The pianist, composer and sound artist Glenn Gould once wrote: "Art on its loftiest mission is scarcely human at all." What becomes of art and humanity when they are allowed to vary independently of one another? Which serves which, and to what end? In this episode, JF and Phil discuss Glenn Gould's style and vision of music through the lens of François Girard's memorable 1993 film, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.

For details on the upcoming Weird Studies Volume 3 listening party, and to register for the event, go to the event page on the Weirdosphere website. The album will be released on May 22, 2026, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page.

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REFERENCES

Francois Girard (dir.), Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

Rob Reiner, This is Spinal Tap

Weird Studies, Episode 31 on Gould’s “Prospects of Recording” 

"The Shining Recut"

"Glenn Gould Interviews Glenn Gould About Glenn Gould"

Phil Ford, Dig: Sound and Music in Hip Culture

Glenn Gould, "The Idea of North"

Weird Studies, Episode 124 with Duncan Barford

Francois Girard, Production of Wagner’s Parsifal

Richard Wagner, Parsifal (clip from performance conducted by Reginald Goodall) 

Spear of Longinus

Header image by Ana Pismel, via Wikimedia Commons.

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