Tuesday, November 18, 2008

campaign to replace the dial-tone with OM



back in 1997, i produced an edition of letterpress posters reading "CENTER for the OBVIOUS CAMPAIGN to REPLACE the DIAL-TONE with OM". i guess one day i just picked up the phone, and started humming along with the dial tone, and all of a sudden, it turned into a sort of meditation. "replacing the dial-tone with OM" is really just requires a mental shift - it's a matter of perception.

later i learned that laurie anderson used to tune her violin to the dial tone - turns out that the dial tone is almost a perfect A 440. whereas, from what i can gather, the syllable OM is traditionally considered to be a C# (554.37 Hz).

since nearly all of the original posters have been sold or given away, i've decided to do an inexpensive reprinting in high-quality 11"x 17" color xerox on heavy stock, currently available at the PHILOSOPROP SHOP.