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Re: [ARSCLIST] a tape archive probably worth preserving if not already being preserved
The stuff with The Velvets is out there,it has been issued on quasi-legal/bootleg records,and CDs,in the 80s,and 90s.It's possible the shows she recorded,were amoung those that have been booted.See
http://homepage2.nifty.com/hyon/vu/frame_e.html
not having any further information,I cannot tell you,but the liner notes,posted at cduniverse.com,imply this.Her films are out there.See
http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/brigid-polk/57219/main ,amoung other pages.
There are also films and photos she supposedly made of Patti Smith,in 1971 ,although as far as I know,these have never surfaced.From what I can tell,the recordings she made are an archival mixed bag.Some were saved,some were not.Not suprising,considering the impromptu,and informal nature of the tapes. After Warhol's death,I'm sure they wished they had saved them,in a more serious manner.It's nice to see a topic here,besides classical music,that I have some knowledge of ! : ^ )
Roger
Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Hi All:
I am speaking out of mostly ignorance here, so excuse me if there are "duh" moments following.
Borrowed a copy of Velvet Underground "Live at Max's Kansas City" Rhino reissue yesterday. Got to
reading the booklet and found an intriguing fact. The recordist, Brigid Berlin (Brigid Polk):
http://www.warholstars.org/stars/brigid.html
said in the booklet that she made "hundreds" of tapes around NYC at that time (late 60's/early
70's). She said she would interview street people, artists, other Warhol-crowd people. She recorded
at least the Velvet Underground, perhaps others (although she said she wasn't into music and only
came to the show with her tape recorder because she was a friend of Lou Reed). Another person who
participated in that recording (which is not bad at all for a club, a live band, a mono cassette
recorder and one mic -- in fact I'd argue it's about as good as you can get under those conditions)
said they recorded other VU shows at the same time. Finally, Berlin said she had "boxes and boxes"
of well-documented cassettes in her possession as of 2001 when the booklet was written. Judging from
the quality of the VU recording, the tapes would likely be in decent/playable condition.
So, the question is -- are these tapes being preserved? It seems to me they are at least an
interesting snapshot of a unique time and place (NYC downtown scene, late 60s/early 70s), and may be
of greater historical interest.
Berlin is still alive, as far as I know. There was a documentary done about her in 2002. I'd bet
there's at least a radio documentary contained in those tapes.
-- Tom Fine
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