The Strange History of Soviet X-Ray Records

Hips don’t lie. But a hip x-ray in the Soviet Union of the 1950s might not have been what it appeared to be. In fact, if it was round, it was likely a record. Let us explain. At a time when the Soviet government strictly forbade western music from the likes of hip shaker Elvis and jazz great Charlie Parker, people found a creative way around the restriction. They turned x-rays of rib cages, fingers and other body parts into records—yes, actual audio recordings—that they exchanged on the sly. Stephen Coates of London’s Bureau of Lost Culture tells us about the ingenious scheme to create and distribute the bootleg audio recordings.


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#History #Vinyl #SovietUnion

[AnneMayfair]

Fun fact: for a while music recorded on those XRay sheets was called 'bone boogie' regardless of the actual genre :D

[jasckon]

There's a great book called "X-Ray Audio: The Strange Story of Soviet Music on the Bone" that I highly recommend if you want to learn more.

[angelvalencia]

Imagine bogeying down to grandmas broken hip

[rosemarytea]

My grandpa actually has one of those! He really liked radio and tech

[robertstoppel]

Imagine a gang of young men fracturing a bone just to call an ambulance, then months later inviting you to a party where the xray film of your break plays to make up for the trauma... Would make a surreal movie to watch

[FireWaia]

I'm amazed i'm so late to finding this channel, it is absolute solid gold.

[muhammadakmal]

So this is the hardbass before hardbass

[samopalvampirenvonbutlegin]

There was no ban on rock music at all. Bringing vinyl records from abroad wasn't prohibited either. It's just the fact that the Soviet government didn't want to spend money on buying licenses. Everyone who wanted to have a collection of rock music could do that relatively easy: buy a magnetic tape recorder and a turntable, and become a member of an informal "exchange club" where you borrow a vinyl record for a day/night and make a copy for yourself on magnetic tape.

[jefkoele-wijn]

I think that was very dangerous to listen to in the Soviet Union without a headphone.

[tes_la]

It was in almost every soviet family. People listened the Beatles and other forbidden music like rock.
It was such a great time!

[Doc-Holliday]

"many great things about the Soviet Union"

[beatsbykana]

some people just think of the weirdest, most ingenious stuff man

[HarbindBrar]

As a medical student, this is so damn cool.

[johnjumainetanig]

That soviet music got me into our bones.

[hautakleightontam]

Imagine listening to Boney M.'s 'Rasputin' recorded in this format.

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Ribs? Playing music? HAH! I find that quite humerus.

[ttandaric]

Great video, great story but you could use footage from USSR not from Yugoslavia, you got Yugoslavian flag in every shot that supposed to be from Russia.

[youngmasterzhi]

Unfun fact: When the Soviet government caught wind of these bootleg records, they try to flood the market with their own X-Ray records, with their message cutting off near the end of the song with a dissing message, kinda like "Oh, you wanna listen to Western music?! Well, f&&k you!!"

[iggyterino]

As someone who's learning Russian, Я надеюсь, что я могу переехать в Россию сам, так что я могу изучать о его истории. Отличное видео.

[Justin-Hill-]

I bet they listened to Elvis on a pelvis! 😂