RANGE: A Stylus Devil comes with every phonograph sold in America. This ear-bending imp is to be found under the machine’s tone arm, hanging in a position convenient to steer minute flecks of ash, hair, and other rubbish toward the needle. If seen, the Stylus Devil will usually run up the tone arm with such great speed that the surprised viewer will “accidentally” drop the arm onto the record, causing the slam and scream of a stylus sliding across the disc and leaving a deep scratch in its wake. This, if anything, is music to the Devil’s ears. HABITS: The Stylus Devil is a most malicious member of a larger group of demons known as the Stereogres, those two-faced folk who pass their time destroying our listening pleasure: tempting components to become incompatible, causing static wow, flutter, etc. The Devil’s own greatest delight is to cause a phonograph record to stick and, when the listener approaches, to cause it to play normally. We may take some solace in knowing that occasionally they laugh so hard at their own cleverness that they fall off the tone arm and come to grief on the needle. Their mashed forms resemble balls of dust. HISTORY: The Stylus Devil appears to be a native American fairy, although creatures of similar habits have been sighted as far away as Germany, Japan and (increasingly) Taiwan. His first appearance may have been in the New Jersey laboratories of Thomas Alva Edison, where his birth was announced by a great howling of neighborhood dogs. Even though he has no history to speak of, the Stylus Devil nonetheless has many relatives, including The Tape Worm, who enjoys snagging cassette tapes into Gordian knots, and the Video Bugger, whose peculiar joy it is to depress the “record” button before you screen your incredibly rare bootleg outtakes from “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.” SPOTTER’S TIPS: It is virtually impossible to sight a Stylus Devil. They are, however, reported to be averse to the music of “Splattered Boots,” an Australian New Wave band, and can be scared off with a sledge hammer, which is unfortunately hard on sensitive turntables. *When it comes to repetition, Stylus Devils set the record set the record set the SKRAAWK!
棲息地 この妖精は、レコード
プレーヤー各1台にひとりずつ
隠れている。 見つかると急に逃
げ出し,その結果, レコード盤
のうえをくるくると馳けまわる
ことになる。
むかしからくらべると,この
レコード針というのも進歩して
いるが,たとえダイヤモンド針
でも寿命はある。 だから妖精た
ちは見つからないように、 年
々, 小さくなってきている。 最
近ではレーザー針なんてのがで
きて, 逃げまわる必要もなくな
ってきているのだが。
それでもLP1枚逃げまわる
のは、妖精たちにとってたいへ
んな運動量である。
習性 逃げまわるレコード盤に
吹きこまれている音楽が気に入
らないと, 低い音だが不満の声
を洩らす。 レコードの持ち主は
それを聞くとすぐプレーヤーを
とめる。 レコードが痛むと思っ
ところがそれ
ているからだ。
は、レコード針がいやがってい
るだけなのだ。 うまい手を考え
たものである。
歴史 レコード針の妖精が,最
初にこの世に姿を現わしたの
は,トーマス・エジソンの研究
室でだった。 しかしこのときの
針は, 縫い針の仲間から出向を
現在の
命じられてきただけで,
ような針になったのはずっとの
ちの子孫のことである。
私立探偵の情報 レコード針の
妖精を見つけるのはたいへんだ
が,ひとつだけ退治する方法が
ある。ロック・ミュージックを
ひどくきらっているそうだから
ひどい頭痛がするらしい。
だ。
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Habitat
One of these sprites hides inside each and every record player. When discovered it suddenly bolts — and as a result ends up running frantically around on the surface of the record.
Compared to the old days, record needles have advanced considerably — but even a diamond stylus has a lifespan. So the sprites have been getting smaller year by year to avoid being found. Recently laser needles have appeared, meaning there’s no longer any need to run away at all.
Even so, running away for the length of one entire LP is a considerable amount of exercise for these sprites.
Behavior
If the sprite doesn’t like the music being played on the record it’s running across, it lets out a low grumble of dissatisfaction. The record’s owner hears this and immediately stops the player — thinking the record is being damaged. But in fact it’s just the needle sprite expressing its displeasure. A clever trick, when you think about it.
History
The record needle sprite first appeared in this world in Thomas Edison’s laboratory. However, the needle at that time was merely a sewing needle seconded from its regular duties — the sprite didn’t become the kind of needle we know today until much later generations.
Field Intelligence
Finding the record needle sprite is extremely difficult — but there is one way to drive it away. Apparently it has a powerful aversion to rock music and gets a terrible headache from it.
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