Hi,
I'd like to address your questions in reverse order:
I'm not sure how I'll be using the recordings exactly, so far, The best idea I have is to do a live reading accompanied by the songs, something personal and candid. I hope the tone of the piece falls somewhere between "My dinner with Andre" and "American Idol".
I'm requesting these because I was moved by the moment on the subway (I mention the moment in my previous post). Often technology is thought to divide us. in fact, there are few rare moments where it draws us closer and leaves a connection. When I was riding the subway that night. That woman was singing along to her disc man, even though she wasn't the best singer and I didn't know what she was singing, I was touched. I think there's a lot of power in a stranger expressing themselves.
The point is that I've set up a place where people can express themselves and participate in a project where they will be appreciated. The goal is to keep the exchange anonymous on both ends. I have no idea who's calling me, its random generosity and graciousness on behalf of the participants. So far, I think everyone who has called had fun calling. Some people sound nervous, and some sound highly amused. I'm seeing sides of these people I would not be given the chance to see otherwise.
webguru:
Thanks for your interest. I hope I helped assure you of my good intentions. If your favorite song is De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da by the police, them please call up and sing ta do do do - ta da da da...
Please note, I can't stress this enough, I am not retaining the phone numbers. the fact that you got a call from a 347 number last night is a total coincidence.
Also, The craigslist postings might disappear, Each post is tied to an email address and craigslist doesn't let you post similar requests at the same time to discourage spamming. I've been periodically moving the posts to other cities and trying different sections. so these two links may be inactive soon.
MorganLeFey:
I like your idea a lot, but for now the presence of the phones low fidelity is to leave the presence of technology in the exchange. It's part of the message. I'm recording the calls straight from a phone tap, so its not going off of an answering machine per se, The audio sounds like its on the telephone, but its pretty high quality considering.
To Everyone Else:
If you called, thank you so much!