from soundsofmycity:
Talking to Himself at Eglinton Station, 1980s - Submitted by Colman Jones
(Warning, there’s some harsh words…)

I’m really really excited about today’s sounds, people. We’re breaking new ground here - vintage Toronto! This amazing 7 minute recording of a Globe & Mail newspaper vendor was captured by Colman Jones, an accomplished writer, radio broadcaster, producer (for the CBC!), journalist, musician and composer. Needless to say, I’m totally thrilled he decided to share these sounds (and a few more I’ll share in the coming weeks!) with me.

According to Colman, the story goes like this:

“This recording was made back in the 1980s by myself and Janet Wilson, after we noticed a rather odd newspaper salesperson in Toronto’s Eglinton subway station loudly talking to himself in between selling papers.

Wanting to capture the spontaneous nature of his rantings, we set down a JVC stereo cassette boombox we happened to have with us down on the floor nearby, and discreetly pressed the record button. What you hear is the result. Lots of good stereo ambiance of the subway station, with the sound of people walking by from right to left. It’s best listened to on headphones.

There is no further information, however, on all the movies this vendor says he made… no one has ever been able to track him down since.”

Incredible! Such great quality for a tape recording, too. This is a really cool look (well, listen) back to what was probably a familiar sight and sound back in the day. Just sellin’ papers, chatting with himself, smoking on the subway. “Paper, paper!”  I wonder what happened to this guy… Such a cool recording!

Thank you SO much for sharing this, Colman! I’m really looking forward to posting more of your sounds (they are really cool, people! Stay tuned) over the next couple weeks.

To listen to more sounds from Colman on SoundCloud, click here (for his great music) and here (for more of his vintage Toronto recordings and other soundscapes). You can also find his music on CBC Radio 3, follow him on Tumblr, on Twitter @colmanjones, and on his personal website.

Oh yay, wasn’t that fun?! I hope you enjoy today’s foray into the past, stay tuned for more, and check in with me tomorrow when I announce a little giveaway contest/submission/sound scavenger hunt where you can win free swag! Woo hoo!

Happy Thursday, all!