Jim Karpen Tips

January 2001

When I read that there was an 1888 recording of Thomas Edison at MP3.com, I couldn't resist. In a section labeled the "World's Oldest Recorded Music," you'll find a recording of Thomas Edison, the inventor of a phonograph, rather oddly and somewhat humorously narrating a round-the-world tour.

As you might expect from a recording made from an original wax cylinder, it's a bit scratchy, with a few glitches. And you have to listen to some unusual noises before the recording actually begins. But then you are treated to the voice of a famous man recorded 112 years ago. Astonishing.

You'll find about 10 recordings here from 1888/89, including piano solos, a cornet solo, music of Handel, a soprano, and some whistling. All scratchy, and all a real treasure.

Which brings me to my point: here's one more site that began as an amateur effort and has ended up being a serious and extraordinary resource. Initially, the site was mainly popular music, but now it's a repository for a huge library of music and other recordings--from all ages and from all parts of the world.

The oldest recorded music is in the Folk category, and I looked around to see what else was there. I was impressed. You can find traditional indigenous music from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, North America, and Oceania. In some cases, these are recordings of traditional music that has been passed down for hundreds of years, perhaps longer.

I noted that MP3.Com also now has a Books & Spoken category. Again, you'll find an amazing range of material, such as interviews, poetry, politics, and audio books. I checked out the latter category and found recordings of Peter Rabbit, Sleepy Hollow, the Apollo Moonwalk, Homer's Odyssey, Beowulf, and even sections of Moby Dick.

Of course, MP3.Com also has what you would expect: a large selection of recordings of just about any kind of music you can think of, from classical music, blues, and jazz, to rap, metal, and urban--all of it free, and all of it apparently legal.

Each category has a "chart" that tells you what the most popular recordings are. You can listen to the music via Real Player, so that you can start hearing it right away without having to first download it. Or you can download the MP3 file and add it to your archives for later listening pleasure. The site has information about MP3 that will help you get started if you haven't yet used it.

For every song there is also extensive information about the artist, style, influence, group members, and similar artists, as well as contact information.

© 2001 by Jim Karpen, Ph.D. (#246)