Moby and Herman: Part One - Loomings

09/11/23 • 28 min

1 Listener

My friend Adam brings a question to me: is Moby (aka Richard Melville Hall) really related to Moby-Dick author Herman Melville. Notes:

A screenshot of Moby’s Wikipedia page, taken May 2023
Excerpt from the Afterword of Moby’s 2016 memoir, Porcelain (2016)
Tweet from Moby ( @thelittleidiot): “On this day in 1851...”
Tweet from Moby ( @thelittleidiot): “Happy Birthday Uncle Herman...”
Background on Moby’s career was compiled from several sources including:
- Moby’s memoirs Porcelain (2016) and Then It Fell Apart (2019);
- Grayson Haver Currin, “ All That Moby Needs to Be Good,” NPR, May 22, 2020
- Rob Gordon Bralver documentary, Moby Doc (2021)
Clip from “Rave Dancing the Night Away,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 13, 1992
Clip from “Moby Bright Spot in a Colorless World,” Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1993
Clip from “Moby: Remixed, repulsed, reborn,” Hartford Courant, March 12, 1995
Video of Moby’s segment with Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards
Clips of Moby discussing his childhood from Moby Doc (2021)
Obituary of James Frederick Hall, Bridgewater Courier News, September 26, 1967
Clip of Moby discussing childhood in San Francisco, taking LSD from Porcelain (2016)
Clip of Moby talking about his nickname from an interview with Steve Paikin on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Melville’s family tree of direct descendents, taken from Hershel Parker’s Herman Melville: A Biography, Volume 2 (1851-1891)
“Metaphors? I hate metaphors...” clip from Parks and Recreation episode “ Fluoride” (Season 6, Episode 8)
“Though I wrote the Gospels in this century...” quote from Letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, June [1?], 1851

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, closing theme Breakmaster Cylinder.

My friend Adam brings a question to me: is Moby (aka Richard Melville Hall) really related to Moby-Dick author Herman Melville. Notes:

A screenshot of Moby’s Wikipedia page, taken May 2023
Excerpt from the Afterword of Moby’s 2016 memoir, Porcelain (2016)
Tweet from Moby ( @thelittleidiot): “On this day in 1851...”
Tweet from Moby ( @thelittleidiot): “Happy Birthday Uncle Herman...”
Background on Moby’s career was compiled from several sources including:
- Moby’s memoirs Porcelain (2016) and Then It Fell Apart (2019);
- Grayson Haver Currin, “ All That Moby Needs to Be Good,” NPR, May 22, 2020
- Rob Gordon Bralver documentary, Moby Doc (2021)
Clip from “Rave Dancing the Night Away,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 13, 1992
Clip from “Moby Bright Spot in a Colorless World,” Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1993
Clip from “Moby: Remixed, repulsed, reborn,” Hartford Courant, March 12, 1995
Video of Moby’s segment with Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards
Clips of Moby discussing his childhood from Moby Doc (2021)
Obituary of James Frederick Hall, Bridgewater Courier News, September 26, 1967
Clip of Moby discussing childhood in San Francisco, taking LSD from Porcelain (2016)
Clip of Moby talking about his nickname from an interview with Steve Paikin on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin
Melville’s family tree of direct descendents, taken from Hershel Parker’s Herman Melville: A Biography, Volume 2 (1851-1891)
“Metaphors? I hate metaphors...” clip from Parks and Recreation episode “ Fluoride” (Season 6, Episode 8)
“Though I wrote the Gospels in this century...” quote from Letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, June [1?], 1851

Music by Blue Dot Sessions, closing theme Breakmaster Cylinder.

Previous Episode

Boris and Hannah

Hannah's grandfather always said their family was related to Boris Pasternak. The Genealogy Detective digs for proof, and teaches herself the Cyrillic alphabet.

Credits

The Genealogy Detective is written, researched, produced, edited, mixed, and hosted by Mary Duffy. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to the Portland Public Library of Portland, Maine.