AbstractFidelityIndex

PopWorks & Commercialization 2a
POPWORKS 2a (mp3) (74MB) (52m) (192 kbps) (1985)

GOING DONW • YOU KNOW MY NAME • HOT ROD LINCOLN • HUNGRY
MATERIAL GIRL • 3 MINUTE ROCK N/ ROLL TRIVEA GAME SHOW • RELAY

PopWorks & Commercialization 2b
POPWORKS 2b (mp3) (73MB) (51m) (192 kbps) (1985)

RUSSIAN MISTIQUE • PRETTY WOMAN • HEY JOE • GIRL U WANT
MY WIFE • SMUGGLERS BLUES • TELEVISION

© 2004-2011 Robert Soelberg • All Rights Reserved

ZenithPointStudio PopWorks 1

Digital computers just do not know the joy of an in between state. Spinning the dial of my 1980's analog Sherwood receiver exposed a soft chaos of static in between the strong signals of many a Los Angeles/San Diego FM station. One fateful night, I spent about a dozen minutes going back and forth on the FM dial while recording the result to tape. The experience was galvanizing. Each spin of the dial remixed American Culture. Now, that type of social cross contamination is common placed & commercialized.

From this came the inspiration to create audio collages. Dubbing songs, snippets of dialogue and commercials into a mix tape became a pastime. I played them while driving the freeways of Southern California. That original collage didn’t survived. It would not have lived up to its reputation anyway.

I ended up with 330+ cassettes. At 102 minutes per cassette (Maxell made a cassette with 50+ minutes per side), that's over 550 hours. Click on the button to download PopWorks 1a.

POPWORKS 1a (mp3) (78MB) (52m) (192 kbps) (1985)

The collage has one rule: Do not expect the sound you are hearing will continue - the collage reserves the right to change at any instant. Definitely abstract fidelity. Here is PopWorks 1b.

The PopWorks series is edited, but it was done in linear time, meaning that the commercials, commentaries, music were of the same moment. New elements were dubbed to a "work tape" which, when filled, became the next collage tape.

POPWORKS 1b (mp3) (75MB) (52m) (192 kbps) (1985)