Echo and one Funny Man
Monday, December 19th, 2011
Echo magazine, 1960, page
It’s a sad fact that many of us were forced to buy a record at a record store, go home, listen to the one song you liked, and then hate the rest of the album. But, tough luck. That was how the world worked pre-digital music downloads. Horrible. Today, I can create my own playlist, ignore the crap songs on the rest of an album, and even take a walk while listening.
In 1960, however, true interactive music media was invented. Echo magazine was a “magazine you play on your phonograph.” Pretty cool. You could read an article, and play a record bound into the publication. This made magazines seem stupid because they didn’t have sound, and records equally dumb, because they only had liner notes. Boring.
Unfortunately, a magazine/record didn’t catch on in 1960. In reality, the issue could have been manufacturing related. I have this issue, and I’ll be damned if I can figure out how to separate the record from the pages. I don’t want to put the whole magazine on the turntable and flip around. The cover may also have added to the confusion. Only today, did I realize that it’s a representation of a phonograph player. For years, I thought it was someone’s arm and hand who was very shaky.
Echo magazine, 1960, page
Echo magazine, 1960, the clear vinyl record
Echo magazine, 1960, spread and record (the right page)
Echo magazine, 1960, typography
Echo magazine, 1960, spread with Shelley Berman
Echo magazine, 1960, page with France Nuyen
Echo magazine, 1960, spread with Brigitte Bardot
Echo magazine, 1960, cover
