11–19 of 19 posts
"Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries." Still amazed and deeply saddened that this is the state of the Internet, 2019.
Sad news. http://www.wordjazz.com https://vimeo.com/3088569 I remember accidentally finding the local NPR station on the radio in the 70's. Word Jazz and NPR Playhouse were my favorite programs. "Here we are with something imaginary in the trembling air." You can listen to the 30 minute NPR episodes on the internet archive here https://archive.org/details/WordJazzRadio15#
I was surprised to find out that he was still quite active creating computer art and working on his website even into his 80s and 90s. The current wordjazz.com website doesn't have everything, so I suggest you check out the Internet Archive version: https://web.archive.org/web/20030424220940/http://wordjazz.c...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKyWNEGh_yk&t=30s
It's hard to describe exactly, but the technological "rules" about what experiences a video game could provide were not at all clear at that time, and there was still a mystique about the potential of every new video game.
Cube Quest had cutting-edge computer-generated animation (on video) and vector graphics, but to have Ken Nordine's amazing narration specifically recorded for the game was a new level in game production.
Ultimately, the spatial world inside the game (a tube shooter) was disappointing after all of the very cool presentation it was wrapped in. But before you went to wait in line for Atari's Star Wars, you would want to stick around again for the introduction.
NB: The on-screen instructions for Cube Quest may be the first documented use of the phrase "game play" for a video game.
What a wonderful article.
I was introduced to Mr. Nordine's work in the early 2000s when some of it was played on WRAS radio in Atlanta. They played his "Colors" series as part of their regular rotation of music. Each one is a spoken word piece personifying a particular color. These were apparently done originally as commercials for a paint company, but they stand on their own. I know at least a few of these are on YouTube. I was surprised to…
“It's true. I did do a series many years ago called Incredibile But True, stories clipped from old newspapers by a sax player by the name of Dean Shaeffer. Dean had hopes of getting rich quick, but early TV took the spotlight away from radio. Strangely every now and then someone puts one of the Incredible But True shows on YouTube. If you search my name, you will find 14 things I have put of YouTube myself. Give a look.
Ken Nordine”
Simpler, better times! Down the Drain is still my favourite of his tracks. RIP
I introduced a friend of mine to WordJazz in 1983 or 1984 and he liked it so much that he kept in touch with Ken. His number wasn't hard to find, and if you called it and heard the "Hello?", you were instantly certain that you hadn't misdialed. He called Ken every once in awhile and they mostly talked about the Blackhawks / Blues rivalry. The last time he spoke to Ken (around August of 2018) he called me afterwards.…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNuCJu-pTQQ
His trademark production flourish was a statement that would be followed by an echo of it in a whisper or "telephone" quality.