Things that irk me: Pianos as decor
I play the piano. Badly. But I do play it--enough that this really bugs me. I'll quote the Craigslist ad in full:Very Unique Piano for sale - would fit well into a "Pottery Barn" style house - needs a little tuning. When we had it moved to our house from our old house, the moving cost was $200, FYI. Don't know the maker.
Asking price? $1,750!
The fact that they don't know the piano maker is bad enough. Worse, the selling point has nothing to do with the piano's value as an instrument, but because it would fit into a "Pottery Barn" house.
I know that the piano was always a "status" instrument: having one meant that the owner had really become a member of the bourgeoisie. But I'm terribly offended by people who buy pianos and never play them, using them only as decorative pieces or end-tables. It's one thing to have a piano that someone used to play...and it's quite another, in my mind, to buy a piano with no intention of actually playing it. The latter seems almost sinful.
Asking price? $1,750!
The fact that they don't know the piano maker is bad enough. Worse, the selling point has nothing to do with the piano's value as an instrument, but because it would fit into a "Pottery Barn" house.
I know that the piano was always a "status" instrument: having one meant that the owner had really become a member of the bourgeoisie. But I'm terribly offended by people who buy pianos and never play them, using them only as decorative pieces or end-tables. It's one thing to have a piano that someone used to play...and it's quite another, in my mind, to buy a piano with no intention of actually playing it. The latter seems almost sinful.