Word of the day: roentgenizdat

[fancycwabs]

While searching for a list of books with those floppy records inside them (e.g. Billy and the Boingers: Bootleg) in response to a comment thread, I came across this bit of information in Wikipedia:

The Soviet-era bones or roentgenizdat are so-called because one cheap, reliable source of suitable raw material is discarded medical x-rays, which have the added benefit of including ready-made and interesting images. The name roentgenizdat comes from the combination of roentgen ray (another word for X-ray) and samizdat ("self-published", or underground literature). X-ray records emerged as an underground medium for distribution of jazz music, which was prohibited in the Soviet Union after World War II. This format was also particularly attractive to politically suppressed punk rock music and the DIY punk ethic, since other publishing outlets were much less accessible.

I'd never heard of this, but the concept of underground recordings of rock and jazz on old X-rays is awesome, taking rock's rebellious aesthetic (in the 1950's) and turning it into an icon of itself. It's wonderful to think that there was once a recording of "Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On" carved into the image of a skull fracture or a broken leg, and it was made specifically because the song was illegal, and there was no other way to hear it.

Comments

[hatgrlstargazer.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I agree, that's beautiful.

[redtheblue.livejournal.com]

I would really like to go into a doctor's office and see my physician watching my X-rays spin and play on a backlit turntable, Patsy Cline singing "I Fall to Pieces".

[roman-mclaze.livejournal.com]

Christ, I have some pictures of this somewhere....