This week I was introduced to the amazing British Library Sound Archive. It’s full of pop music, political speeches, sound effects, interviews – everything you could possibly think of – and much of it is available to search and listen to online.
I’ve been itching to play you Walrus under ice, 1983, but it looks like you have to be in the library to access that particular clip. Still, for future reference, if you ever want to recreate the effect, it sounds exactly like someone beating a dustbin with a rolled up newspaper, while jumping up and down in a puddle.
Here’s another archive recording you might like instead.
In the 1920s, Daniel Jones (famous linguist) made a series of Linguaphone records aimed at learners of English as a second language. In this clip you’ll hear two voices discussing the wonders of the wireless. One is Arthur Lloyd James, who advised the BBC on spoken English and produced several booklets of Recommendations to Announcers during the 1930s. The other is JRR Tolkien (who bears responsibility for the dullest three hours I’ve ever spent in a cinema).
Stuff like this is the plunderphonist’s dream. Listen to more here.
Tags: british library, daniel jones, walrus sfx
It was cold in that crappy cinema too.
Yes… but I don’t think that was Tolkien’s fault.
That’s lovely – have you been in the conservation bit of the BL? It’s across a weird sort of roof terrace and there are virtually no signs to it, almost like they’re trying to hide it away, but you can mess about with a spooky bit of c19 recording and try to learn how to clean it up, it’s really cool. I mean clean it up sonically, rather than censoring any effing and blinding etc…..
That sounds cool! I didn’t know they did audio conservation… but it seems like they do everything. I’d never been to the BL before last week and I had no idea how massive and brilliant and accessible it is. I would never have set foot in it if they hadn’t been doing an open day particularly for my subject.
I LOVE the British Library and their sound archive is a thing of joy.
We should totally do a study day together at the BL; just organise a massive list of things to each listen to and break up the day with a packed lunch and coffee somewhere nearby, to talk about all the amazing things we heard…