oh, well

All right, fine. I give in. I'm going to tell you about my favoritest secret CD ever. It's called I Don't Think There's No Need to Bring Nothin', and it's a bit of piano genius by Linford Detweiler, one of the chaps behind the band "Over the Rhine". In my opinion it's not a particularly good name, because it doesn't begin to capture the delicate, haunting beauty of this album.

I always mean to tell people about this CD, but then I "forget". Maybe I like that it's been my little secret. When they invented the internet and started putting music on it I was shocked to find that it's sort of a one-shot deal for the guy, and that it hasn't made more than a twinkling little sploosh in the waters of the music pond. You won't find it on playlist.com, and there are no youtube videos of him performing it. It's just not all that prevalent... but I think you can buy it digitally somewhere. Like, say, here.

I know sound quality is important, but I first heard it on a cassette that some stock trader in Canada had made for my dad. I listened once and then yoinked that tape and played it most nights as I went to sleep for the next, oh, three years. And I never got tired of it. It's serene, intimate, spare, and oh-so beautiful. It is also the absolute primary reason that when people have asked me over the years what my favorite instrument is, I have always said, "piano".

I don't know much about music, but I do know how this album has made me feel. It has been a balm to my soul, and it's just not right to not share that. So buy it. Tell your friends to buy it. Do it now. Maybe we can coax this Detweiler fellow out of hiding.