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this can be a cylinder or 78, it can be morbid/spooky subject matter or just one of those things that is fine as a transfer that gives you the creeps in it's original format.
my 78s of strange frute and gloomy sunday by billie holiday give me the chills. also frank miller's recording of don't go down in the mine, dad, air raid sounds on 78s or anything on a badly warped cylinder.
i'd be interested to know yours!
most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you've h
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djoutrage
- Victor O
- Posts: 59
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m0xiemama
- Victor II
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 12:56 am
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you've h
I will have to take a closer look at it but we have a Slovac Wedding March in two parts that is pretty creepy sounding. Seems to be more like a funeral.
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Lucius1958
- Victor Monarch
- Posts: 4036
- Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:17 am
- Location: Where there's "hamburger ALL OVER the highway"...
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you've h
Well, there's the classic "Gloomy Sunday" (or the "Suicide Song"), which I have in a version by Artie Shaw (and which I have not posted for personal reasons)....
Then there's this one (quoted in Joyce's Ulysses)....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsQEMrNz8eg[/youtube]
Then there's this one (quoted in Joyce's Ulysses)....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsQEMrNz8eg[/youtube]
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djoutrage
- Victor O
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:23 pm
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
Lucius1958 wrote:Well, there's the classic "Gloomy Sunday" (or the "Suicide Song"), which I have in a version by Artie Shaw (and which I have not posted for personal reasons)....
seem to remember the other side of that appropriately being called don't fall assleep, ominous title but not really a creepy song...
i should add, this can include records that are creepy because you know the history behind the recording, or that particular copy of the disc.
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VintageTechnologies
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1651
- Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:09 pm
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
Hands down, my favorite recording is "Some Little Bug Is Going To Find You". It was recorded in 1915, seemingly anticipating the flu pandemic of 1918. I have that recording on Pathé, and I think also Edison. I'm pretty sure Billy Murray sang on one of them, as he did on Victor. Phil Harris also made a recording years later. Another such cheerful song, more modern, is "The Great Flu Pandemic" by the Flying Fish Sailors. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. 
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/3975/
Some Little Bug Is Going To Find You
In these days of indigestion it is oftentimes a question
As to what to eat and what to leave alone.
Every microbe and bacillus has a different way to kill us
And in time they all will claim us for their own.
There are germs of every kind in every food that you can find
In the market or upon the bill of fare.
Drinking water's just as risky as the so-called "deadly" whiskey
And it's often a mistake to breathe the air.
Chorus: For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Then he'll send for his bug friends
And all your troubles they will end,
For some little bug is gonna find you someday.
The inviting green cucumber, it's most everybody's number
While sweetcorn has a system of its own.
Now, that radish seems nutritious, but its behavior is quite vicious
And a doctor will be coming to your home.
Eating lobster, cooked or plain, is only flirting with ptomaine,
While an oyster often has a lot to say.
And those clams we eat in chowder make the angels sing the louder
For they know that they'll be with us right away.
For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Eat that juicy sliced pineapple ;and the sexton dusts the chapel
Oh, yes, some little bug is gonna find you some day.
When cold storage vaults I visit, I can only say, "What is it
Makes poor mortals fill their systems with such stuff?"
Now, at breakfast prunes are dandy if a stomach pump is handy
And a doctor can be called quite soon enough.
Eat a plate of fine pig's knuckles and the headstone cutter chuckles
While the gravedigger makes a mark upon his cuff.
And eat that lovely red bologna and you'll wear a wood kimona
As your relatives start packing up your stuff.
Those crazy foods they fix, they'll float us 'cross the River Styx
Or start us climbing up the Milky Way.
And those meals they serve in courses mean a hearse and two black horses
So before meals, some people always pray.
Luscious grapes breed appendicitis, while their juice leads to gastritis
So there's only death to greet us either way.
Fried liver's nice, but mind you, friends will follow close behind you
And the papers, they will have nice things to say.
For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Eat that spicy bowl of chili, on your breast they'll plant a lily .
Oh, yes, some little bug is gonna find you some day.
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/3975/
Some Little Bug Is Going To Find You
In these days of indigestion it is oftentimes a question
As to what to eat and what to leave alone.
