Typewriter Tongue Twister

October 20, 2011 2:15 PM

Actor, comedian, and mimicry expert Michael Winslow delivers a mesmerizing performance in the twenty-minute video "The History of the Typewriter recited by Michael Winslow", produced by Spanish artist Ignacio Uriarte. A review of the work, by frieze, provides thoughtful review. [via] [previously]
posted by gilrain (16 comments total)

And, recently.
posted by GuyOnABuffalo at 2:22 PM on October 20, 2011

It's totally surreal that there are two Michael Winslow posts on front page right now.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:22 PM on October 20, 2011 [6 favorites]

Why the F is there so much Michael Winslow this week? He's got a standup special on Netflix right now, too, which I watched the other day before these other stories cropped up. PR push?
posted by rhizome at 2:29 PM on October 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

It's a wonder this guy doesn't get much work these days. There's got to be dozens of opportunities in Hollywood for people who can imitate the sound of archaic office equipment.
posted by crunchland at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

This film was awesome; I only wish they could compare him with the actual machine in action.
posted by Renoroc at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2011

It's weird, but this is both fascinating and incredibly boring all at the same time. I wouldn't have thought that was possible.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:31 PM on October 20, 2011 [3 favorites]

What is that thing he puts in his mouth?
posted by Falconetti at 2:47 PM on October 20, 2011

I only wish they could compare him with the actual machine in action.

Agreed. I got through a couple of the machines, realized that that was not going to happen, then just skipped to the end. I mean, I'm sure it is pretty spot on - after all, its Michael Fucking Winslow - but I find it hard to watch someone do an imitation with no context for comparison.
posted by mysterpigg at 3:13 PM on October 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

The History of the Epson MX-80 by zippy:

Vrzeezereeeezeeert
Vrzeezereeeezeeert
Vrzeezereeeezeeert
...
vrooooooooooooort

frszsheeeeeeezt
sssshrp
sssshrp
posted by zippy at 3:19 PM on October 20, 2011 [1 favorite]

What is that thing he puts in his mouth?

It's a second microphone.
posted by joinks at 3:27 PM on October 20, 2011

The path from almost forgotten to comeback to ubiquitity to overexposure is getting shorter all the time.

Not that Michael the Mouth doesn't deserve all the attention. We just aren't capable of spreading it out over a more reasonable timeframe.

Are there any YouTube videos of him doing the TARDIS sound?
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:56 PM on October 20, 2011

I don't want a factchecker; I want a hysterical naysayer. A "THE 1918 CONTINENTAL STANDARD SOUNDS **NOTHING** LIKE THAT!!!!!" sort of fight, leading to surprising defenders and detractors coming out of nowhere. I want to walk away from this thread thinking, "Man, I had no idea that _________ cared so much about the kinds of sounds typewriters make."
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:13 PM on October 20, 2011 [2 favorites]

Man, I never realised how much it looks like his face is going to just....explode off his head whenever that man does his noises.
posted by cerulgalactus at 7:51 PM on October 20, 2011

I got a huge kick out of this - hearing the delay between key stroke and paper strike get closer and closer as the years progressed, the different winding and return mechanisms, noise dampening and so on. Bravo to the filmmaker for thinking about a different way of recording our history. Michael Winslow used to make my eyes pop out of my head when I was a kid, and nothing's changed.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:03 AM on October 21, 2011 [1 favorite]

Mr. Winslow was in my 1970ish boy scout troop -- about 10 years old. I remember riding up to a camping trip, piled in to the back of somebody's fake wood sided station wagon (no seat belts, of course), and listening to him doing routines. He could do all kinds of stuff like the things we have seen over the years. I also recall he could do the Cheech and Chong album word for word. It's all in his DNA.
posted by ecorrocio at 8:55 AM on October 21, 2011 [3 favorites]

Yeah, I thought, by watching his face, he was going to rupture something or have an aneurysm.
posted by Samizdata at 12:53 PM on October 21, 2011