So yesterday my grandparents found a big box of old 78s that they’ve had in an attic for years, and wanted me to transfer them to CDs. Most were in pretty great shape, no cracks and few scratches. Lots of 1930s sweet/hot jazz, British big band & swing and a few Decca classical ones. This one had its label peeled/scratched off on the a side, on the reverse was a Parlophone march.
90% sure by playing it it’s unleashed some kind of 70 year old curse.
Oh my god D:
here’s a bad idea: listening to this in the dark by yourself
I heard that some records made during the 30s had laughter on them because they believed that listening to laughter would make others laugh along.
this ancient and forgotten horror, an abomination scratching at the walls of time itself, forbidden by the laws of gods and men, unearthed and resurrected from the archive of my blog in late 2013: “hold. my. fucking. beer.”
Why the fuck did they think people would enjoy listening to this even back then
Just *listening* to this feels like being sport-hunted by the aristocracy
1930s equivalent of surreal memes???
A couple people in the comments recognized this as “The OKeh Laughing Record,” and wow it’s been a while since I was reminded this strongly that society’s sense of humor changes over time.
According to my 15 minutes of research:
It sold around a million copies.
It was released in 1923, and reached #8 on the Billboard charts.
It prompted other record companies to come up with cover versions and other laughing specialties.
“How they were ultimately used—as party background noise or for cheering up its listeners—is, of course, open to speculation.”
This record helped inspire sitcom soundtracks.
At the time, it wasn’t meant to sound like a cackling witch and a horror-house muahaha. It was two people laughing at an inept cornet player (not a trumpet after all).
Little did they know that a century later it would come across as incredibly creepy nonsense.
