Music Machines and the End of Humanity

Music was recorded on cylinders, and each cylinder generally began with an announcement as if it was the start of a show. This was new and captivating, and people loved it. But also, as phonographs entered the home and everyone could play music whenever they wanted, the worrying class of the early 19 hundreds became very worried. For example, one of the most famous musicians of the time argued that music machines would tear us apart. And here's a critic named alice clark cook in a publication called musical america from around the same time.