An Internet Offer You Can't Refuse

I was never one to become nostalgic for any kind of technology. I am old enough that I was around to accumulate a big butt-load of vinyl records. I’m sure there are geeks out there willing to pay lots of money for some of the crap I had in my collection: European 12” color singles of 80’s new wave stuff (many I pilfered from my brother one evening when he was drunk and feeling all Zen and Japanese minimalist), classical and jazz LP’s to die for, and run-of-the-mill crap that people probably collect these days.

I used to be a complete pack rat. I had a couple thousand albums at my peak and twice that amount of books. I remember how comforting it used to be to sit in my cluttered apartment and look through stacks of albums in neato plastic sleeves or gaze at my rather remarkable library. A cross-country move from Florida to Seattle cured me of my need for material things. As the moving date neared I began to give away my vinyl record collection as I countered with a hoarding of CD’s.

I remember how liberating it felt when I finally GAVE away my DJ quality turntable and the last of my vinyl to a casual acquaintance simply because he was willing to haul it away. I know lots of people who get all misty-eyed by just talking about how great vinyl records used to be. All that mattered to me was the music.

We are now in a new age when CD’s are all but obsolete. I have been recording my CD’s on my new laptop and will probably give away the hundreds and hundreds of little plastic boxes of CD’s that litter my place here in Seattle. I’m sure nobody out there will be nostalgic for CD’s when they are gone. What should matter is the music. The vehicle that delivers the music shouldn’t be of the slightest concern.

The last CD purchase I made I had postponed for quite some time because I’m the most frugal person outside of a Shoalin Monastery. I already owned a copy of J.S. Bach’s English Suites but I could never bring myself to break down and purchase the rather expensive ($32) Glenn Gould Edition by Sony Classical.

As familiar as I am with these pieces I was absolutely floored by Gould’s interpretation. I programmed my stereo to play the prelude to the Suite #2 in A minor (BWV 807) over and over and over and over and over and over. Then I will hit play on the remote and listen to it another six times. A work of staggering genius by Bach and even Bach would probably be floored by Glenn Gould’s recording.

OPERATION GLENN GOULD

Any one who reads LEFTBANKER who would care for a bootleg copy of Glenn Gould’s (1932-1982) English Suites by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) can receive one free of charge by e-mailing me your address to Leftbanker@hotmail.com. No gimmicks here. I just want to spread the word. Like the Gideon’s pass out Bibles I will burn this CD off until my computer melts. As I have said before, both of the interested parties are dead so screw the record companies. What a treat for the soul!