27-X-1972.: Sound system
This day was all chaos, school, club... and in the afternoon I pulled up all my money, dad added some, and we finally bought something stereo. Took it home, plugged it in, and while I was trying it out on what I had, Milivoje with his wife came, so I rushed out to find Branka, then check with her mom at the kiosk that she'll stay longer, then to theatre. "The deceased" was done good, fine, just missing the final Anta's address, it's only outlined. Also, the theatre lodge is not the same as the last row of a movie, hands off, both of us.
In the theatre, in next lodge, Theatre. Look, she knows how to laugh.
Escorted her only halfway, and appologized, the new stereo is just itching, you know how that is. Went home, put the speakers on the floor, lied with my head in the middle and listened, listened.
The old Iskra was running through the even older Tesla radio, and while it wasn't quite killing the records, it couldn't bring out the sound. I had previously tried the Trubadur at Vasa's place, and concluded that the difference was incredible, I just had to have something stereo.
The previous state of affairs.
So the TV was in my room, i.e. they'd all sit there in the evenings and watch whatever was on (the Forsythe saga was popular at times, later The Buddenbrocks, perhaps Peyton place was already on - I kind of made a point of not watching those hyped up things). The flat cable went to the antenna, which was on the roof for a while, but the pole leaked water somehow, or got turned by the wind too often, so by this time it was under the roof - still good enough for reception from Crveni Čot, a peak on Fruška Gora. The little box on the TV is the UHF adapter, which was for the 2nd programme, which started on 1st january this year. Switching from 1st to 2nd was kind of nasty, because it lowered down the signal to be received via 12th channel, so the old mechanical channel switcher would have to be shifted back to 10th for the 1st, and then again to 12th for the 2nd almost full circle - the switch was unidirectional. Caused some wear, but still this old EI TV was already seventh year in service, and it will serve a few more.
The box behind the couch is the 8mm projector, and the small case next to it is the Quartz 2x8mm camera. The box next to the bookcase is the accordeon, which I haven't played for years. The strap on the couch belongs to the regula's holster (kind of visible).
The thing we got had a good record player, nothing automatic, there was nothing to smooth the lowering of the head onto the groove, had an amplifier with a radio (but the receiver was mono! I felt cheated.) and two solid wood sound boxes, in some mahagony (yes I know it's mahogany in american english, screw the illiterates) veneer... and the sound was incredible. The brand name meant nothing to me - whatever Rigonda is. Much later, somewhere in the accompanying paperwork, I found that it's made in Riga, in one of them Lestvanian countries. This set of boxes served me well for the next five years. I still couldn't catch Studio B on it, unless perhaps I had an extra antenna, perhaps with an amplifier... But B202 worked almost fine. Somewhere near the "the noise isn't too bad" limit. But at least the reception on 1st and 2nd programme was perfect.
Except... the cars. The better and newer cars had the blockade on the cables - so the electricity induced by the spark on the plug wouldn't create too much of an electromagnetic wave. Not sure if dad's new škodilak was still the source of such noise, or did he replace the cables next year. But our street is very busy, four bus lines, kombinat is two blocks away, there's hundreds of all kinds of cars every day, and worst of all, many small mopeds with their 50cc engines and never a protecting cable. Later, when I had a tape recorder (make that seven years later), I'd still have that problem, and many a recording failed because of that.
The whole month of november and also december I was shooting concerts in Dom - four bands from Slovenia, Korni grupa, a show by Zoran Modli and Steve Hanington aka Steva Šumadinac. Which is why I can't find this stereo on any picture (shooting around my room is something I did when I didn't have anywhere to go) until this one, early january 1973.
Between speaker boxes, with a cigarette, Dragana; standing on the side Milica. The receiver is on the floor between them. The Lenin-like head on the shelf is what I sculpted in, I'd say, seventh grade in the visual arts sekcija. The picture behind the little vase in the middle is Nisla, freezing as it suddenly got cold. The cloth covering the bar door is the hat club flag (actually cloth from Rudolf's chair, torn). The contraption on the floor beneath is that projector, now unpacked.
p.s. in early 2020, when Zoran Modli died, I posted on burundi a picture of him, that I shot these days, with this same hat. The Burundians were in awe.
Mentions: 10-XI-1977., Branka, burundi, Dom omladine, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), kombinat, Milica Zubatović, Milivoje Stojanović, regula, Rudolf Ochsner, sekcija, Slanislav Dunjić (Nisla), škodilak, Vasa Šančev, in serbian