stopGOstop: field recordings, sound collage, and sound art

A recording of Conococheague Creek in Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania. I used a couple contact mics on a piece of aluminum, on a copper pipe and an old speaker wired as a mic in a Ziploc bag.

This week on the program – on earth and in outer space, an audio collage about technology, family and foodstuff.  Featuring interviews and audio about the history of farming, 1970s tractors, learning to drive a tractor, backyard gardening, lettuce in near earth orbit, the year 3001, and Dead Space 2 in conjunction with digital signal processing.    

This week on the program – listening to the last men on the moon, a field recording from hyde park, lectures and presentations on climate change, accompanied by digital signal processing, pipe organ and a marching band- stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled The Context of a Finite Planet.    

Episode 62 of the podcast, a walk in Michaux State Forest. From wikipeadia… “Michaux State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Joseph Rothrock became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons.”

Episode 61 of the podcast- On October 26, 2016 I recorded cutting down two small apple trees in our backyard. I changed the mic set-up about half way through the recording.

This week on the podcast: 70s and 80s computers, memory tricks, and the social history of a self-selecting clan of gamers- an audio collage entitled The Use of Reading and Recording.  

A 25 minute recording of a walk on a beach in southern Iceland near Vik(Photo is from elsewhere in Iceland).

A walk from east to west across central park around 72nd street.

Episode 57- a recording at the Sherwood Island State Park near Westport, CT.

March 4, 2004 the blind spot radio program presented The Fantastic Race to WLUW. Jacob Christopher, Jesse Seay, Jake Quickel, Richard Holland, and Brian Taylor (using different forms of transportation) raced to the radio station. Hosted by Eric Humphrey and John Wanzel and produced by John Wanzel. Blind Spot was founded in 2003 by Philip von Zweck and John Wanzel. In its two-year run on WLUW 88.7 Chicago, Blind Spot produced over 90 episodes of live experimental radio. The website for the program is old, incomplete and outdated. I am repackaging a few radio works from the 2000’s and re-releasing them on the podcast in hopes of reintroducing the work to a wider audience.

Slowed down pipe organ recordings, trombones, investment banking and hi-tech recruitment videos. What is everyone else doing a new audio collage.

Episode 54 of the podcast is a binaural recording of Amsterdam Central Station. I was sitting at the main train platforms until someone started to smoke near by, at that point I walked through the station to the busy street outside. I ended the recording walking to our hotel and going up the stairs to our room. The recording is about 20 minutes, no intro, but a short outro.

After a few months off, episode 53 of the podcast- recordings while contemplating the universe: in a church while an organist practices; on a bench near a bookstore; in a car driving home. About 17 minutes.

Episode 52 of the podcast is a composition of speed/tone/EQ manipulations of flute recordings from YouTube.

On January 15, 2006, the Blind Spot radio program aired Twilight of the Idols, an experimental narrative that revolved around the CIA, the end of the world, Miami Vice fan-fiction, Nietzsche and Kelly Clarkson. Featuring the voice talents of Anna Clark, Eric S. Humphrey, Peter Rosenbloom, and John Wanzel, engineered by Philip von Zweck, produced and written by Peter Rosenbloom and John Wanzel. Blind Spot was founded in 2003 by Philip von Zweck and John Wanzel. In its two-year run on WLUW 88.7 Chicago, Blind Spot produced over 90 episodes of live experimental radio. The website for the program is old, incomplete and outdated. I am repackaging a few radio works from the 2000’s and re-releasing them on the podcast in hopes of reintroducing the work to a wider audience.

A waterfall, a highway — episode 50 of the podcast features noises of nature and car culture.

Episode 49 of the podcast – a stereo recording of our backyard. Featuring several birds, the neighbor’s dog, the ever-present sounds of trains, planes and/or automobiles, beeping (why is there so much beeping), a light wind and a plumber bring a 100 foot snake into the basement to unclog our sewer pipe with noises of unclogging. The recording was made near one deciduous tree, and three evergreen trees, two living, one x-mas, next to the fence pictured above (a side note, our backyard is only about 400 square feet, so the placement was mostly to keep the mic away from the wind).

