURGERY SCHOOL LAB PHILOSPHER’S UNION MEMBER’S MOUTHPIECE BLATNERPHONE HALLUNCINOMAT
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
Editors note: the quality of these image reproductions really sucks, we are working on an upgroove. 1:20 PM 6/29/2003
This is a portable CONCRETE MIXING studio consisting of a suitcase filled with electronics weighing approximately forty-three pounds and generally pulled on a metal fram with wheels; a backpack containing four speakers, a PXL-2000 VAUDIO (i.e. video) camera/VCR wrapped in a shirt (in this instance with “I LOVE STRING USIC” written on it), two drumsticks, a small cymbal, and sometimes an AC-powered amplifier, a twenty-five foot heavy-duty extension cord, and a multi-outlet strip – weighing about fifteen pounds; and a box capable of holding sixty cassette tapes.
The suitcase is laid horizontally on its metal carrying frame and its three front flaps are unlocked to reveal two red plastic mouths each on a white plastic background (these are the fronts of BLABBERMOUTH RADIOS) on either end – with a recessed TV in the middle.
The suitcase is unlocked and opened so that the front is vertical and facing the audience and the TV is fit into the middle hole. The electronics are thusly revealed.
The backpack is opened and the two-way speakers (forty watts, eight ohms, frequency range 50-14,000 cps – with fake tweeters), T-shirt, camera/VCR, and percussion equipment are removed.
The speakers and VCR are plugged into the suitcase.
The cymbal is placed on top of a ball-point pen which is taped to a lock flap which has a piezo sensor contact mic taped to it to enable the cymbal’s amplification.
One side of the tape-carrying case contains VAUDIO tapes for the PXL-2000. These tapes all contain black and white close-ups of mouths talking about their philosophies – i.e., they are all PHILOSOPHER’S UNION MEMBER’S MOUTHPIECES. One is selected and placed in the VCR/camera and placed in the VCR/camera to be played through the TV.
The flip-side of the carrying case contains all audio tapes specially made or chosen as USICAL MATERIALS. These tapes are made or chosen to provide “randomly” excerptable conceptual and sound-emphasized content. E.g.: a tape made by electronically manipulating BBC “Transitions and Cues” sound effects is included for an extrapolation of its original BBC function, a tape made from playing blades of grass is chosen for its piercing “linear” qualities, a tape of an anti-CIA radio talk show conspiracy theorist is chosen for its voice-over political potential, and a short loop of dogs yowling is used for its potential “non-lingual” emotive content. For tapes are chosen and played in the tape players.
The suitcase itself contains the above-mentioned four tape players, which are also AM/FM radios, and various other equipment. Three of the players are auto-reversable, one of them records, and two of them have equalizers. They are all stereo and have their outputs going into the line inputs of two 4-channel mixers. One of the players is reduced to mono via a Y-adaptor to free one of the line inputs for the sound from the monitor/TV. The mic inputs have one or more contact mics plugged in – to amplify the cymbal, the body of the suitcase, my voice, the other people’s instruments, etc. – and enable the creation of feedback. The output from the mixers is Y-adapted to stereo and routed into an eighty-watt car amplifier/equalizer – which plays out through the four speakers. The mixers and the amp’s fader allow various types of panning. The amp/equalizer, the TV/monitor, and the PXL-2000 vaudio camcorder are all pwered by two rechargeable battery packs good for about an hour or two of power. Various other relevant accessories – such as electrical tape, rechargers, etc. – are included.
The BUSKING UNIT (so called because its self-contained power and portability enable it to be used for BUSKING – i.e. street-performing) is played by combining the tapes, radio sounds, percussion, voice, PXL-2000 tapes, etc. together through the mixers and altering their tonal qualities with the equalizers etc. through a process that is called CONCRETE MIXING – i.e.: a production of something akin to “musique concrete” through mixing – without strictly musical intentions. The auto-reverse capabilities make possible a specific type of rhythmic play. The PHILOSOPHER’S UNION MEMBER’S MOUTHPIECE shows on the central monitor/TV is flanked by the other two mouths which open and close in sync with the variations in volume. This BLATNERPHONE HALLUCINOMAT was conceived of and built by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE (and here explained by) with the indispensable and ever-generous assistance of Dave Guercio in early 1988ev.
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