music non stop

While I was cleaning the attic (read: garbage coming from the “balikbayan” box), I stumbled upon my old sony walkman cassette player, and some cassette tapes. I tried playing it to see if it still works, and YAHOO, it still does. I then immediately put on a pair of headphones and played a cassette tape. My mind wandered while I was cleaning and listening (to the tape), because I remembered the reel-to-reel tape that my “erpat” frequently used back in the old days. I grew sick of listening to the music of Perez Prado, Trio los Panchos, Harry Belafonte, and many more EVERY single day. Anyway, years after, my “erpat” took home an “Akai” stereo, with four large speakers attached. But even then, the albums he played on it were still the same-Perez Prado (Caballo Negro-tsarararan, tsaran tsaran- to the tune of Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White), Trio los Panchos (Live), and Harry Belafonte (Live at Carnegie Hall).

When we moved out of our old house, we left the “Akai” at my grandmother’s house, where it then played the music of the Beatles and Carlito Santana (the favorite music of my “yoti”). At my parents new (highball) residence, me and my “utol” began to collect cassette tapes and albums. I remembered the time when my “ermat” took me to Cubao to buy a small electronic piano. When we returned home, we didn’t buy a piano; we bought instead a Sony system (consisting of a turntable, a cassette tape player, an amplifier, and a storage for vinyl). That same Sony system left good memories because, well, you know, “ito yung kapanahunan namin”.

Soon, I mustered enough courage to stand on my own (well, I was actually kicked out of the house because of my expanding “tribe”). I funded my own sound system. Of course, when you’re thinking of starting your own sound system, there’s only one name that comes to one's mind – BOSE.

Bose floor-standing, Bose 301, Bose ambient speakers, Bose acoustimass, Bose speaker wires and Bose stickers. These were paired with a Pioneer CD Player, a Pioneer Receiver (Pro-Logic), a Pioneer DVD/Karaoke player and of course a Pioneer sticker.

After many years, I forgot about the vinyls, but I didn’t turn them into flower pot stands, over sized earrings or boomerangs either – I just stored them away. Then came the Computer Age – I turned to Mp3s and listened to music mostly in my computer – be it torrents, Morpheus, or any other P2Ps. But wait, there was still something missing. Once, when we (me and an old man) were cooling off in Tagaytay, the old man suddenly asked me whether I was still listening to vinyls. It was a simple question from an old man who loved vinyls back then. Just to keep the night’s mood, I answered yes (I was still listening), even though I clearly know that my turntable didn’t have its cartridge anymore. When he (the old man) heard my answer, he said that he had a box full of vinyls that he wanted to dispose. The problem was that the vinyls had too much of a sentimental value to be thrown away. He then decided to just give it to me. I pretended not to be overjoyed, so I said, with a straight face, that I’ll just pass by his house to get the vinyls. And finally, next day, when we left Tagaytay, I tailed (nakaungaong sa salitang kalye) behind him to get the vinyls from his house.

Here I am, back to vinyls and upgrading my sound system.