Episode 48 of the podcast is a composition of speed/tone manipulations of trombone recordings from YouTube (for Valentine’s day).

A binaural recording of a walk from our house to the Mount Vernon Public Library. The library was a gift to the city from Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1904. It is located in downtown Mount Vernon, across from the Post Office and up the hill from the Mount Vernon East Metro North Station. I returned the second book in Rachel Bach’s Paradox trilogy, Honor’s Knight, and picked up Jonathan Franzen’s new book Purity. Space Opera for Literary Soap Opera. There is a little feedback in the recording from the headphones that are built into the binaural mics. It happens sometimes when the wind blows…

Episode 46 of the podcast- cooking a quick meal. It consisted of prepackaged ravioli, asparagus, red pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. You will also hear the sound of a beer being opened about halfway through cooking. It is a stereo recording.

On January 9, 2005, the blind spot radio program filled the on-air studio with as many balloons as Eric, Jake and I could blow up (which happened to be 1,190) and then entered the room and popped them one at a time with a needle taped to a stick. Conceived by Eric Humphrey and John Wanzel. Performed by Jake Quickel and Eric Humphrey, engineered and produced by John Wanzel. This is the first time the complete recording of the program is available. I had hoped to fill the studio with 3,000 balloons, but my budget and the 2 hours we had to blow them up were the limiting factors. I am repackaging a few radio works from the 2000’s and re-releasing them on the podcast.  

Episdoe 44: The Falls – A three hour composition for headphones. In December 2008 my wife and I took a trip to Niagara Falls. This composition uses some of those recordings as its base. I processed them a lot. The only bit field recording that remains ‘clean’ is a short recording from inside the Niagara Falls Welcome Center. There are three other field recordings in the piece, one a microphone that I dangled down into a jetty on the gulf side of Florida, a short recording from a picnic area just off the beach, also in Florida, and the other sitting near the Horace Mann football field in the Bronx, I was resting after a long bike ride. Besides these brief respites, the piece is tones, grumbles, wa-wa’s, groans, beats and other sounds created through digital signal processing of Niagara Falls. The piece is made at a personal scale, three hours, a duration that is easy to imagine, but hard to hold onto. Ideally, The Falls is to be listened to while at work – doing tasks that you may not want to do or monotonous tasks you like. I would suggest gardening, raking leaves, doing dishes, painting a wall or changing light bulbs.

Episode 43 of the podcast – a short hike on the Colorado Trail. The recording was made from Molas Lake back to our car parked just off Highway 550 between Durango and Ouray. The part of the trail we hiked is just below 11,000 feet in elevation. The Colorado Trail is about 500 miles of trail that weaves throughout the Rocky Mountains. We only hiked about 2 miles of it. It was mid-August, around 90 degrees and very sunny, I forgot to put sunscreen on the tip of my nose.

Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, a new composition for headphones. Whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming, tinging, and whistling sounds.

A binaural field recording of a walk from the parking area around Swan Lake (not pictured above, but it looks kind of the same) in Rockefeller State Park Preserve. I did not see any swans, but there were lots of joggers. This episode is about 25 minutes long.

This week on the program- writers block, excel, and drawing a link between Atari and using drones in battle – a fictional conversation entitled How to Kill a Yeti. Featuring field recordings, singing, digital signal processing and the voice talents of Brian Taylor and John Wanzel, it was written and produced by John Wanzel.

This week on the program – listening to how we represent ourselves while thinking of openness – vlogs, opensource, and, your personal brand, an audio collage entitled I had an epiphany on the first page or sharing with your friends even if you don’t know who they are. If you want to hear the full interviews and more please visit the footnotes.