Every microbe and bacillus has a different way to kill us
And in time they all will claim us for their own.
There are germs of every kind in every food that you can find
In the market or upon the bill of fare.
Drinking water's just as risky as the so-called "deadly" whiskey
And it's often a mistake to breathe the air.
Chorus: For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Then he'll send for his bug friends
And all your troubles they will end,
For some little bug is gonna find you someday.
The inviting green cucumber, it's most everybody's number
While sweetcorn has a system of its own.
Now, that radish seems nutritious, but its behavior is quite vicious
And a doctor will be coming to your home.
Eating lobster, cooked or plain, is only flirting with ptomaine,
While an oyster often has a lot to say.
And those clams we eat in chowder make the angels sing the louder
For they know that they'll be with us right away.
For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Eat that juicy sliced pineapple ;and the sexton dusts the chapel
Oh, yes, some little bug is gonna find you some day.
When cold storage vaults I visit, I can only say, "What is it
Makes poor mortals fill their systems with such stuff?"
Now, at breakfast prunes are dandy if a stomach pump is handy
And a doctor can be called quite soon enough.
Eat a plate of fine pig's knuckles and the headstone cutter chuckles
While the gravedigger makes a mark upon his cuff.
And eat that lovely red bologna and you'll wear a wood kimona
As your relatives start packing up your stuff.
Those crazy foods they fix, they'll float us 'cross the River Styx
Or start us climbing up the Milky Way.
And those meals they serve in courses mean a hearse and two black horses
So before meals, some people always pray.
Luscious grapes breed appendicitis, while their juice leads to gastritis
So there's only death to greet us either way.
Fried liver's nice, but mind you, friends will follow close behind you
And the papers, they will have nice things to say.
For some little bug is going to get you someday.
Some little bug will creep behind you some day.
Eat that spicy bowl of chili, on your breast they'll plant a lily .
Oh, yes, some little bug is gonna find you some day.
Last edited by VintageTechnologies on Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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syncopeter
- Victor II
- Posts: 405
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:37 am
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
What absolutely horrific lyrics!
Billie's Strange Fruit of course gives me shivers everytime it comes by.
But my favourite is probably "Longing for the River', which seems to be quite a cheerful number, until you realize that the singer is going to drown himself. Recorded late '29 or early '30, it is hauntingly beautiful.
Billie's Strange Fruit of course gives me shivers everytime it comes by.
But my favourite is probably "Longing for the River', which seems to be quite a cheerful number, until you realize that the singer is going to drown himself. Recorded late '29 or early '30, it is hauntingly beautiful.
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SonnyPhono
- Victor III
- Posts: 984
- Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:59 am
- Personal Text: Drawing a blank...
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
I have two that have bothered me enough to consider getting rid of, but yet interesting enough that I just can't. The first is a home recording on brown wax of what I believe is a funeral of sorts. It is very hard to hear but audible enough to hear the person preaching/mourning in a solemn, deep voice. He speaks verses from the Bible, talks a bit about how we all return to dust and the rim of the cylinder is etched with the name Maynard Ward. It's odd and eery to listen to.
The other is a cylinder I just picked up in a large group a week ago. It's a Blue Amberol in the German series, #26092. It's titled "Der Erlkonig" and is a recitation of a German folklore poem that is all three...eery, spooky and morbid. It's about a man riding home on a horse while holding his son. His son can see a demon/evil spirit called the "Erlkonig" that the father can't as it only attacks children. It doesn't end well and is overall a terrible story. Why it was recorded on a Blue Amberol is beyond me but makes for an interesting addition to the collection. Here is a translation of the poem:
Who rides so late through the night and wind?
It's the father with his child;
He has the boy safe in his arm,
He holds him secure, he holds him warm.
“My son, what makes you hide your face in fear?” (Father speaking to child)
Father, don't you see the Erlkonig?
The Erlking with crown and flowing robe?
“My son, it's a wisp of fog.” (Father replying to child)
“You dear child, come along with me! (Erlkonig speaking to child)
Such lovely games I'll play with you;
Many colorful flowers are at the shore,
My mother has many a golden garment.”
My father, my father, and do you not hear
What the Erlking promises me so softly?
“Be quiet, stay quiet, my child; (Father's reply to child)
In the dry leaves the wind is rustling.”
