a sound i never heard

sometimes coincidences are just odd enough to support the idea of the collective unconscious. just last week, i bought the moog documentary on dvd as part of a larger order. on friday, by chance i picked up a used moogerfooger murf pedal (the first thing i've ever owned made by moog). sunday i found myself at beacon's closet contemplating a moog t-shirt (i didn't get it). as it turns out, that afternoon robert moog died.

moog was always the name you looked up to (literally, on the backs of keyboards onstage) if you were a keyboardist growing up anytime after the 70s. i could never afford any of them myself, or else they were out of favor and hard to find for years. now the originals are part of the "vintage synth" boom and more expensive than ever on the secondhand market. these were inventions that shaped the world by imagining the sound of the future and then building it. only leo fender can claim as important a place in musical history of the twentieth century.

read the new york times obituary, the synthmuseum entry, and a 1997 interview.


the title of this post comes from a song by golden earring.