A trip to the moon, a march in the field, and the social and political power of empathy- an audio collage entitled I don’t know if there’s an answer to this. Interviews and book reports along side marching bands and digital signal processing.

It’s Been Known – an audio collage concerning magic, fantasy football, myth and noam chomsky.

What is keeping you awake right now – an audio collage about oil, capitalism, the environment and learning how to paint. if you want to hear the full interviews and more please visit the footnotes

from rocks to sea – a new composition for headphones. featuring hitting ringing rocks, a bicycle, walking around a carnival, a bowed string, sitting on a plane, riding the 1 train, and walking on a beach. about 48 minutes. jw

A binaural recording of eating a quick breakfast at the hotel and then a walk around London, new years eve 2014. about 55 minutes. JW

A binaural field recording of shopping at a hardware store in New Rochelle. We recently moved to Mount Vernon, and I needed a few things for the house. I was surprised they played country music, its only a couple miles north of the Bronx, not what you would call the ‘country.’ This episode is about 25 minutes.

A stereo recording of an early summer rainstorm in Mount Vernon, NY. I am starting to put small intros to the podcast- progress and professionalism, this episode is about 16 minutes long.

A binaural field recording of walking around south Boulder, CO in the summer of 2015. The episode is about 20 minutes long.

My friend Brian Taylor was in town for the art fairs so we drove to Ringing Rocks State Park. The episode is a binaural field recording of me walking around hitting rocks with a hammer for about 20 minutes. Some rocks ‘ring’ while others don’t. Brian was off in the distance casting a rock. We had a nice lunch at Ship Inn (not a part of the recording).

The third in the ad hoc War Trilogy, September 11: A Musical first aired on the Blind Spot radio program in 2005. A historical experimental musical drama that portrays a twelve hour period from September 11, 2001 (in both Chicago and the East Coast). Featuring the talents of Jenny Walters, Eric Humphrey, Julia Klein, Sonia Yoon, Jacob Christopher, Michelle Dahlenburg and Philip von Zweck. Written, composed and produced by John Wanzel.  

For the Country Entirely is a sonic re-staging of the Gertrude Stein short story of the same name. The piece is voiced by Anna Benavides, Brian Taylor and John Wanzel. Sounds and text were arranged and edited by John Wanzel. The piece was created for Erik Belgum’s softpalate in celebration of the roughly 100th anniversary of Gertrude Stein’s Geography and Plays. This piece and five others were released in around 2002 on ubu web.

The beach, bombs, parachutes, gunfire and a song. The 24 hours of the D-Day invasion has been compressed into one. The second in the ad hoc War Trilogy- DDAY60 first aired on The 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion (June 2004) as part of the Blind Spot radio program. Featuring the voices of John Wanzel and Brian Taylor with Peter Rosenbloom on cello and Jacob Christopher on computer, engineered by Philip von Zweck, written, composed and produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunesFollow me on twitter @JohnWanzel If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy:122: The ForestA slow circular conversation that occasionally paraphrases Shakespeare and Chekhov, to create a lamentation to work, aging and trying to talk to those around you. Featuring a binaural recording of a walk in Long Island City, Queens, and a quintet of midi-based instruments. 064: Farmers of the Fields of StarsOn earth and in outer space, an audio collage about technology, family and foodstuff. Featuring interviews and audio about the history of farming, 1970s tractors, backyard gardening, growing greens in near-earth orbit, the year 3001, in conjunction with digital signal processing. 107: Santa Monica PiersA binaural field recording — a walk on the beach; under the pier; a few hundred yards and back again; up to the pier; watching the bumper cars, the roller coasters; a woman sings I’ve already made it. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel.

In the future… Charlton Heston’s unfrozen head is the last banker in a communists dystopia; a story about studdering, language and new years; interviews about the United States; a song about jetpacks. The Omega Banker first aired in July of 2000 on the Something Else ( WLUW 88.7 Chicago 1995 – 2010), hosted by Philip von Zweck . It is the first of the ad hoc War Trilogy. I am repackaging a few radio works from the 2000’s and re-releasing them on the podcast. The piece features the voice talents of Jen Crouse, Carrie Harold, Doug McHoney, and John Wanzel. It was written by James Zika and John Wanzel and produced by John Wanzel. About 50 minutes.

