1991: Kickstarting the Bucket List
So don’t grow old – evolve.
(last updated: 21 April 2023)
Purchased in the early 80’s, that amplifier (pic 3) is still sought after to this day.
The boy got a new toy. #Quad #303 #33 pic.twitter.com/NP1f2Vsn6o
— oskar c. neubauer (@freeoskar) September 4, 2023
And for me, coupled with InterDyn P2 speakers of the early 90’s, should be on any audiophile’s bucket list. Only moderate volume levels are required. Slow jams of the 90’s were off the chain.
Those speakers were bought for a “modern” Denon PMA-1080R, which was a good amp back then, but the sound just wasn’t in the same league as the vintage amp that was brought back to life. The Acoustic Research speakers stored away were crackling – they probably should have just been repaired.
The CD player was a Technics SL-PS900. I read Hi-Fi magazines back then and it got an unbelievable review. Our neighbour from Brunei who ended up at HP after RMIT, Lawrance, was also into Hi-Fi gear. He followed on from Mikito with a bunch of other tertiary students from Asia. They had a Marantz amp and kept a lot of vinyl. I think his speakers were JBL but he wanted Infinity. He really got into Luther Vandross. Really nice guy too, and showed me Windows 3 before anyone else and even helped me install it, as well as scan for viruses. This made me a sort of go-to guy at school.
I kind of struggled with fashion back then, I didn’t really know what I liked and what I didn’t. As long as I wasn’t in Stussy pants: I wasn’t good enough at skateboarding for those! They would turn me into a try-hard! I had gray Stussy shorts though as they weren’t as obvious.
[ 1993 ]
Justin and Julian said they met Lawrance on the way back from Chapel Street on the tram and he gave them a whole heap of KFC for free. I’m pretty sure it was them, but not 100%. At one point I gave Lawrance our Paula Abdul Spellbound CD to keep – I think it was brought back from Chicago by my mum and no one really played it. But his whole apartment rocked it, though.
My mum had been in Chicago representing a gallery alongside Tom Spender at the CIAE Art Expo (1991?)
She just went into a record store and asked for their tips. She brought back Diamonds and Pearls with a special edition hologram cover that I didn’t see in Australia. I couldn’t believe the simplicity of the Cream beat.
So I made a mashup with Paula in 2022.
The chorus is only gifted at 2:15. Incredible build-up.
One of Justin’s friends Charles (not from my school) gave me his Billy Hyde drum pad around that time not long after I met him at his home. I couldn’t believe it. It was almost new and he was around my age. He said he never used it. I used it all the time.
People, especially friends and neighbours could really gift more to each other and often it does more for the giver than the receiver because it comes back in multiples. If you have something you don’t want or need, give it to someone who does. So simple, right? The topic of giving is mentioned in this post and maybe the IGs at its bottom could take heed the most. The Earth is said to raise up crystals to humanity when it needs them and there is no need to dig for them. Anyway, there was a film in 2000: Pay It Forward.
So one of the guys at the apartment with a souped up bronze Honda Civic was installing a new radio or sub-woofer and I was trying to screw in a bolt behind the radio with my small hand. I couldn’t see what I was doing and at one point I said “Have you gotta light?” and everyone standing around screamed with laughter. It didn’t matter – I got the bolt in regardless. No smoko required. That was at the back of the building where I often went to hit a tennis ball and their apartment is still standing to this day.
A few years later the whole apartment had cleared: maybe ’95 but Lawrance is still around somewhere – if you can get his attention for a test drive or test listen.
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