MP3:
Unknown Tape - Side 1 (30:56)
Unknown Tape - Side 2 (31:13)
My collection of records of all speeds and sizes, video, and reel to reel tapes of all sizes and speeds, has long threatened to take over all corners of our house. Despite it's size and variety of contents, I have no question of which item is the most unusual, unique among many other unique findings.
An unlabeled five inch reel of tape, housed in a seven inch metal tape container, it contains a recording, made perhaps in the early 1970's, of the ramblings of a married man pouring out his heart to the other woman.
Perhaps it's best if you just have a listen without too much text from me, but I will mention just a few points that make an already unforgettable listening experience even more notable. One is that our speaker was in WWII, and chooses to share some specific memories with his lady, including some really interesting, harrowing experiences, which led him to believe that war is stupid. The other is the juxtaposition of various music: He plays music at times, in what appears to be primarily an attempt to mask from someone (guess who...) that he is recording a monologue. The choices of music, from Big Band era jazz to his then-current love - Santana! - is interesting, too.
I find listening to this tape by turns weird, creepy, intense, voyeuristic and spellbinding. How about you?
- Contributed by: Nigel Wilkinson
This is fabulous!
Would it be okay to use some of this material in mashups and/or podcasts...? I make both music and podcasts.
Posted by: podcastmark | April 12, 2007 at 03:43 AM
I love it too, a little sad in parts and with it's own wierd soundtrack. I also have the same question as podcastmark above. All credit to WFMU of course
Posted by: Marcus | April 12, 2007 at 07:15 AM
I can't believe that he played "You've Got To Change Your Evil Ways" for The Other Woman.
Posted by: Pinball King | April 12, 2007 at 10:47 AM
podcastmark/marcus...
yes of course. we don't own the recordings here but wfmu or the project or the contributors are more then happy to hear this music in podcasts and mashed up.
if you do drop a link here in the comments so others can check out what YOU do. posting this stuff online, like thousands of other audio bloggers, is to share it.
listen and deconstruct friends!
Posted by: 365 | April 12, 2007 at 12:05 PM
During the more intimate moments of this tape (especially the second half), I almost expected to hear Pat O'Brien's alcohol-inspired cell phone call!
How did you come across this? I can't imagine someone carelessly donating something this personal to a thrift store.
Posted by: Phillyradiogeek | April 12, 2007 at 01:57 PM
I'm still looking for the cocaine induced Sugar Daddy love-triangle tape that I have somewhere in my archives. It's fabulous, and yes, my friends. It will be here, if god is my witness.
Posted by: Bill | April 12, 2007 at 04:57 PM
I find listening to this tape by turns weird, creepy, intense, voyeuristic and spellbinding. How about you?
Yes.
But I really want to know .. what happens next. Did he and Ann connect, did they live happily ever after? A reminder that life just doesn't have any tidy endings. But we can hope to be happy.
Posted by: Brian | April 12, 2007 at 08:09 PM
In answering the question about where I found this tape, it's a bit of a mystery, as there were two or three big sales I went to every year back in the late 1990's. But all three of them were more or less much bigger versions of a garage sale or rummage sale. Regardless of which location, it was, as you said, donated. Most likely it sat, unlabeled, among (depending on the venue) anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of other reels. I've always been a sucker for a clearly used, yet unlabeled reel of recording tape.
My best bet is that the woman for whom the tape was recorded had died, and her tapes were donated to the sale, perhaps by someone who didn't even have a way to play this tape.
Posted by: Nigel Wilkinson | April 12, 2007 at 10:36 PM
This tape is by turns fascinating, embarrassing, hilarious and deeply sad, especially his gloomy comment that "Those days are gone forever... those days are gone forever." It was VERY weird me listening to this very personal tape recorded somewhere in America in the early 1970s by an unknown guy in my flat in Surrey, England in the 21st Century. But then, that's why the internets are brilliant, isn't it?
I do like him "camouflaging" his recordings with Santana. That was a bit of a leap from the quaint "Summer Of '42" vibe. The nude stuff is also a bit unnecessary, but he's obviously got an itch that can't be scratched... so to speak.
I'm thinking of sending this to an animator friend of mine and see what visuals he can come up with.
Posted by: Sleazy Martinez | April 13, 2007 at 05:35 AM
Apparently the "author's" name is Barry Andrews; at least I think he said that was his name. I wonder where he, and Ann, are these days, assuming they are still with us. I strangely wish them well, and I hope they've found happiness.
