Strange Soup/The Thrift Store Tape Discussion

[Sky and Trails]

I would kill for a detailed behind-the-scenes of the creation of that music.

Same with Whitehorse/desfax. (I don't know which is the song title and which is the artist name.)

And who did the Loop Trail stuff? Fucking amazing! Where's their behind-the-scenes material?

Why aren't their interviews with these artists that I can find?
I eat that shit up.

[SamuraiDrifter]

Man sometimes I get really sad at what this forum has become (yes I realize I'm going to get attacked for this)...

I've been a BOC fan since the 90's, and I've avidly followed the online discussion since the beginning. Heck I even remember pre-bocpages when it was some just guy aggregating all the conspiracy theories in a document after Geogaddi ended up on Rhapsody.

In the beginning, it seemed like all the discussion was open-minded exploration of *the music.* Whether it was a confirmed BOC release or not, people would talk about the songs they loved, run stuff through spectograms looking for clues, try to make sense out of track lengths and samples, and just overall have fun engaging in the mystery that surrounded BOC.

Now all anyone does is debate whether something is fake or not. I posted this video in the "New Release" thread because it piqued my interest and was the most authentic sounding leak I've since the tapes. Sure enough, immediately everyone jumped on me with suspicion. Why did I post it? What was my motive? Someone said "I have some explaining to do." Someone else bemoaned the lengths the hoaxers go to in order to get noticed. It was just so much complaining and talking about issues surrounding the music rather than talking about the music itself. Since this was posted, 95% of the discussion about this video has been suspicion, disbelief, skepticism, and a host of other negatively-framed reactions. Every post is whether someone thinks it's fake or whether someone thinks it's authentic. Only a small minority of posts have actually involved discussing (*gasp*) the music itself, or the track titles, or what it could all mean.

BOC is a group that is inseparable from mystery and conspiracy. That is their essence. Focusing on whether something is authentic or not totally misses the point. They have created such an incredible experience filled with endless mysteries and clues to explore. I miss when people actually explored those clues, and kept an open mind, and had fun doing it.

Sorry... /rant.

Anyway... total runtime 42:26 = next release 4/2/26 see you all there.

Exploring BOC's music and enjoying it doesn't mean just swallowing up every hoax tossed out on here. This is a Boards of Canada forum and debating authenticity of supposed unreleased music has always, always been a big part of this community and debunking fakes was something MDG did in an official capacity for a long time.

This time you seem to be reminiscing about, when people just listened to whatever music some random person on the internet claimed was BOC and didn't care if it was legit or not, or look for evidence, did not exist and has never existed.

Also, the laughable story about the thrift store was presented alongside the music on the YouTube channel, so acting like the story and it's veracity is somehow not fair game for discussion is silly.

Said it before and I'll say it again, presenting your own work as that of another artist is an ethical issue, especially when it involves literally re-using that band's music.

That's gonna be my last word on it though because I don't want to keep giving this attention.

[Orbited insanitarium]

Exploring BOC's music and enjoying it doesn't mean just swallowing up every hoax tossed out on here. This is a Boards of Canada forum and debating authenticity of supposed unreleased music has always, always been a big part of this community and debunking fakes was something MDG did in an official capacity for a long time.

This time you seem to be reminiscing about, when people just listened to whatever music some random person on the internet claimed was BOC and didn't care if it was legit or not, or look for evidence, did not exist and has never existed.

Also, the laughable story about the thrift store was presented alongside the music on the YouTube channel, so acting like the story and it's veracity is somehow not fair game for discussion is silly.

Said it before and I'll say it again, presenting your own work as that of another artist is an ethical issue, especially when it involves literally re-using that band's music.

That's gonna be my last word on it though because I don't want to keep giving this attention.

I agree with what you say, but I'd like to add that I have no problem with individual posts debating whether something is real or fake, it's just when it all happens at once it is understandable that the creator of this tape might feel like we are being intimidating. I would certainly feel vulnerable if my work was dissected and debated over authenticity 24/7.

