Tapin’ Pennies is the sound of a nation learning—too late—that nothing in life is cheaper than “11 records for a penny.”
In this episode of Jackalope Tales, Charles and Lisa dig up the glorious scam-adjacent era of mail-order music clubs, when all you needed was a ballpoint pen, a form torn from the back of a magazine, and a penny taped on like a hostage note to your future finances. The promise was simple: vinyl, cassettes, or 8-tracks delivered straight to your door. The reality? Lifetime obligations, mysterious billing, and the creeping feeling you’d accidentally entered into a legally binding curse.
Lisa opens the case file on Columbia Music Club, the gateway drug of mail-order regret—where every teenager learned the hard way that “no obligation” was more of a vibe than a rule. Charles follows with the velvet-voiced menace of Longines Symphonette, a company that didn’t just sell music, but a dream… and then invoiced you for it forever.
It’s a darkly funny tour through fine print, threatening letters, surprise shipments, and the quiet shame of realizing you owe money for albums you never ordered, don’t like, and can’t explain to your parents.
Tape the penny. Lick the envelope. Ruin your credit.
This is Tapin’ Pennies. [Ep 124]
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Produced by: Charles Mooney
Executive Producers: Charles Mooney and Lisa Umbarger
Original Music by: Charles Mooney and Lisa Umbarger
Kazoo Solo by: Courtney Mooney
Podcast (jackalopetales): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:20 — 40.7MB)
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