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Phone Messages
By Paul Mason FotschSociety & Culture
Phone Messages episodes
- 41 Missing Disk (David)In the late eighties, publishing a college literary journal could be filled with late night stress.10 min
- 40 Not Too Bad (Chris 4)Feeling bad is a relative thing, and according to Daniel Johnston, a better life brings better orgasms.9 min
- 39 Worried Shoes (outgoing 12)Daniel Johnston was a musician and visual artist who embodied the eccentric spirit of 1980s Austin.5 min
- 38 Slacker (James 4)In 1989 Richard Linklater filmed a love letter to the city of Austin and redefined the concept of Slacker.5 min
- 37 Fast Talker (Jason 3)John Moschitta Jr. became famous for talking fast in a 1982 Federal Express commercial. His skill proved hard to imitate.5 min
- 36 Brian's Violin (Brian 1)In Chicago, if you want to have a jam band in your apartment, it's helpful to have neighbors who are doing equally loud things.10 min
- 35 Rekha Recalls (Rekha 1b)Madison Wisconsin in the 1980s was a great place for campus activism, but personal experiences around this activism were often complicated.9 min
- 34 The Wailers (outgoing 11)Bob Marley died in 1981, Peter Tosh in 1987, but their spirits remain strong, especially in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush.5 min
- 33 Grandma's First Message (Grandma 1)In fall of 1988 I went to visit my grandmother in Lakeland Florida. She was born not just before answering machines but also before the technology of automatic switchboards were widespread.8 min
- 32 Brandy doesn't live here (unknown 2)What happens when some Chicago kids confront a novel technology? The answering machine was invented in the 1940s but was still uncommon in 1980s homes.7 min
About Phone Messages
From the publisher's feed
This podcast will play and discuss old phone answering machine messages. In the late 1980s, while living in Chicago, I selected certain messages to be duplicated using a double cassette recorder. Playing them back leads me to explore the intersection of personal history and the larger social and cultural context through the lens of an outdated technology.
New episodes will be posted Sundays.