Strange Soup/The Thrift Store Tape Discussion

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Eagle Minded
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Then who is it?

From my perspective, given everything I've read about the band, seen on this forum, and listened to from the band, this stuff sounds like early tapes.

I've read where the band made music in the 80s, had a band, incorporated christ., keep a massive archive of everything they've ever recorded, etc.
It fits in the realm of possibility that this stuff is them.

But if it isn't! Please tell me who it is.

If it's debunked, then someone is doing really well with some decent equipment. I don't see how any of this is software-only, DAW music. It sounds like someone was a HUGE fan of using triggers. But that also tracks with the band's live performances of which there are at least some recordings.

I'm not really a fan of the ARG aspect of this stuff, but it fits the BOC aesthetic, which is totally fan-created at this point, and great nonetheless, but this music sounds like tape recordings.
There were repeats, but it was the titles and dates that made me think these were different iterations of their music.

Biznasty, I'm just going to ramble forever, so please tell me more.

I really liked the first track or two on this newest thing. There were a couple of other moments that stood out but I'm only 2 listenings into it.
Sirens calling out catastrophe, waves of mourning rippling through hillsides, an exodus for us all

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Eagle Minded
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...and I saw the ml2km thing. Sorry for being slow on that. It was just the end of the YouTube channel name (https://www.youtube.com/@surefredin-ml2km)
I'm not sure why they write it "sUre Fred in" unless it's an anagram with two words starting with F and U, or U and F, respectively.

Also, has anyone stacked the actual video footage? I worked with the audio and it was okay, but the -12 pitch still didn't bring out that very beginning of the hidden audio.

One more thing: the 'will self destruct' message is familiar. It seems to appear in code in the description.
Sirens calling out catastrophe, waves of mourning rippling through hillsides, an exodus for us all

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Dayvan Cowboy
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Biznasty wrote:
Sky and Trails wrote:And everyone feels confident that this is not BOC? !

We debunked it day one...

Not necessarily, as it was new and exciting for some of us, I think more things came to light as time went on and people made up their own minds, but having a gut instinct from day one probably rings more true. :|


Sky and Trails wrote:One more thing: the 'will self destruct' message is familiar. It seems to appear in code in the description.

Ah yes fella, the creator wiped all traces of the ARG and had us all rabidly saving. :lol:
This time, I think Random Tunes will disappear when it's circulated the community enough.
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Friendly Stranger
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For me personally, there’s two possibilities:
1. BOC, maybe inspired by Aphex Twin putting all his unreleased music on soundcloud, decide to take all their demos and early versions of tracks spanning their career, add a load of VHS related samples and turned them into audio/visual mixes. They then made an ARG to lead people to them. Starting with the hokey, but enjoyable, premise that someone found a VHS tape in a thrift store etc…

2. Someone devoted hundreds of hours of their life recreating and deconstructing BOC tracks to make them sound like early versions and demos. Going as far as writing a load of proto-shoegaze guitar music to include based on comments made by BOC in interviews about their earliest music. Then they made visuals for the lot and created an ARG with loads of BOC related imagery.

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Sky and Trails wrote:I'm not sure why they write it "sUre Fred in" unless it's an anagram with two words starting with F and U, or U and F.


s U r e F r e d i n

inferred us, under serif, dune ferris, ferris nude (I used all of my critical thinking skills on the ARG itself) the ferris wheel in Seek? Wheeltower? Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Electronaldmcdonald2 wrote:For me personally, there’s two possibilities:
1. BOC, maybe inspired by Aphex Twin putting all his unreleased music on soundcloud, decide to take all their demos and early versions of tracks spanning their career, add a load of VHS related samples and turned them into audio/visual mixes. They then made an ARG to lead people to them. Starting with the hokey, but enjoyable, premise that someone found a VHS tape in a thrift store etc…

2. Someone devoted hundreds of hours of their life recreating and deconstructing BOC tracks to make them sound like early versions and demos. Going as far as writing a load of proto-shoegaze guitar music to include based on comments made by BOC in interviews about their earliest music. Then they made visuals for the lot and created an ARG with loads of BOC related imagery.