I make no reference to anyone in particular on here, just collectively it may seem quite scary for someone putting something like this out into the world and not expecting this reaction.

[mondaffe]

And who did the Loop Trail stuff?

Loop Trail stuff?

[Sky and Trails]

Exploring BOC's music and enjoying it doesn't mean just swallowing up every hoax tossed out on here. This is a Boards of Canada forum and debating authenticity of supposed unreleased music has always, always been a big part of this community and debunking fakes was something MDG did in an official capacity for a long time.

This time you seem to be reminiscing about, when people just listened to whatever music some random person on the internet claimed was BOC and didn't care if it was legit or not, or look for evidence, did not exist and has never existed.

Also, the laughable story about the thrift store was presented alongside the music on the YouTube channel, so acting like the story and it's veracity is somehow not fair game for discussion is silly.

Said it before and I'll say it again, presenting your own work as that of another artist is an ethical issue, especially when it involves literally re-using that band's music.

That's gonna be my last word on it though because I don't want to keep giving this attention.

I agree with what you say, but I'd like to add that I have no problem with individual posts debating whether something is real or fake, it's just when it all happens at once it is understandable that the creator of this tape might feel like we are being intimidating. I would certainly feel vulnerable if my work was dissected and debated over authenticity 24/7.

I make no reference to anyone in particular on here, just collectively it may seem quite scary for someone putting something like this out into the world and not expecting this reaction.

Absolutely agreed

[Sky and Trails]

And who did the Loop Trail stuff?

Loop Trail stuff?

Yes! Somebody posted some absolutely beautiful music either on Reddit or somewhere on this forum. They made no claims to be anybody other than who they actually are. I found a link to their Soundcloud page.

Check it out.

https://m.soundcloud.com/atreeformybed

They also have a YouTube channel with some beautiful videos to accompany the music.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCTNMIaTpsWA6IHvveSNepCQ

I downloaded everything that I could and it is in constant rotation in my playlist. This person is extremely talented and deserved to have a hell of a lot more attention and conversation than was ever given. If I remember correctly, there was no conversation whatsoever about this person. By now, I'm probably wrong.

[waveform]

For anyone that cares I reuploaded the video in its original quality 1080p30 to my channel, with no watermarks or links to my bandcamp etc in the description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HnVptRLNTk

phpBB [media]

Here is the json file i pulled also:

Code: Select all

{
   "like_count": "53",
   "dislike_count": "NaN",
   "description": "A few or more years ago I used to work at a local Red White & Blue Thrift center and the employees would always get first pick on any of the items that were dropped off. There was a box full of VHS tapes, some of which were horror movies. I grabbed four of the tapes. The tapes have remained on my shelf and never watched any of them until recently over the pandemic when the entire world was in lockdown. I went to go watch The Shining. I took the tape out of it's box and noticed there was no label on the VHS tape. I popped it in and to my surprise this is what was on that tape. I was a little irritated, as I am a big Stephen King fan and was looking to watch the movie. I fast forwarded the tape, but it goes all blank after the music and clouds stop. I figured, some jack-ass decided to over dub cheesy music over some boring video footage of clouds. After all these months, I decided to convert the VHS footage to digital and post it. \n\nNo idea who made this tape, whether it's some kind of joke, or what the music is. I tried to use the Shazam music app to see if I could identify, but no luck there. Maybe someone else knows? If I had to make an honest guess, I think possibly the tape is a student experiment for a class and maybe they made a tape compiled of music to throw on top of it and they accidentally put it in the wrong cassette box? Either way, I find it interesting or maybe slightly creepy. I was goin to throw the tape away, but something about the whole ordeal, I find very interesting.\n\nHere are the timestamps so you can skip around:\n\n0.00______\n0:17 ___1.\n1:30 ___2.\n2:55 ___3.\n3:08 ___4.\n6:14 ___5.\n7:28 ___6.\n9:04 ___7.\n10:07 ___8.\n13:25 ___9.\n14:20 ___10.\n15:33 ___11.\n18:06 ___12.\n20:05 ___13.\n21:54 ___14.\n22:18 ___15.\n24:40  ___16.\n28:42 ___17.\n30:40 ___18.\n32:50 ___19.\n35:44 ___20.\n39:32 ___21.",
   "view_count": "428",
   "title": "Thrift store-found VHS tape with weird music on it? Read Description",
   "tags": [
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      "Thrift Store",
      "Weird Music",
      "Creepy VHS Footage"
   ],
   "duration": "42:27",
   "extractor": "Youtube",
   "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/4cJxgXDT_ps/maxresdefault.webp",
   "uploader": "The Thrift Store Anomaly",
   "average_rating": null,
   "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cJxgXDT_ps&t=953s",
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Just wanted to offer it in it original quality really.
If anyone wants to suggest edits to the description, pinned comment etc... feel free.

