Ibm 1401 A User's Manual

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'In 1964, a computer - the IBM 1401 Data Processing System - arrived in Iceland, one of the very first computers to be imported into the country… The chief maintenance engineer for this machine was Jóhann Gunnarsson, my father. A keen musician, he learned of an obscure method of making music on this computer - a purpose for which this business machine was not at all designed… When the IBM 1401 was taken out of service in 1971, it wasn't simply thrown away like an old refrigerator, but was given a little farewell ceremony, almost a funeral, when its melodies were played for one last time. This 'performance' was documented on tape along with recordings of the sound of the machine in operation.' The whole story with samples, pictures and video at Jóhann Jóhannsson's site. [via]
posted by tellurian (15 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
Wow, tellurian. This is great. Thanks for the link. I love this record--this site makes me enjoy it even more. One of the pitfalls of emusic is that you don't always know stuff like this exists.
posted by kenneth at 5:44 PM on February 26, 2007

Johann Johannsson Ibm 1401 A User S Manual


Nov 21, 2014  50+ videos Play all Mix - IBM 1401, A User’s Manual 'Processing Unit' Johann Johannsson YouTube IBM 1401, A User’s Manual 'IBM 1403 Printer' Johann Johannson - Duration: 9:33. Julien FOUQUES. Dec 04, 2018  The first ever pressing of IBM 1401, A User’s Manual comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve, reworked by Chris Bigg (v23) from his original design. Pressed on clear vinyl, two live tracks recorded with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra have also been added. Nov 08, 2018  referencing IBM 1401, A User's Manual, CD, Album, CAD 2609 CD According to the famous hypothesis, no more than six degrees of separation can stand between an individual and any of their fellow homo sapiens. But how then does this account for anomalies in the system such as Reykjavik's Johann Johannsson?

Gunnar Someonesson -> Jóhann Gunnarsson -> Jóhann Jóhannsson
Do they still do the last name from father's first name in Iceland? If so, by naming your son the same as you, aren't you setting up a potentially dangerous infinite loop?
posted by Meatbomb at 5:44 PM on February 26, 2007

Do they still do the last name from father's first name in Iceland?
They do indeed.
-- Maxwelton Meatbombson
P.S. My mom's husband regrets the tips he gave you as our paperboy.
posted by maxwelton at 6:00 PM on February 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

I also have this CD :)
Everything that emanates from Iceland is way cool.
The women seem to follow a similar naming rule - every Icelandic woman seems to be called soandso soandsosdottir.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:23 PM on February 26, 2007

Awesome. Thank you.
Icelandic names
posted by motty at 6:49 PM on February 26, 2007

[Bong!]
posted by steef at 6:52 PM on February 26, 2007

Whoa! I was listening to Part II when I saw this post!!
The album's on emusic. Also full-length mp3
posted by pantsrobot at 7:02 PM on February 26, 2007

From motty's link:
Icelandic citizens are not allowed to take their spouses' family names or surnames.
So. Fucking. Cool.
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:18 PM on February 26, 2007

'I love this record--this site makes me enjoy it even more.'
'I also have this CD :)'
'I was listening to Part II when I saw this post!!'
Typical. I'm always the last to hear about cool stuff.
posted by tellurian at 9:57 PM on February 26, 2007

You probably need to spend more time online.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:21 PM on February 26, 2007

some tidbits:
the album is out on the 4AD label, which for many should automatically denote almost-guaranteed quality.
graphic design is by v23 (formerly 23 envelope) - responsible for the classic 4AD visual (& tactile!) style throughout the 80s & 90s.
the 'thanks' section in the liner notes places georges perec alongside charles babbage & alan turing.
(guess who buys cds by their covers?)
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:35 PM on February 26, 2007

the album is out on the 4AD label, which for many should automatically denote almost-guaranteed quality.
People have really thought this in the last fifteen years?
Mmm, gotta get me some, er, Minotaur Shock... and some, uh, Spirea X... Hope Blister? Cuba? ... Scheer?
Oh, never mind, We're just going to license all the hip music from America, then...
posted by mykescipark at 1:27 AM on February 27, 2007

