eBay item of the week, or, the other Mr. Oswald
The time has come for me to finally rid myself of the strange vinyl I’ve accumulated over the decades. And they don’t come much stranger than this particular item.
The Oswald Case: Mrs. Marguerite Oswald reads Lee Harvey Oswald’s Letters from Russia is an LP with an exemplary descriptive title. It dates from 1964 and features Mrs. Oswald reading Lee Harvey’s letters aloud and commenting on them. I’m not exactly sure how the LP is supposed to make a “case” for Lee Harvey Oswald being innocent of the murder of John F. Kennedy, but it is nevertheless a riveting listen as we hear Mrs. Oswald give her side of the story and, between the lines, express not only her frustration and disappointment with the way the assassination turned out, but also with the way her marriage turned out. It’s not very good history, perhaps, but it is a deeply sad, personal document of a love gone wrong and a country gone mad.
Readers of this journal are under no obligation to buy anything, as we are supposed to be gathered here to discuss screenplay structure, but if it turns out anyone here is interested in buying stuff, mention in your offer that you read about the item here and I’ll give you a hefty discount.
In a bizarre coincidence, Elvis Costello wrote a song about this Oswald as well.
UPDATE: I am a blithering idiot. Mrs. Marguerite Oswald is Lee Harvey’s mother, not his wife. Which would explain why she sounds so old on this recording. And which adds another layer of psychodrama to it.
Holy shit, whattya want for it?
For you, no discount, but free delivery.
Couldja post some MP3s?
Now, now
We don’t want Web Sheriff to come in here and bust us all up.
I don’t know how to post mp3s of digital files — converting a vinyl LP to digital and then posting it is far beyond my skills.
Most radio stations have the necessary technology.
Just my luck! There’s a radio station here in my basement!
Sarcasm?! Oh, that’s progressive.
Small universe.
My mother actually knew Oswald when they were kids. His aunt and uncle lived around the corner from my grandparents in New Orleans, and they would play when he came for a visit. Not that that’s terribly significant, mind you. I just always feel obligated to trot out that anecdote when he comes up. It’s an odd thing to place someone who has taken on a sort of mythic status in our shared history in a personal context, much like this record.
Re: Small universe.
Oswald was never a child. He was created in a Stalinist lab to be a soulless killing machine.
How can you rid yourself of your vinyl now, when Elvis Costello’s new album is only available thus?
Read more (since I can’t remember the fancy html) at: http://www.musicdirect.com/product/82340
(Alright, there’s the digital downloads too, but I want a physical item.)
I was just thinking about this fact. And about Costello’s penchant for perversity.
The Oswald in Less than Zero refers to Oswald Mosley, a british member of paliament and fascist.
Yes, I’m aware of that. That’s why I — oh, never mind.