Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music [Paperback]

In the heyday of low-budget television and scrappy genre filmmaking, producers who needed a soundtrack for their commercial entertainments could reach for a selection of library music: LPs of stock recordings whose contents fit any mood required.Unusual Soundsis a deep dive into a musical universe that has, until now, been accessible only to producers and record collectors; a celebration of this strange industry and an examination of its unique place at the nexus of art and commerce. Featuring original art by Robert Beatty and an introduction by George A. Romerowhose use of library music inNight of the Living Deadchanged film historyUnusual Soundsis mandatory reading for anyone interested in this enigmatic field and its hidden but pervasive cultural influence.The cult of library music is a fascinating one; anonymous musicians from the '50s through the '70s recording like an assembly line were, eventually, found to have done more than just jazzy widget assembly to fill space for film and television. The archivist David Hollander has devoted a lot of his life to this corner of music history, releasing some of its most notable tunes through his Cinemaphonic series, and writing about it in Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music.-Andrew Flanagan, NPRUnusual Sounds is more than just a look at a kind of music, but a way of making music which has essentially gone away. . . .a fantastic read.-Nick Spacek, Starburst Magazine