[NorthSaturnian]

For anyone that cares I reuploaded the video in its original quality 1080p30 to my channel, with no watermarks or links to my bandcamp etc in the description.

thanks, suspicious new account

[Sky and Trails]

For anyone that cares I reuploaded the video in its original quality 1080p30 to my channel, with no watermarks or links to my bandcamp etc in the description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HnVptRLNTk

phpBB [media]

Here is the json file i pulled also:

Code: Select all

{
   "like_count": "53",
   "dislike_count": "NaN",
   "description": "A few or more years ago I used to work at a local Red White & Blue Thrift center and the employees would always get first pick on any of the items that were dropped off. There was a box full of VHS tapes, some of which were horror movies. I grabbed four of the tapes. The tapes have remained on my shelf and never watched any of them until recently over the pandemic when the entire world was in lockdown. I went to go watch The Shining. I took the tape out of it's box and noticed there was no label on the VHS tape. I popped it in and to my surprise this is what was on that tape. I was a little irritated, as I am a big Stephen King fan and was looking to watch the movie. I fast forwarded the tape, but it goes all blank after the music and clouds stop. I figured, some jack-ass decided to over dub cheesy music over some boring video footage of clouds. After all these months, I decided to convert the VHS footage to digital and post it. \n\nNo idea who made this tape, whether it's some kind of joke, or what the music is. I tried to use the Shazam music app to see if I could identify, but no luck there. Maybe someone else knows? If I had to make an honest guess, I think possibly the tape is a student experiment for a class and maybe they made a tape compiled of music to throw on top of it and they accidentally put it in the wrong cassette box? Either way, I find it interesting or maybe slightly creepy. I was goin to throw the tape away, but something about the whole ordeal, I find very interesting.\n\nHere are the timestamps so you can skip around:\n\n0.00______\n0:17 ___1.\n1:30 ___2.\n2:55 ___3.\n3:08 ___4.\n6:14 ___5.\n7:28 ___6.\n9:04 ___7.\n10:07 ___8.\n13:25 ___9.\n14:20 ___10.\n15:33 ___11.\n18:06 ___12.\n20:05 ___13.\n21:54 ___14.\n22:18 ___15.\n24:40  ___16.\n28:42 ___17.\n30:40 ___18.\n32:50 ___19.\n35:44 ___20.\n39:32 ___21.",
   "view_count": "428",
   "title": "Thrift store-found VHS tape with weird music on it? Read Description",
   "tags": [
      "VHS",
      "Thrift Store",
      "Weird Music",
      "Creepy VHS Footage"
   ],
   "duration": "42:27",
   "extractor": "Youtube",
   "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/4cJxgXDT_ps/maxresdefault.webp",
   "uploader": "The Thrift Store Anomaly",
   "average_rating": null,
   "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cJxgXDT_ps&t=953s",
   "formats": [
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         "fps": 30,
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Just wanted to offer it in it original quality really.
If anyone wants to suggest edits to the description, pinned comment etc... feel free.

