In the process of sorting through the detritus of my life I happened upon a cassette tape labeled “Sander’s Apology.” I had no specific recollection of recording an apology, but did remember making tapes of radio broadcasts when I was a kid living in Santa Monica. We lived in Santa Monica from about 1968-1971. The tape was full on both sides, and contained a few surprises. Here are some excerpts:
Sander's Apology
is, well, an apology to my father. The context isn’t exactly clear, but I can tell I’m trying very hard to be sincere.
The Museum of Ancient Art
is in the tradition of classic radio dramas like The War of the Worlds, but with a smaller ensemble of actors.
Vocabulary Strategies
are explored here. While it may seem as though I’m simply practicing, there is another motivation at work, which is revealed at the end.
Airplane Crash
is a 2nd take, blessedly brief, which has my father somehow creating the airplane noise and me, I believe, making the crash. The first take had me performing mayday calls, but it was so long and annoying that I decided to forego it for this brief example.
At the very end of the tape I found
something
that may have been recorded at my home in Long Beach. There is at least one other person, perhaps two. One may be my grade-school friend Dick Davidson. If so, the other may be Cameron Sette. All this is wild speculation, however.
Toward the end of the tape I found a recording of
Mysterious Oscillations
. I’ve no idea what they are, but they’re certainly interesting and worthy of preservation. It may be all the proof we need of extraterrestrials!
Also on the tape were songs and advertisements recorded from broadcasts of AM radio station KHJ. A few of the ads were captivating to me, so I included them here.
First is an ad for a lecture at
The Academy of Atlantis
. After doing a bit of on-line research I discovered that the Academy was, in fact, a wacko UFO cult with the claim to fame that they had debated The Two (one of which was Marshall Applewhite of Heaven’s Gate fame) on a street-corner somewhere in LA.
Next up, an advertisement for the
City of San Francisco
.
Stranger still is an advertisement for
Albertson's Grocery Store
. I had no idea that there was so much jealousy amongst vegetables.
Lastly, here’s a radio spot for a film called “
The Roommates
.” I suspect that it is some sort of terrible exploitation horror flick. The ad is kinda funny, though.
Hi.
GREAT tape. Loved to hear your voice. . .back when. It would be useful to remind people to use IE. Mozilla did not load the files correctly.
Looking forward to more.
DAK
Hi Sander,
What a great find. Did your self hypnosis help your spelling? It was pretty good idea. I actually like the plane/crash noises. I thought you and your dad did pretty well. Take care.
Lavyddya
Oh my gosh! That is one of the most touching things I’ve ever heard! Such an innocent, soft, and endearing voice. And that final “I love you father. I always will.” just went right to my heart…and to the heart of my own lacking relationship with my father. In fact, that 7-year-old’s audio message mimics my own letters to my dad at various ages when I feel like extending myself and trying to mend at least my end of the relationship. But it takes two.. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the tape!
Great stuff Sander. I’d love to hear some of your early recordings as spoken word tracks in one of your instrumental songs….
I liked the San Francisco ad, but I thought it could use some updated lyrics:
Like magic she is, San Francisco……..
With it’s live sex clubs
And it’s homeless galore,
From Castro street
Where it’s easy to score,
Look at him on the corner,
He’s a crack-head whore
To the Tenderloin,
I’ve got an itch in my groin…….
San Francisco……..
It’s the “feel city”.
I like the melody of the original ad just fine,
and think it would accompany my new lyrics quite nicely.
Mike
Good thing I had some tissues nearby to wipe away the tears after hearing “Sander’s Apology”. Your honesty and bravery were evident throughout the recording, but it was those final words of love to your father that impacted me the most.
What a treasure. Really precious. In a good way!!! Delighted to have the opportunity through listening to this tape to know you just a little bit better.