Taptaptaptaptap. Swoosh-DING! If you were born after me (somewhere in the mid-1980s), this sound is probably completely unfamiliar to you. I only remember it faintly from playing with an old typewriter at my grandparents’ house when I was very young. Have you ever seen one of these near-extinct creatures? (A typewriter, that is — not my grandparents.)
A few years ago, a group of Bostonians heard music in those taps, swooshes, and dings, and they decided to resurrect these clunky beasts for a decidedly louder purpose than writing. Enter the Boston Typewriter Orchestra. Clad in white collared shirts and ties and glasses straight from the 1950s, the BTO alternates between office-themed banter and rhythmic songs (yes, they’re really songs!) — some with chanting, some with singing, and some with just a whole lot of typing, banging, and smashing. It’s a good thing these typewriters have no self-awareness, because if we were in the Twilight Zone, you can bet they’d all be typing “GET OUT OF HERE FINCHLEY” again and again.
Read the rest of my article over on CBS Boston.
More photos:
No comments:
Post a Comment