Audio Media: Recordings and Radio
For Helen, recorded music and radio provided deep connections to her family. Her earliest experience with recorded music was listening to Irish dance music and Ballads with her two sisters and her parents. The whole family would gather around their wind-up Victrola (pictured below) in their living room to listen. Often her father would move the furniture out of the way so that they could waltz, foxtrot, quick step, and learn traditional Irish dances to the music. Her father would also often play the violin and accordion for the family. Helen's family also often listened to records from John McCormack and Enrique Caruso.
At church dances Helen loved to dance to the Jitterbug with friends. She also remembers going to Sunday night Summer concerts in a park near her house often as she was growing up. As time passed, she gained confidence to dance more in public due to encouragement from her father and her friends.
Nowadays, Helen listens to downloaded audiobooks, NPR programs, and music on her Iphone as a background when she is driving or working on something else. For her, it's an excellent way to enjoy content while transitioning between other tasks.
Helen's family also had their radio in their living room. She remembers sitting with her family in silence around the radio and listening to news of World War II. During that time she remembers that a man in her apartment building had his short wave radio confiscated during an FBI raid. People in the building thought that he may have been working for the enemy.
She also loved listening to comedy, mystery, and world news. She particularly loved the programs "The Shadow," "Fibber McGee and Molly," "The Lone Ranger," and "The Jack and Benny Show." Static would often make it hard for her family to her radio programs. She remembers the jingle from a JELLO commercial that she would often sing with her family.
She also often walked past an Italian cobbler in her neighborhood who would play the radio in his shop and sing along to it. She always loved listening to the music he played and sung.
Nowadays she listens to NPR on the radio in her car and in the kitchen. She'll also often flip through radio stations in her car to find different kinds of music while driving. She doesn't ever listen to internet radio.
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| Provided by Helen Sheehan |
Nowadays, Helen listens to downloaded audiobooks, NPR programs, and music on her Iphone as a background when she is driving or working on something else. For her, it's an excellent way to enjoy content while transitioning between other tasks.
Helen's family also had their radio in their living room. She remembers sitting with her family in silence around the radio and listening to news of World War II. During that time she remembers that a man in her apartment building had his short wave radio confiscated during an FBI raid. People in the building thought that he may have been working for the enemy.
She also loved listening to comedy, mystery, and world news. She particularly loved the programs "The Shadow," "Fibber McGee and Molly," "The Lone Ranger," and "The Jack and Benny Show." Static would often make it hard for her family to her radio programs. She remembers the jingle from a JELLO commercial that she would often sing with her family.
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| Picture from MisfitsAudio.com |
She also often walked past an Italian cobbler in her neighborhood who would play the radio in his shop and sing along to it. She always loved listening to the music he played and sung.
Nowadays she listens to NPR on the radio in her car and in the kitchen. She'll also often flip through radio stations in her car to find different kinds of music while driving. She doesn't ever listen to internet radio.
 |
| Picture from npr.org |
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