Our Puritan Roots

With my ears whistling madly and pollen wafting onto my hard contact lenses, Miles Davis pines away on his and Gil Even's seminal recording of George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."  My Nakamichi CR1-A, unlike the cassette decks for sale on eBay, still is functional.  I purchased it new possibly from Stereo Sound Systems on MacPherson Church Road.  Almost thirty years later I have no issues with its 'belts.'  The repair techs on them internets would have you believe moving the earth is as difficult as repairing a nakamichi CR1-A cassette deck.  The minimum they want to charge is $300.00, approximately five times what you will pay for the deck used today.  $300.00?  That is a steep bench fee with no knowledge of what actually is ailing the deck.  It has two rubber belts and an idler wheel, which evidently stretch and quit working.  I ordered these belts at a cost of $40.00.  It seemed a bit high, but from the hubris they should be OEM replacement belts of the highest quality.  I guess this is why the original Nakamichi decks work so reliably and for so long, until the belts slip.  My original deck is playing right now Miles Davis' "Porgy and Bess," and it sounds amazing.  This deck is of importance to me, because while I was finishing up what was left of my doctoral studies I used it to record CD's from The Ohio State University's music library.  A good friend of mine and Phd Rob Taylor was manning the desk in the "Media Center."  He bent the rules a little, and allowed me to check out up to four CD's each evening which I dutifully recorded unbeknownst to anyone except my damn self.  Today I have three Napa Valley cassette holders bolted together to house my collection of cutting edge contemporary classical music and jazz.  It is important to me, because although WCPE does play high quality classical music on their radio station, they do not play the breadth of the repertoire.  When they do play a string quartet is is of the romantic version.  You won't hear an Elliott Carter quarter or one of Bela Bartok.  It seems the Second Viennese School is beyond the ears of Americans, but that wouldn't take much observing what America calls music these days.  The Beatles have become an anachronism in only a few short decades.  I can't imagine what the crooning of Frank Sinatra would suggest to millennials.  Potent masculine sexuality purveyed through music with sensitivity?  Billy Bigelow is not a character American society can relate to today.  Most Broadway characters have morphed into gay, and that is not just me.  When one is unable to understand God's purpose for man and woman, and if understood implement it in a healthy way, then we turn it into a drag show.  Courting women never has been easy, and expecting virgins when you go to hell is not a realistic expectation.  Only ignorant men would believe such a thing.  Only ignorant men would pay $300.00 sight unseen to have a Nakamichi cassette deck rebuilt.  Instead I know a tech. who is willing to do the minimum to get it operational again.  As a matter of point this represents America today.  We have become "Do or Die."  "All or Nothing."  "Winner or Loser."  "Rich or Poor."  I don't get it, like I don't get most of what America has become.  When people do speak about American Popular Music, why does anyone have to be a star?  What's the harm in doing your thing moderately and casually and letting those who are interested pay attention?  Ah yes, that doesn't make money.  Who needs a hit record?  I suggest a market of moderation and ease, which doesn't require a merchant or an artist to be a "pop star."  Why do we all need to be Michael Jackson?  Why does anyone need to become "The Voice?"  How about we return to a society which values grass roots experiences that do not require monetary return from integral human creation?   Now that's a stretch.