Thank you for this! And the time stamps are great, too.

[Sky and Trails]

I'm sure this has been brought up several times over the years but I was wondering, "What if one of these hoaxes or fakes was actually an attempt by the record label to start another ARG or generate excitement for an upcoming release?"

Obviously, it would mean somebody lost their job because the members of this forum eviscerated them.

But right now I like the idea that maybe, just maybe, one of these potential hoaxes or fakes might be a purposeful leak. This most recent VHS tape seems a good candidate to me based solely on the audio. I haven't done any deep sluething or detective work. And I won't. The music is great on its own.

On to my main question: does anybody have any idea who this is? Not who compiled all of it, but maybe the creator of one individual piece of it? I'm dying to know who did this and what they're techniques were.

[Navaru]

Sky and Trails I sent you 3 albums you might like privately. Some of my favorite non-BoC electronic albums I’ve run across. Sweet Heavenly Angel of Death is a true lofi burner.

[Sky and Trails]

Sky and Trails I sent you 3 albums you might like privately. Some of my favorite non-BoC electronic albums I’ve run across. Sweet Heavenly Angel of Death is a true lofi burner.

I can't thank you enough! I'm already listening and loving what I'm hearing so far.

Work today will NOT suck. It will be glorious and filled with music.

Interesting note about this VHS tape:
I smoked a little weed beforehand, put in some ear buds, and took off driving (which i do a lot at work), and this thing went South fairly fast. It wasn't the best experience. The music is good but shit, I want prepared for an existential meltdown.

A question: did people record audio to VHS because of a higher quality finished product? I assumed due to the width of the tape that more data could be recorded, more detail, etc.
Or is this simple the equivalent of what i do now, playing cool visuals with cool audio for personal entertainment?

[karpeggi]

“back in the day” VHS tapes were a cheap way to record 2 channel audio with quality higher than standard cassette and much cheaper/easier to work with than reel to reel. Wouldn’t be too strange for demos to be recorded onto VHS in the 90s.

[Orbited insanitarium]

Work today will NOT suck. It will be glorious and filled with music.

If you ever need some more albums to explore, I'll let you in on a few hidden gems nestled in my music archive that you may like.
Let me know if you're ever running low on listening material.

Edit: Twoism sure are lovers of pure sound!

[Compound Candy]

You guys can send anything to me as well! I am music thirsty!

[rjohnny]

This tape is not BoC, imo.

I think that this tape, when compared with the past dubious tunes that surfaced on youtube/vocaroo/etc, is more refined.

BUT, the proof that I search for when listening to unknown tunes is..the drums.
BoC have a particular way to work on drum tracks: they layer different tracks, some are live drums played by Mike, some are drum loops (some are probably sampled with the S1000 and then downsampled to lower bitrate), they pan different tracks L and R, put some percussions here and there, etc. The thing is, drums sound so full in their tracks. This is not a simple task, this must take a looot of time to get a perfect sound like that.

All these unknown tapes just use a single drum track at the center or at most two, one panned left and one panned right.

In my opinion their synth sounds are easier to get, you can use hardware synths or work with VSTs, use tape to add grit, make layers, sure a lot of work is needed here too, but the drums..well, this is something completely different.

Just my two cents

[oakmoss&amber]

This was posted in the comment section of the recent re-upload of the thrift store anomaly.

phpBB [media]

[babylulu]

seekgpscoordinates

capitalize cqqz

httpswwwyoutubecomwatchvvycqqfzc
???

[babylulu]

seekgpscoordinates

capitalize cqqz

httpswwwyoutubecomwatchvvycqqfzc
???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvyCQQfZc
says video isnt available

oh well, ARG over ;P

[babylulu]

Morse code in the video translates to a link that leads to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyCQQ514fZc