Posted by: Phillyradiogeek | April 13, 2007 at 02:32 PM
I think his name is Barrett Andrews. I looked up a street he mentioned Ann used to live on (forgot it's name now) and there are three in the US, including one in the Akron OH area - I vote for that one, judging by his flat MidWestern voice.
Any detectives out there wanna try to track him down?
Posted by: MrFab | April 20, 2007 at 06:30 PM
Wow! Did anyone else notice on side 1, around the 13:15 mark, he says "Anne's up in her room, on the second floor of the building, practicing her violin"? Could it be that Barrett's daughter is named after "the other woman"? She might've been a friend of the family all those years.
I find myself enjoying this tape way too much, haha. It truly leaves me wanting to know what happened next. Like Bill said, though, such is life. There are no tidy endings. Like Nigel said, Anne is probably dead, and that's how the unlabeled tape ended up in a rummage sale. Barrett said he was in 8th grade in 1938, which would make him close to 83 in 2007. He and Anne were apparently the same age, so there was probably a lot of time left for both of them after the recording of this tape.
Heartbreaking, hilarious, but thoroughly fascinating. I hate to be a sucker for romance, and I doubt it ever happened, but I hope Barrett and Anne got their shot.
Posted by: BigJack | April 22, 2007 at 03:51 PM
I don't want to know. We shouldn't know anything. It's a product of a life, and should be respected for that. The internet is wonderful for retrieving these anonymous gems that would otherwise just be lost forever. But sometimes we should just appreciate objects for what they are.
I know that ditch feeling. Plus ca change.
Posted by: dave | April 23, 2007 at 09:10 AM
I'm pretty sure I've found him. I don't think he's in Ohio although he may have been from there. He clearly gives away his location when he mentions that his wife goes to the Des Plaines Theatre. He still has a phone listing.
Posted by: Steve | July 31, 2007 at 05:48 PM
This recording is utterly fascinating. I have burned it to CD, and listen to it in my car. I'm not sure what the appeal is, but it is riveting.
Posted by: matt | August 30, 2007 at 12:41 AM
It's challenging trying to construct the scenario - who's who, and where and when, etc. His name clearly is Barrett Andrews, and hers sounds like Anne Dobdell. Anne is or was married to Bud. Barrett's wife seems to be the one named Kathy, but later he references Anne feeling jealous that "Ruth" would see him naked coming out of the shower. He later refers to a "Ruth" who he dated, and perhaps married. He also seems to have quite a few kids: Katie, Anne, John, Michael, and Jean are mentioned.
It seems Barry and Anne grew up together, but where is a bit of a mystery, but my money's on Chicago. I am from Chicago, and his accent is consistent with the Chicago area. My guess is he wouldn't pick that up later in life. When he made this recording he definitely lived in the Chicago area - he mentions Kathy being out of the house to drive John to the Des Plaines Theater. While that might lead one to think he lived in Des Plaines, he could have lived on the northwest side of the city or in any of the suburbs near Des Plaines: Park Ridge, Mt. Prospect, Niles, etc. In the 1970s the Des Plaines Theater was popular because it showed first-run movies for a fraction of the admission price of other theaters. I recall seeing movies there for as little as 25 cents when other theaters were charging several dollars. So it wouldn't be unusual for people to travel a bit to go to the Des Plaines. Plus, the radio station he's playing to cover up his recording is a Chicago station.
He also mentions traveling on a train that left from La Crosse (WI) through the Chicago area on his way to Europe during the war, and having the urge to hop off to see a girl he knew on the north shore (Wilmette, Winnetka, Lake Forest, Evanston, etc.). So that leads one to believe he did grow up in the Chicago area.
At one point he reminisces with Anne about her apartment on Alger Court in Rivermere. There are Rivermere Apartments on Alger Court in Bronxville, NY north of New York City. Perhaps he stopped to see her there on his way to Europe?
I enjoy the idioms he uses that are clearly from another era. And I can only wince as he tries to reassure her that he loves her despite her gaining weight - rather than leave it at that, he tells her he doesn't mind her "belly," or her "double chins" or her "jowls."
While much of his cooing sounds romantic, and I found myself rooting for them to get together, I couldn't help but think two things: first, it's possible that a lot of his fawning is just bullshit, and he simply likes getting laid with an old flame - and one who seems to be going through a very difficult emotional time to boot. Second, this guy is married and is carrying on an affair, which is difficult to justify. I don't mean to be a killjoy - it would be nice if they got together and it all worked out best for all concerned. But unfortunately, life rarely works out that way. It would be fascinating to learn more about what happened to them.
Posted by: David | December 31, 2012 at 10:33 PM