Also per the Davis talk, Marshall McLuhan is an important name in various circles (academic and otherwise) for his work with new media, technology, society, and culture.

Below are sides A and B of the album, The Medium is the Massage. Give it a listen and notice how pastiche – a mix of different sounds and voices – functions. We hear McLuhan as our “narrator,” as other voices and sounds interject. Not dissimilar from what a DJ does or…hmmm…maybe what writers do, too? Enjoy!

 

 The Medium is the Massage, Side A: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Medium is the Massage, Side B: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On the evening of December 24, 1906, Reginald A. Fessenden used the alternator-transmitter to send out a short radio program from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. This broadcast is believed to be the first two-way, trans-oceanic wireless radio transmission, paving the way for a century of broadcasting to come. As people in the U.S. and elsewhere would soon realize, listening and receiving information would take on an entirely new, “disembodied” connotation in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Here’s a recreation of the broadcast for your ears. Note the voice. Sound familiar?

 

 Reginald's Radio: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download