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Understanding McLuhan
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Understanding McLuhan (1996)(Voyager)[Mac-PC].iso
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07071_Field_TCUM T636.txt
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1996-04-10
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846b
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16 lines
The phonograph, which owes its origin to the electrical
telegraph and the telephone, had not manifested its basically
electric form and function until the tape recorder released it
from its mechanical trappings. That the world of sound is
essentially a unified field of instant relationships lends it a near
resemblance to the world of electromagnetic waves. This fact
brought the phonograph and radio into early association.
Just how obliquely the phonograph was at first received is
indicated in the observation of John Philip Sousa, the brass-
band director and composer. He commented: “With the
phonograph vocal exercises will be out of vogue! Then what of
the national throat? Will it not weaken? What of the national
chest? Will it not shrink?”
One fact Sousa had grasped: The phonograph is an