Further proof that vinyl records are reasserting themselves in the collections of audio junkies are figures from music sales-tracker Nielsen SoundScan, released last week, which revealed that retailers moved 6.1 million wax units in 2013. That’s a 33 percent upswing over 2012’s haul of 2.55 million, making vinyl the fastest growing music format of the year.So there may be abundant interest in the free records that Florida Atlantic University’s Recorded Sound Archives are slinging starting Monday at the Wimberly Library (777 Glades Road, Boca Raton). About 2,000 retro records are in FAU’s third annual giveaway, harvested through private donations and duplicates that don’t fit with the university’s own collection.Up for grabs are albums from Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Glenn Miller; Broadway recordings from “Fiddler on the Roof,” Gilbert and Sullivan and others; and genre music spanning jazz to polka. The giveaway runs 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Jan. 10, on the library’s fifth floor, and then resumes Jan. 27-Jan. 31.
The last time it happened was in 1888. Chanukah and Thanksgiving…..at the same time!
Some might call it “Thanksgivukkah.” But whatever you call it, you can be sure that it won’t happen again for tens of thousands of years to come.
This year American Jews may be enjoying crispy, hot latkes with their Thanksgiving turkey. Sounds like a delicious combo to me. Yummmm.
Yet, despite this year’s rare opportunity to celebrate a double dose of survival and gratitude, some things will always remain the same. The Story of Chanukah reaches back in time way past the struggling Pilgrims on New England’s rocky coast. It reaches back to 167 BCE when the Syrian king Antiochus desecrated the Temple and outlawed Jewish practices. The five sons of the Jewish priest, Mattithius, were incited to revolt. Chanukah celebrates their victory and the miracle of the light that lasted for eight days during the Temple’s re-dedication.Read More About This…
Player pianos, pianolas and piano rolls were all the rage during Prohibition.
By the early 1920’s new advances in piano-roll technology gave rise to a complex, performance-oriented style of music that became the soundtrack of an era.
All types of music were recorded on piano rolls, from Ragtime to folk songs; from Jazz to Cantorial masterpieces. So….can these “Boardwalk Empire” era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience in today’s fast-paced electronic world?Read More About This…
Known as the Last of the Red Hot Mamas, Sophie Tucker had a career that began in vaudeville, embraced the new jazz age of the 1920’s and lasted well into the 1960s.
Widely known for her bawdy humor (which may seem tame by today’s standards) and her big personality, she never lost touch with her Jewish roots.Read More About This…
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