Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Aug 09 - 09:03 PM

Howard-

The website might well be improved (it was scanned at too low a resolution in my opinion as well) but it's the best available.

I do have a bound copy of the early Broadsides, inherited from a deceased folk club archives. I'll check and see if it includes the missing copy: Issue #25 (April or May, 1963).

I did edit one issue of Broadsides, the one dealing with housing and neighborhood organizing songs back in 1985. And I did spend a memorable visit with Sis and Gordon in their apartment.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Howard Kaplan
Date: 01 Aug 09 - 04:16 PM

I wish I could be more positive about the broadsidemagazine.com site, because it's trying to do something important. Unfortunately, there are some severe technical problems with the .pdf files.

The .pdf quality is simply too low to reliably show the text. This is not a limitation of the .pdf format, because I scanned a page from my own hardcopy of one of the issues, converted it to .pdf, and produced a much better result (although with a larger file size). I cannot tell whether all of these problems or only some of them are the cause of the poor quality, but here are the prime suspects:
- Scanning the pages at too low a resolution
- Storing the original scans as .jpgs rather than in a lossless format, such as .gif, before converting them to .pdf
- Setting the .pdf graphics resolution at a level coarser than that available in the original scan
- Having the .pdf files created with the default .jpg compression, generally inappropriate for text, rather than with the .zip compression that is also available

When I enlarge a page from a downloaded issue, the artifacts I see are similar to those typically produced by .jpg compression. I don't know where in the chain the problem arises, but it's definitely present in the final product.

In addition, there is an important error in the issue list. Although the site states that Broadside stopped with issue #186, I have a hardcopy of issue #187. This suggests that the people responsible for the site didn't do their homework well enough.

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Suffet
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 05:19 PM

Paul,

Into murder ballads? Please check out this one about the Tobler brothers, two young Indian Territory (Oklahoma) who committed a double murder in 1885. Click here for a link.

Enjoy (if that's the right word for such a gruesome tale)!

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 05:03 PM

Charley Noble said:

"It would be nice if the "Guest" would identify who she or he is."

Sorry, I forget to fill that field in.

My name's Paul Slade and I have a website about Murder Ballads. You can find out more here:
http://www.planetslade.com.

Thanks for the links. I've also discovered that the EFDSS has a file of copies at their Regents Park library.

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Art Thieme
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 04:14 PM

I once had thhe whole set. During one of several potlatch times for me, they went to a kid who I thought really wanted to know about that era. He lost interest and became a drummer in a rock band I. -- I wish I could recall his name. But no.

Good luck.
Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 04:03 PM

Gee, it looks like they have only one issue missing in their Backfile. It's Issue #25 (April or May, 1963). Anybody have it?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 03:42 PM

Thanks for the link. It's amazing that almost all the issues are now accessible.

It would be nice if the "Guest" would identify who she or he is.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: curmudgeon
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 01:20 PM

Actually, this is probably a better site - Tom

Subject: RE: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: curmudgeon
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 12:35 PM

Check out this site - Tom

Subject: Wanted: Broadside 1960-1965
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jul 09 - 12:25 PM

I'm a journalist doing some research, and I need to consult back issues of the New York folk music magazine Broadside. Ideally, I'd like access to a full run of the first 50 issues. I'm particularly interested in the early lyrics published there by Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan.

Does anyone know of a library, folk music society or private collector where I could study these, make some notes and - if possible - take a few photocopies of the most relevant pages too?

I'm based in London, but I'll happily travel anywhere else in the UK if necessary. If required, I can pay a small fee. Many thanks.

---

http://broadsidemagazine.com/