It seems to be a widespread habit among film score fans that they taped music off of the TV set at some point, especially fans of a certain age (let's say 25+).
Personally, I never did this. I made some cassette copies from soundtrack CD's, but that's about it. It probably has something to do with the fact that I didn't become interested in soundtracks through the films and tv shows, but through the actual albums.
So, for curiousity's sake, is there anyone else who did NOT do this while they were growing up?
I remember that I taped Ghostbusters back in the early 1990's. The german version with dialogue. Horrible sound but I liked it. I can't explain how lucky I was, when Varese announced, that Bernstein's score'll get a proper (complete) release.
I taped Total Recall in the early 1990's, partly because I didn't get the scrambled cable channel and couldn't watch the film at the time (only being 12 years old or so) but could still hear audio, and partly to get glimpses of this fascinating score.
In the pre-VHS days, I mail-ordered copies of tapes somebody had recorded while in the movie theater!. The, ahem, *complete" (music, dialogue, effects) SPY WHO LOVED ME comes to mind...
I also taped the complete LAWRENCE OF ARABIA off tv, which is why I have large chunks of dialogue from that movie memorized. The tricky part was finding a quiet spot in the movie where you could switch tapes without missing too much...
Oh, you kids and your downloads, you know nothing....
I taped THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT in its entirety back in the 1970s when it was first telecast. The film contains some great stuff that wasn't on the soundtrack album. Now, of course, I have the DVD and Rhino has released much of this material on CD.
I taped Total Recall in the early 1990's, partly because I didn't get the scrambled cable channel and couldn't watch the film at the time (only being 12 years old or so) but could still hear audio, and partly to get glimpses of this fascinating score.
Me too! I owned th VHS and I taped the end credits and listened to them on my Walkman. It never even occurred to me that there would be a cassette album. Ditto with Halloween III.
I first taped music off TV in 1964, with the MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. pilot. (I would tape entire programs to relisten to. I even got THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN not much later.) I would record the TV themes I liked until I went to college in '67. How many of you have a copy of (or remember) BLUE LIGHT by Schifrin?
After VCRs came along, I made the mistake of getting music from the taped version, introducing tape noise. Now I usually only record from DVDs. That's the only way to get the end credits of most movies, which I like to have at the end of the soundtracks.
Currently I am working my way through THE AVENGERS (Mrs. Peel era) to get as much of the cool Laurie Johnson music as I can, while minimizing SFX. (Thank goodness for Sound Forge.) Previously I pulled a lot of I SPY music that way, although I need to re-check season one to see if there are any major pieces that weren't on the albums before burning my CDs.
Not only did I tape off of the tv, but when a poster for a feature film didnt advertise a soundtrack album, I would sneak my cassette player in the movie theatre, sit in the front row and hope no one with emphysema was attending the showing.
My first TV set had most of the paint scrapped off the speaker, from my tape recorder's microphone being pushed against it. That was truly the Stone Age for us weirdos. Seeing my first movie on home video, having something you could actually watch whenever you wanted to, was a thrill I've never gotten over.
Was I glad to see this thread...I was thought maybe I was bizzare. Which I still am....but I did tape audio from the network tv premiere of The Empire Strikes Back back in the 80's. I know music was available...but I was like 5 at the time. That same year, I did get as a present close to that...it was like a cassette tape of music from space (or something to that effect). It had music from Star Wars and the Planets. It was pretty cool, and was my first film score type album.
It seems to be a widespread habit among film score fans that they taped music off of the TV set at some point, especially fans of a certain age (let's say 25+).
You actually had to have been growing up in the 70's to do this. This was more of a 60's and 70's phenomena more than any other time period. I used a small reel-to-reel tape recorder when recording themes directly from tv. I don't personally know anyone recording directly from tv in the 80's, 90's and beyond.
You actually had to have been growing up in the 70's to do this. This was more of a 60's and 70's phenomena more than any other time period. I used a small reel-to-reel tape recorder when recording themes directly from tv. I don't personally know anyone recording directly from tv in the 80's, 90's and beyond.
Den
I was eight in 1979 but didn't have my own tape recorder until about 1983, which is when I was recording theme songs like The Wild, Wild West, The World at War, V, and various other shows.
