[78-L] Shortest 78

[Michael Biel]

King Daevid MacKenzie wrote:
> rew1014 at yahoo.com sez:
>   
>> "The Wit and Wisdom of Ronald Reagan" was genuine. Released by the Stiff label, it was an LP that played for thirty-five minutes or so and contained absolutely nothing. It reportedly sold around 30,000 copies.> > Friend of mine told me it came in very handy once when he needed "LP noise" to overdub for a theater project.
>>     
>  
> ...I used to have a copy of something called THE WIT AND WISDOM OF SPIRO T. AGNEW, which was also two sides of blank grooves. (Not to be confused with SPIRO T. AGNEW SPEAKS OUT, an actual RCA Victor release 

Actually it was not an actual RCA Victor "release".  It was RCA Special 
Products and was not sold in stores -- you had to give a $50 donation to 
the GOP.  I got mine in a garage sale at some rich Winnetka Republican's 
mansion.  Really.
> compiling clips of the corrupt veep's 1969-71 speeches which I used in one of my "Echoes of a Century" programs while at Wisconsin Public Radio's La Crosse outfit.) 

At Northwestern we used it to provide clips from "The Chairman" for our 
Radio Peking-like sign-on during the era when the real Radio Peking gave 
a daily phrase from Chairman Mao's Little Red Book.  (I still have the 
copy of Mao's Little Red Book that Radio Peking sent me.)  Different 
Agnew clip every day, at least for a ten day rotation.  Fake short-wave 
background effect provided by Stockhausen's "Hymnen".
(Our sign-off was a simulated sex act where the announcer ended with the 
info of when the station would cum on the air again tomorrow. I was 
assured by the students that the act was simulated because she was in 
the studio and he was in the control room.)

Another album also needs to be mentioned.  It is Jackie Kannon's "The 
Third World War With the Original Cast."  The inner sleeve was singed 
around the center hole and four corners.  The back cover had blurbs from 
reviewers like "This one will kill you" from Dorothy Kilgallon.  Side 
one was an explosion followed by several minutes of silent grooving.  
Side two was completely blank.  No grooves. 

Mike (our station had three obscenity complaints during the year I 
managed it) Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com

> I suspect Stiff merely copied the Agnew concept for the Reagan LP...
>  
> ...come to think of it, Tom Paxton once recorded a live album containing a song titled "The Ballad of Spiro Agnew," its complete lyrics being "I sing of Spiro Agnew and all the things he's done" -- after which Paxton simply shut his mouth and stopped playing, causing a Jack Benny-like pregnant pause into audience laughter. Maybe Paxton deserves credit for the basic idea...
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> kdm
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