neilcicierega:

Here’s something very sad. You probably shouldn’t read this or listen to it if you don’t like being sad.

This is a piano roll recording of Scott Joplin performing The Maple Leaf Rag, affected by dementia brought on by tertiary syphilis. It’s sloppily played, the tempo lurches back and forth, etc. The piano roll was most likely edited heavily to get even that. Poor guy.

He died a year later at age 49.

Sorry.

Awesome song though.

This is currently what my piano playing sounds like OH MY GOD YOU GUYS I THINK I MIGHT HAVE SYPHILLIS WELL THAT’S SUPER DUPER