Ibm 1401 Generation


This makes so much sense, if you've ever listened to much of Johansson's music (which I mean completely as a compliment). I mean, there doesn't seem to be much of a way to pin him down -- he does whatever he thinks he needs to. Guess it runs in the family.
On naming: I gather the 'patronymic' naming has started to take an interesting trend as people become less concerned about identifying the father of an illegitimate child -- so you are starting to see more people with 'matronymics'. E.g., you might meet a guy named 'Ilsasson'.
But then, the guy who told me this could be full of shit. We've got a bunch of Icelanders here, so I'm sure someone will correct me.
posted by lodurr at 9:49 AM on February 27, 2007

Computer Generations Ibm 1401

UserManual
Is the recording of the music actually made by the 1401 on the site anywhere?
posted by the jam at 9:57 AM on February 27, 2007

People have really thought this in the last fifteen years?
True. 4AD's heyday is long past.
Mmm, gotta get me some, er, Minotaur Shock... and some, uh, Spirea X
Your point being? Minotaur Shock are actually pretty good. *Chiff-Chaffs & Willow Warblers*, in particular, is a nice album of quirky, glitchy electronica. I'm sure I have some Spirea X here somewhere, too. *Ferrets around in piles of CDs obscuring every flat surface of cubicle*. Never actually realised that they were on 4AD, tho. More power to the label :) *Ferrets further* Hm, Neil Halstead (formerly of Slowdive)...maybe I see what you're getting at...Slowdive being so monumentally great that they surely *must* have been American...
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:53 PM on February 27, 2007

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Ibm 1401 Restoration


Writing a Mandelbrot program for the IBM 1401 was...March 23, 2015
That's not a hard drive. THIS is a hard drive.August 15, 2014
Most important product announcement that this...April 7, 2014
Expandable to 16k!October 4, 2009
Cut the midrange...February 9, 2004

In the 20th and into the 21st century, minimalism spread over practically all elements of music. Distortion came around, the back beat took precedence, and things got a lot simpler and noisier on the whole. At some point around the mid-20th century, popular music became completely disjointed from what we now call 'classical music.' There was really no overt point of connection between the highly compact and comparatively labyrinthine forms. So much harmonic territory had been tread in the last hundred years that the forward-thinking modern composer was almost forced to explore things like spatial relationships and extreme variances of tone within their music. The new composers' 'genre' grew steadily until it was truly classifiable. It also grew to the point where, some might say, anything with strings and without a back beat was considered modern composition. IBM 1401, A User's Manual doesn't have a back beat and is littered with strings, but will immediately refute any claims of lacking integrity. On it we see the Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson coming into his own, and in some ways bursting notions about what modern composition should or shouldn't be.

Ibm 1401 Quizlet

The themes of IBM 1401, A User's Manual, are derived from Jóhannsson's father, who worked for IBM in the '60s, when the 1401 model came into production. By altering electromagnetic waves via the computer's programmed memory, melodies were, in Jóhannsson's words, 'coaxed out' of the machine. The proceeding album blends lush, orchestral compositions around a host of these old IBM melodies. Unsurprisingly, an immediate sense of nostalgia is established through each theme's unrelenting consonance. Four of the five 'movements' begin with strings that lumber alongside understated electronics, constantly building and resolving tension. In the minimalist tradition, chords are stretched out through slow arpeggios that seem to ascend endlessly, but never abandon the tonic. Such structural elongation bears breathtaking results that are achieved simply, beautifully, and with little fanfare. Only the User's Manual's last piece breaks from the IBM motif with heightened rhythmic and harmonic movement. Some might say the finale's comparative dynamism depreciates everything preceding it, but with a runtime of only 42 minutes, the album feels completely interdependent when considered as a whole. Even when a computerized voice enters, methodically relaying computer maintenance instructions, the dense harmonies that eventually surface reinforce an overall emotional concept.

Ibm 1401 A User's Manual Rar

In a sense, Jóhannsson's album is a eulogy for the first generation of synthetic intelligence. It reaches beyond most notions of form into the conceptual territory, expounding on another modernist tradition of indistinguishably linking music with other aspects of art and society. That may be a bit much for the casual listener to swallow, but the sheer nuance, depth, and restrained beauty of the piece deserves acknowledgment at the very least.

Ibm 1401 A User S Manual

More about: Jóhann Jóhannsson