Comments on: Help me find the public radio story about the un-updateable MP3 Player that plays meditation tunes

Question: Help me find the public radio story about the un-updateable MP3 Player that plays meditation tunes

teddyb109 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 05:40:24 -0800

Where can I find the public radio story about an unupdateable MP3 player that plays songs that are designed to be played again and and again and again?

I was listening to WNYC sometime in May or June on a road trip and heard a story about a guy who designed an MP3 player that plays the same songs over and over again--he got the idea from seeing these little black boxes in asian temples. He created the little black box, as well as the mixes that supposedly stand up to listening over and over again--can any one identify the story and the artist? My google fu, npr, pri and wnyc searching has failed me.

By: davebush

davebush — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 06:17:17 -0800

Is this the product?

By: willmize

willmize — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 06:25:50 -0800

Sounds like the Buddha machine, as mentioned above. I own one, and it's very cool. BUT, having said that, you can also download all 9 mp3's here.
Make with the right clicky on all 9 numbers.

If it's good enough for Brian Eno, it's good enough for me.

By: 7878ponce

7878ponce — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 07:20:35 -0800

This interview with FM3 (makers of the Buddha Box) is from the show Rare Frequency on WZBC 90.3FM (Thursdays 7-10P).

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 14:22:53 -0800

Why not just buy the "little black box found in asian temples"? We have one. I call it the "monk-in-box".

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 18:25:53 -0800

Heh. When you described this, my first thought was "merzPod?"

By: jlowen

jlowen — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:18:29 -0800

Ambrose, what is the "little black box found in asian temples"? Got a link?

By: booksherpa

booksherpa — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:34:41 -0800

It looks like you heard it on Studio 360.

Here's the show page for that episode.
Here's the Real Player link to the interview.

Ther person being interviewed is Christiaan Virant, one of the two people behind FM3, the people who make the box and the music. The show is from the week of June 16.

Studio 360 airs on WNYC FM 93.9 on Saturday mornings at 10 am, right before Car Talk and Sundays at 7 pm on WNYC AM 820 right after This American Life. Other people's suggestions gave me the Google search terms; it was the first result for a search on "buddha machine" "public radio".

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:36:49 -0800

>Ambrose, what is the "little black box found in asian temples"? Got a link?

Sorry, I haven't. We bought ours in a Chinatown sort of area. It's a little box, in our case blue, that plays a recording of monks chanting, on an endless loop. Imagine a very small transistor radio, that's basically it. There's a choice of two chants, selected by a little switch where the AM/FM would normally be.

I'm sure there are pictures of it somewhere but I can't find them by Googling and I suspect there aren't many pages in English which would feature it.

By: teddyb109

teddyb109 — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:05:50 -0800

Thanks everyone! This was it!