“Won't you come along with me, my fine boy? (Erlkonig to child)
My daughters shall attend to you so nicely.
My daughters do their nightly dance,
And they'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep.”
My father, my father, and do you not see over there (Child to father)
Erlking's daughters in that dark place?
“My son, my son, I see it most definitely: (Father's reply to child)
It's the willow trees looking so grey.”
“I love you; I'm charmed by your beautiful form; (Erlkonig to child)
And if you're not willing, then I'll use force.”
My father, my father, now he's grabbing hold of me! (Child to father)
Erlking has done me harm!
The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
He holds in (his) arms the moaning child.
He reaches the farmhouse with effort and urgency.
In his arms the child was dead.
If that isn't one of the strangest and most morbid Blue Amberol cylinders, then I don't know what is!!
The other is a cylinder I just picked up in a large group a week ago. It's a Blue Amberol in the German series, #26092. It's titled "Der Erlkonig" and is a recitation of a German folklore poem that is all three...eery, spooky and morbid. It's about a man riding home on a horse while holding his son. His son can see a demon/evil spirit called the "Erlkonig" that the father can't as it only attacks children. It doesn't end well and is overall a terrible story. Why it was recorded on a Blue Amberol is beyond me but makes for an interesting addition to the collection. Here is a translation of the poem:
Who rides so late through the night and wind?
It's the father with his child;
He has the boy safe in his arm,
He holds him secure, he holds him warm.
“My son, what makes you hide your face in fear?” (Father speaking to child)
Father, don't you see the Erlkonig?
The Erlking with crown and flowing robe?
“My son, it's a wisp of fog.” (Father replying to child)
“You dear child, come along with me! (Erlkonig speaking to child)
Such lovely games I'll play with you;
Many colorful flowers are at the shore,
My mother has many a golden garment.”
My father, my father, and do you not hear
What the Erlking promises me so softly?
“Be quiet, stay quiet, my child; (Father's reply to child)
In the dry leaves the wind is rustling.”
“Won't you come along with me, my fine boy? (Erlkonig to child)
My daughters shall attend to you so nicely.
My daughters do their nightly dance,
And they'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep.”
My father, my father, and do you not see over there (Child to father)
Erlking's daughters in that dark place?
“My son, my son, I see it most definitely: (Father's reply to child)
It's the willow trees looking so grey.”
“I love you; I'm charmed by your beautiful form; (Erlkonig to child)
And if you're not willing, then I'll use force.”
My father, my father, now he's grabbing hold of me! (Child to father)
Erlking has done me harm!
The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
He holds in (his) arms the moaning child.
He reaches the farmhouse with effort and urgency.
In his arms the child was dead.
If that isn't one of the strangest and most morbid Blue Amberol cylinders, then I don't know what is!!
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HisMastersVoice
- Auxetophone
- Posts: 2587
- Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:01 am
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
I'd like to nominate "Suicide Blues" by Arthur Collins, recorded in 1919:
I'm gonna bath myself in carbolic acid, and eat a pound of Paris Green.
Chew all the heads off a box of sulfur matches, and wash em down with gasoline.
Then I'll hang myself from a weeping willow tree....maybe
I'm gonna bath myself in carbolic acid, and eat a pound of Paris Green.
Chew all the heads off a box of sulfur matches, and wash em down with gasoline.
Then I'll hang myself from a weeping willow tree....maybe
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edisonphonoworks
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1566
- Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:50 am
- Personal Text: A new blank with authentic formula and spiral core!
- Contact:
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
Edison Gold Moulded Halloween Dance, Edison Blue Amberol Comic Epitaphs, Ain't you Coming out Melinda on Edison Diamond Disc mentions communication through a Ouija board, and a Marble Orchard. I have the Skeleton Rag on a Victor record.
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Bob E.
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:57 pm
Re: most eary sounding, spooky or morbid old recordings you'
I only have it on CD, but the cut "Last Kind Words Blues" by Geechie (or Geeshie) Wiley is pretty un-nerving, at least to me. Probably the guitar phrasing... I'd like to have that Paramount disc, but I bet it's scarce.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIsbDzMRTf0
--Bob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIsbDzMRTf0
--Bob