A binaural field recording of walking around London, I start inside a starbucks in High Holborn. I had hopes of recording the entire journey to Greenwich, but the batteries ran out after about 19 minutes.

A binaural field recording of sitting near the Thames River path. I was walking from High Holborn to Greenwich and stopped for a rest. It was a long walk. The episode is about 6 minutes long.

The third work in the ad hoc Young Love Trilogy, I haven’t been to Philidephia, it’ll be alright, was produced in 2004 for the Blind Spot radio program, wluw 88.7 Chicago. Featuring the voice talents of Eric Humphrey, Brian Taylor and Carolina Wheat. Engineered by Philip von zweck. Written, composed and produced by John Wanzel. I am repackaging a few radio works from the 2000’s and re-releasing them on the podcast. A version of I haven’t been.. was written as a website in 2003 for a now defunct web-zine, I have posted the original html here.

A story about love and the 16th president of the United States. Cardiac Lincoln is the second work in the ad hoc Young Love Trilogy, a repackaging some of my older work as part of this podcast. It was originally written and preformed in 2003. This recording is from a slightly revised version that was produced in 2005 for the Blind Spot Radio Program, wluw 88.7 Chicago. Featuring the talents of Brian Taylor, Eric Humphreys, Jake Quickel, Lisa Miller and Jenny Walters. Composed, written and produced by John Wanzel.

The first work in the ad hoc Young Love Trilogy, a repackaging of old work for the stopGOstop podcast. Pear is an experimental sound piece for radio that consists of a series of narrative and sonic vignettes. The piece is concerned in general with how despair and desire effect the creation of a self that is mediated by personal and cultural experience. The text material for the project was produced by answers to fill-in-the-blank workbooks, as well as writings influenced by sections of St. Augustine’s Confession, Soren Kierkegaard’s A Sickness unto Death, and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, in light of genetic engineering, a psychobiography, along with language and computer systems. Written and directed by John Wanzel featuring the voices of Anna Benavides, Brian Taylor, and John Wanzel, Produced by John Wanzel. It was engineered by Pete Wenger at Experimental Sound Studio (Chicago, IL) This piece was made possible through the 2001 Experimental Sound Studio Residency Program, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. This project was supported by a Community Arts Assistant Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Illinois Arts Council Access Program (2002). Pear was also selected to participate in the 2002 Outer Ear Festival of Sound, Chicago, IL.    

A rebroadcast of the Blind Spot radio program from December 11, 2005, and evening of landscapes, some real, some imagined. Microlandscapes features the talents of Richard Holland, Anna Clark, Peter Rosenbloom, Eric Humpherys, Brian Taylor, Philip von Zweck, and John Wanzel. I am re-releasing some old sound work from the 2000’s on this podcast along side new field recordings and sound art.

A binaural field recording in Hyde Park, walking from just outside the Serpentine to the winter carnival. I wandered in the park a bit. It is about 30 minutes.  

A binaural field recording, from my studio in Sunset Park to my apartment in Harlem. I say hi to M.E. and then hop on the N at 36th Street, transfer at Times Square and head uptown on the 1. The photo is from looking west from the 125th stop, they have since built a very large building in the hole. The episode is about 77 minutes long.

A stereo recording of biking from Harlem to the Bronx. The audio’s a bit muted because the mic is in my backpack. This episode is about 56 minutes long.

A 17 minute binaural field recording, starting on the 7 train in the morning heading towards Main Street-Flushing. After exiting the train at 111th Street, I walk through down 111th in Corona, then into the park near the Hall of Science where someone is playing with an electronic toy car. The walk ends in front of the museum.