Jul 9, 2008
New evidence in the case of the street-side piano
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Guest post by Noel Piper
Since about the time of the fallen piano, within sight of it, another has sat face to the wall—the silent perpetrator?
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© 2012 Abuyo. All rights reserved.
i can’t believe i’m this interested in two old pianos thousands of miles away, but i am. how could i help it, when 22 words (or less) make everything seem so vibrant?
That one just got off the bus.
hilarious!
Maybe this is the punishment. “Face the wall and think about what you’ve done.”
Time to face the music, big boy.
This piano is not hiding very well. And it didn’t hide the other piano very well. I think we see here why piano crime is not very prevalent: when pianos go bad and do bad things, it’s just too plain noticeable.
Metaphorically, I suppose both of these posts are really 1022 words. Just wanted to point that out.
Oh sure, blame the piano. I see a lot of plants in this picture as well. Anyone seen the movie “The Happening?”
Yes, face the music and the never-ending scales — of justice.
Sometimes we hear loud arguments on the sidewalk outside our house. I didn’t actually hear what happened between the pianos, but it’s easy to imagine.
She, sounding overstrung: I knew you weren’t grand, but I did think you were upright!
He: C’mon, Baby, we make beautiful music together. We got harmony with each other.
She: Don’t you soft-pedal me! You used to be music to my ears, and that was the key to our relationship. But now? Now you’re marching to your own beat. You act like you can call the tune. Well, put a damper on it, Buddy!
He: Don’t change your tune on me, Baby.
She, voice rising to a high pitch: Me? You’re just stringing me along. For a song, you’ve given in to a player piano. What does she have that I don’t?
He: I’m sorry, Baby, but when she’s on a roll, she strikes a chord with me.
She, a black note entering her voice: Then take this!
And she hammered him until he collapsed backwards over the curb. But she did love him and all that jazz, so she hasn’t been able to face the world since that sad morning.
Love it! I think the second piano thinks she is hiding much like my two year old when she covers her eyes!
Wow, the creativity! I don’t even know you Noel, but I feel like I do. Your book has inspired our family traditions. It’s fun to “see” your fun side on this blog. And your children are a testament to your love and devotion.
I wonder if Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words series was an attempt to capture the hidden language of the piano.
Noel- can you hear if the piano on the porch is playing “Regrets” or maybe “Sadness of Soul?” Hopefully she’ll somehow find forgiveness and her song will turn to “Sweet Remembrance.”
LOVE IT! Noel, Abraham, thanks for giving me a chuckle and a smile this morning…
Maybe its a parable renactment:
THat piano was beaten by other, out of tune pianos, and left for dead on the side of the road. The piano on the porch is the pharisee piano, passing on the other side of the street, and maybe even taking a detour via the porch becuase his dislike for the victim is so strong.
I’d be interested to see if another piano passes by, and yet another will stop and help.
There is a lesson here for all of us, perhaps.
Keep us posted.
LOL, Noel! Your ‘piano story’ is so great!
~jane
What a great story Mrs. Piper! Truly creative !
On another note, don’t you guys believe in piano restoration in Minneapolis? These pictures of pianos left to their own devices makes me sad :(
Sometimes a piano in the worst possible condition can be restored to play like new or even better. I play an early 19th century Steinway which had a slightly cracked sound board, a few keys missing and broken hammers but with some TLC it’s as good as new now…Someone needs to rescue these pianos!!
Noel, I really enjoyed reading your version of the argument. I guess working out the relationship wasn’t their forte.
Pam,
I am forced to confess that I was one who passed by on the other side of the street. When I came that way again, the fallen piano was gone. We can only hope that he was taken away by a
Steinway-maritan for restoration and fine tuning.
C.,
Maybe instead of an allegory, it’s an allegro…
that. was. awesome. kudos to noel.
I think that you have this all wrong. I think that a pack of roving banjos attacked and downed one piano. The other piano managed to escape the carnage and found shelter on a strangers porch. The terrible trauma of this ordeal will leave it permanently out of tune. And a loner for the remainder of its days……
I hadn’t realized Phillips had come to this. I can take the loud music, the street arguments, sirens, and even the occasional gunfire, but this is too much. I mean, what kind of world do we live in when the dissonance of two pianos leads to the maiming of one; its timbre left for kindling, while the perpetrator simply hangs out on the porch and watches it suffer? This makes me wonder why I stay in this neighborhood.
Noel, thank you for your interpretation of the happenings. I’m glad that you are so in-tune with the musical instrument world :) It really struck a chord with me.
i have to add the piano story to the stories that have made me laugh out loud!!!!!
I’m love’n “MOM’s” version of how it all went down. It made me laugh out loud.