« Sounds Worth Saving: Prelude | Main | Sounds Worth Saving: Abbreviated Version »
April 20, 2006
Sounds Worth Saving: Part II
Continuing on with the list of 25 sounds I'd save for posterity:
20. The 911 calls and NYFD/NYPD transmissions from 9/11 So that we never forget.
19. "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi, 1965 Has there ever been music that so closely fit the visual it was composed to accompany? Has there ever been a more evocative cartoon soundtrack? Go on, tell me that you don't get a smile on your face as soon as the familiar deep piano intro begins. Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to the Peanuts cartoon specials in the 1960s were a brilliant fusing of modern jazz with classic characters and stories. The Charlie Brown cartoons remain holiday classics 40 years after they were made, and some of the most heartwarming characters of all time resided in the world called to mind whenever you hear this song. Other cartoons were much, much funnier. But few, if any, ever made you feel so good. And their theme song deserves to be saved for that reason alone.
18. Orson Welles & The Mercury Theater's production of "War of the Worlds," 10/30/1938 How many other radio programs ever sparked national panic? The response to this production demonstrated the true power of the medium of radio. (As a side note, when one listens to the program or reads the script, it's impossible not to note the unrealistically sped-up timeline -- the reporter's "charred body" is identified in a hospital not three minutes after his report is abruptly cut off in mid-sentence, for example -- and wonder "how did people fall for that?") Regardless of the suspension of disbelief required to actually think it was a real live broadvast, however, it's a classic production that's worth preserving. LIsten to the entire program here.
17. Walter Cronkite Announces President Kennedy's death, 11/22/1963 There are, approximately every two decades, "where were you when you heard..." moments that sear their way into the memories of every member of the generation that experiences them. 9/11. The Challenger disaster. Pearl Harbor. But the granddaddy of them all was the Kennedy assassination in November 1963. As television was just emerging at that time, carrying this event live was the moment media historians now say was the moment when TV "grew up" and permanently became locked into American society as the medium of choice for news. CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite was visibly shaken -- his voice cracks as he remarks that Vice President Lyndon Johnson will soon be taking the oath of office -- and Cronkite's emotional response became one of the most indeliable memories of the day for anyone who lived through it. LIsten to Cronkite's announcement here.
16. Opening monlogue to Star Trek, William Shatner, 1966 "Space... the final frontier." With those words, William Shatner kicked off forty years of the most successful franchise in television history, forty years of geek conventions, forty years of parody, forty years of being ingrained in popular culture. If you're questioning my inclusion of this clip, ask yourself how many other TV shows' beginnings you could recite from memory -- even if you never watched the show? I'm not a Trekker (though I did enjoy The Next Generation), but I will acknowledge that the show's opening is probably the most famous and well-known TV theme ever. And if I'm saving audio for posterity, I think that such reknown qualifies the Star Trek theme for inclusion. LIsten to it here.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.thechroniccurmudgeon.com/cgi-bin/mt/mtb.cgi/148
Comments
You know what I like about you? That if I felt like arguing with you, I'd actually have to think first.
Posted by: Jill at April 20, 2006 12:24 PM
So are you thinking? (Just trying to see what I am in for.) ;-)
Posted by: Curmudgeon at April 20, 2006 02:16 PM
Well, I'm always thinking. But I have no intention of arguing any of your current points, so I'm not thinking about deconstructing your arguments.
Posted by: Jill at April 20, 2006 04:25 PM
