Ectoplasm

I'm proud to say I was several years ahead of the cultural curve, for what it's worth, in the resurgence of interest in the work of Raymond Scott, best known for his energetic, slightly eccentric musical compositions from the 1930s and 1940s (most with memorable, unusual titles, such as "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals"). His work had been indelibly imprinted on me, thanks to repeated exposure during my adolescence (Scott sold his music publishing business to Warner Bros. in the early 1940s, and his compositions were frequently featured in cartoons released by the studio), though I never really knew it. But from the moment I heard Scott's original recordings, they became part of my (almost) obsessive curiosity about pop culture from days long ago.

My girlfriend at the time gave me a collection of Scott's work as a gift, a cassette tape compiled from vintage 78 RPM records that had been generously provided by Irwin Chusid. (He was largely responsible for the rediscovery of Raymond Scott, beginning with small steps like this one, and would later go on to produce a series of reissues of Scott's work). I listened to it constantly. (I still have it, too. I wonder if it still sounds as good?) I was often drawn to a few songs that were clearly from a different phase of Scott's recording career, perhaps a later one — they seemed to sound different, somehow, both in composition and in the way they had been recorded. But this was 1989, back in the days before Google —how did we ever get along? — and despite his fame in the 1940s, Scott had become a relatively obscure and mostly forgotten part of music history. I was quite curious, but had no way to learn more.

And now I have. Ectoplasm, released earlier in the year, covers this era of Scott's recordings, from 1948-1949 (the first for his own record label), and includes an illustrated booklet with essays and interviews. (I came very close to buying this on iTunes, but I knew I'd regret missing out on the supplementary materials if I did.) I can't wait to listen.

I bought another CD, too, but that was something else entirely.