This. I was in bed listening to these tracks last night and I thought of the same 2 possibilities. Funnily enough, it definitely is leaning heavily on one side or the other which makes this more confusing. I'm curious if this was the end of the new ARG or if there is more to be found. I 100% believe now that there are at least 14 "tapes" considering the foreshadow of RANDOMSTRANGER in SEEK, but I'm not certain what to do next. Genesis assisted with leading us but I can't help but wonder if we are missing something else now. I remember feeling this way last time, too.

As for the tracks, superb. You have to not want to like them to not like them imo. I find them warm, clever, nostalgic, friendly, familiar, and completely feel in my gut that these are early origins. Can't help that. I also wondered at one point if this was Clocolan or Cult 48 for no real reason. Saw a couple of videos and was like "hmm, this is similar to the VHS stuff" but that was really my only reasoning. I can't help but smirk as I listen to some of these tracks pondering if this could actually be the real deal of some sorts. Cynical or not, the aesthetic fits like sky and trails said and totally seems like a fan service-y thing they could do. I said this before, but there are so many people that I have talked to that missed the TH ARG. Could it be this is a special under-the-radar way of distributing early workings for ones that missed out in 2013? Everyone always says "they won't do another ARG for LP5 blah blah blah" which may be true, but this almost feels like some sort of an appetizer before the big meal.. All so interesting, to say the least.

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Friendly Stranger
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I thought Sure Fred In might have been a what3words map location. But it's not.

The track listing featured on the YouTube video image for random tunes 2 is intriguing,

4 8 11 14 17 21

It's almost an arithmetic sequence apart from the last number would be 22.

Also, only 4 of the tracks have dates, 1988 is this significant? Am I losing my mind to paranoia?!

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Also, just another slight detail but has no one yet noticed that the track which starts at 16:31 has the same beat as Oirectine?

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Like a mix of Oirectine with some Concourse thrown in there

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red moss @ 22:30?

New Seed
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Also, track which starts at 25:01 strangely reminds me of "Statue of liberty" from Old Tunes vol.2. Continuing our ride down into this rabbit hole.

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Friendly Stranger
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The music hearkens back to a different time. A time long gone but you still carry it with you. A bit of nostalgia and memories and long lost feelings that suddenly return and your young again. It's almost Spring. Another Genesis has begun.
The Winds of Aquarius are upon you

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Friendly Stranger
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after some digging on the video, It sounds like it was found on a discord server, and the source of the tapes was in the us of a, original video/desc says they doubt it could be boc. after listening to it i dont think its them, just sounds like some dope tunes honestly. still cool though!
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Friendly Stranger
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Congratulations to everyone involved in cracking this latest ARG. Pardon me for being a bit behind but where did the tumblr and soundcloud links come from? The QR code in the flickr image? And also Sure Fred In? The voice from the STACK videos?

How feasible is it that these recordings could have been made using AI? The Random Tunes artwork looks like an AI take on MHTRTC.

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Would sure love to know the software that mimic's BoC music. Sure, you can most certainly recreate images with Mid Journey and Dalle-2, but what software would one use that is the equivalent for music creation. Perhaps this individual has talent as well?

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Friendly Stranger
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The artwork could definitely be AI generated, but I doubt very much the music was.

Again, what is the most feasible explanation: BOC generously presented their fanbase with an amazing series of mixes that gives us all their early recordings and all tied up in a cute ARG with great visuals.

Or, someone spent hundreds of hours creating deconstructed versions of BOCs tunes, and also wrote a load of original music to approximate the style hinted at by BOC in interviews. Just so they could enjoy the kudos of saying “haha, you thought this was BOC? I fooled you”.
If it was someone trying to launch their own career, this would be a disastrous way to do it. Despite all the exposure.

So far all that’s been debunked is that the original VHS was not likely to have been actually found in the wild at all

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Friendly Stranger
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Now what the hell does that partial track list mean? Any one?

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I believe it's a different artist from the previous ARGs.

So many questions, very few answers, but the music is good, this is what most matter to me, although I didn't understand why repeat several songs that we've heard before.

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New Seed
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Well looks like that list is not partial anymore since randomposter69 has posted new screen captures of what looks like the backcover of the album.

https://www.tumblr.com/randomposter69

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Eagle Minded
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This is an interesting development.

I think this is BoC.

It all sounds like early work. It fits like a glove.

How gorgeous are those keyboards?

Also, if it's early work, then christ. would be involved. Who knows, maybe he is behind all of this.
Sirens calling out catastrophe, waves of mourning rippling through hillsides, an exodus for us all

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