Press Play: Recorded Sound from Groove to Stream

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Bob Koch

A selection of 45s that the Vinyl Cave is (mostly) still searching for.

A selection of vintage 45 rpm singles on Wisconsin labels is part of the historical exhibit "Press Play: Recorded Sound from Groove to Stream," in the Special Collections area of the UW Memorial Library.

Long before there was a recording industry, inventors were trying to figure out how to preserve and reproduce sound. Since the late 1800s the results have been available in a multitude of ways, up to today's plethora of streaming choices. Press Play: Recorded Sound from Groove to Stream, a new exhibit on display through Dec. 22 in the UW-Madison Memorial Library's ninth floor Special Collections area, catalogs and explains formats both ubiquitous (LPs) and forgotten (minidiscs, anyone?). Curated by Nathan Gibson, an author, musician and preservation archivist, and the staff at Mills Music Library, the exhibit works as a basic beginner's overview of recording formats and the cultures that developed around them, and offers many examples of Wisconsin's part of the history. Gibson will present a talk about the exhibit at 3 p.m. on Oct. 26. The exhibit is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; a visitor's pass can be acquired at the Memorial Library front desk. Preview a playlist of recordings in the exhibit and find more info here.

media release: An exhibit of Mills Music Library and Wisconsin Music Archives

976 Memorial Library at UW-Madison, 728 State Street

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm, September 7 through December 22, 2022

The confluence of music, art, and technology over the past 150 years has dramatically changed how we record and listen to music, from grooves to tape to digital disc to streaming services and beyond. Drawing from Mills Music Library and Wisconsin Music Archives collections, Press Play highlights the revolution evolution and the cultural impact of each new format. Visitors are encouraged to listen to historic recordings and to ponder the future of recorded sound and how it might be preserved.