The first interview I visited was Seth Muck’s. I enjoyed listening to it in class for a few reasons – first of all, the audio quality was high albiet for a dip in the middle. Other than a slight audio foible the interview was compelling and high quality with an interesting contrast between generations. I’m Seth’s age, so hearing someone three years younger was rather startling. Blockbuster and Limewire have been dead for a while but I spent a large chunk of my childhood using both. I think the discussion about music was interesting as well, especially as both interviewer and interviewee dislike modern electric music. This theme was complimented well by the smooth intro and outro, belonging alongside any jazz album. While this is a more recent oral history taken from someone young I think it’s a great example of the versatility of the medium.

I picked Jenna Walker’s interview at random as I wanted to hear something new. Similar to Seth’s I thought the generational contrast was really stark, it was apparent her Grandmother had lived in a world entirely different from the one we have today for much of her life. The info about the type-writer was like a horror story to me as I do more than my fair share of typing essays. Having to start over because of one error would have crushed my soul and made me change my major long ago. The audio was a little low, but that may have been my headphones. This was an oral history I really enjoyed.

The last interview I listened to was Zach Larson’s. Like most of the interviews the audio quality was good, especially for being done with suboptimal software. The interviewee, Blake Gurney, shed some light on a world before cameras were handheld. As I listened I found myself questioning whether it was better that every moment could be preserved or if something was lost if anything could last forever. Questions like that are, in my opinion, the mark of a good oral history.