1950s Hymnalogues

I've never heard of a hymnalogue before, but apparently back in the stupid ages, these were sing-a-long video recordings with words superimposed over them. I had an opportunity to subject myself to a pair of these, one for "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and the other for "O Come All Ye Faithful."

To call these uninspired feels like an understatement. These are black holes in which inspiration is sucked then never seen again. They're vapid, boring, and pointless videos. Hey, geniuses in the 50's: you know what the advantage is of video? That it allows things to MOVE. So, next time, why not recording something that isn't standing still. Just a thought.

The audio recordings weren't bad, but neither were they impressive. Just generic, uninteresting versions of the songs.

Don't believe me? Have a look for yourself. I can't find a video of Bethlehem, but here's O Come All Ye Faithful, for your viewing "enjoyment."

Comments

  1. Were these on TV or in theaters? If in theaters, was the intent for people to gather around and have a sing-along? Is it possible that they were already viewing these as nostalgic when they were released? It seems like the sort of thing people would have done when they first invented "talkies".

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  2. I'm not sure. My best guess is that they were primarily purchased by and projected in churches. Only they're not all religious (Youtube has Jingle Bells, for example). I can't imagine who else would want to use these, though. Maybe they were from television: TV stations make bizarre crap sometimes.

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