From a tiny flat in Buenos Aires to the grandeur of London as I joined the love of my life, this is my journey... with a little help from friends and family who knew a thing or two about music.
"My records were my only refuge from the typical school bullies and countless financial crises you can expect to find in one of the most male-dominated, football (soccer)-obsessed and economically unstable countries in the world, where sadly some homophobia still persists, and where rampant inflation and currency defaults are par for the course."
I needed to call this out first! Haven't read a more accurate description in a long time! Sadly though...
I also got my first turntable on the recommendation of a friend that visited me in London last year... and wow! I'm still so thankful that he did suggest that! It's a whole beautiful experience. Playing "Dónde están los ladrones?" by Shakira on vinyl still makes me emotional... remembering all those childhood years listening to her music on CD for countless hours to "escape" the world you've just described above.
My mum had many records at home in Buenos Aires - I'm still hoping I will find a hidden gem among those (whenever it is I decide to visit Argentina, lol)!
I can totally see how certain things would resonate with you for obvious reasons. It's great to feel that you're not alone, that someone somewhere went through the same or very similar experiences and found refuge in music and collecting records.
That Shakira album is a classic! I even remember the day it came out (that's something I am old enough to remember lol). Such good memories.
And yes, if and when you decide to make a visit (which will be emotional on many levels), you can go through her collection and see what you find! Treasure hunt :)
"..my perfect day out as a kid meant going to my local record shop and spending hours browsing through the stalls. My mum would patiently wait for me because I was never done browsing. "
My grandmother would wait for me too. I'd tell her I'd just be a little bit, but we both knew I was lying.
Great story, Andres, and well-written! While both my parents were only children (and thus, I had no aunts and uncles!), I can certainly relate to Dad being the one who introduces vinyl into a child's world! As I know I've dropped elsewhere, my bro, Mom and I were surrounded by 20,000 (mostly jazz) LPs and 78s growing up, as Dad had custom (wall-to-wall, ceiling -to-floor) cabinetry built!
While I was 8, and was motivated by seeing The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in '64, my vinyl searches were all about the British Invasion early on, and grew from there! A fun read...I look forward to more of your discoveries!
Thank you, Brad, for your very kind words. It’s beautiful how some relatives and friends can have such a powerful influence in our music tastes and listening habits from such a young age. Beautiful memories like the one you share in your comment really take the meaning of “passing the baton” to a whole new level! As always, thank you very much for sharing.
Thank you! It’s so refreshing to see that record stores are flourishing in the SF bay area. It’s going to be 7 years since we were last in SF (as part of a California road trip along route 1). We had such a great time. We should visit again soon!
I love this, Andres. Hearing about your childhood, the role of music and vinyl in your family's life, the evolution of your life through music and how much joy it brought you.
I'm not old enough to remember vinyl as the first way of hearing a song, but I am old enough to remember going to Tower Records in NYC to buy an album on CD when it first came out. And my son, who is now 18, has spent many Saturdays with his dad at Amoeba Music on Haight Street in San Francisco, a magical place.
As I write this, I'm listening to Vision of Love. Thank you for reminding us of that song. What an uplifting way to start the day:)
I miss Tower! Growing up my friends & I had a tradition of meeting there after getting gift certificates for Christmas (remember the heavy card stock they were on). We're scattered everywhere now, but invariably as we text happy holidays messages back & forth, someone'll bring it up. I think those of us that got to experience Tower are pretty lucky.
"My records were my only refuge from the typical school bullies and countless financial crises you can expect to find in one of the most male-dominated, football (soccer)-obsessed and economically unstable countries in the world, where sadly some homophobia still persists, and where rampant inflation and currency defaults are par for the course."
I needed to call this out first! Haven't read a more accurate description in a long time! Sadly though...
I also got my first turntable on the recommendation of a friend that visited me in London last year... and wow! I'm still so thankful that he did suggest that! It's a whole beautiful experience. Playing "Dónde están los ladrones?" by Shakira on vinyl still makes me emotional... remembering all those childhood years listening to her music on CD for countless hours to "escape" the world you've just described above.
My mum had many records at home in Buenos Aires - I'm still hoping I will find a hidden gem among those (whenever it is I decide to visit Argentina, lol)!
So relatable, all of it! x
I can totally see how certain things would resonate with you for obvious reasons. It's great to feel that you're not alone, that someone somewhere went through the same or very similar experiences and found refuge in music and collecting records.
That Shakira album is a classic! I even remember the day it came out (that's something I am old enough to remember lol). Such good memories.
And yes, if and when you decide to make a visit (which will be emotional on many levels), you can go through her collection and see what you find! Treasure hunt :)
Thanks a lot, as always, for sharing. Abrazo!!
"..my perfect day out as a kid meant going to my local record shop and spending hours browsing through the stalls. My mum would patiently wait for me because I was never done browsing. "
My grandmother would wait for me too. I'd tell her I'd just be a little bit, but we both knew I was lying.
“Five more minutes” in a loop 😂
Great story, Andres, and well-written! While both my parents were only children (and thus, I had no aunts and uncles!), I can certainly relate to Dad being the one who introduces vinyl into a child's world! As I know I've dropped elsewhere, my bro, Mom and I were surrounded by 20,000 (mostly jazz) LPs and 78s growing up, as Dad had custom (wall-to-wall, ceiling -to-floor) cabinetry built!
While I was 8, and was motivated by seeing The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in '64, my vinyl searches were all about the British Invasion early on, and grew from there! A fun read...I look forward to more of your discoveries!
Thank you, Brad, for your very kind words. It’s beautiful how some relatives and friends can have such a powerful influence in our music tastes and listening habits from such a young age. Beautiful memories like the one you share in your comment really take the meaning of “passing the baton” to a whole new level! As always, thank you very much for sharing.
Hermoso y bello!!!
Muchas gracias! Y gracias por ser tan importante influencia!
Thought you might like this, in case you and Stephan are ever in the San Francisco Bay Area: https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/east-bay-record-store-boom-17803944.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight
Thank you! It’s so refreshing to see that record stores are flourishing in the SF bay area. It’s going to be 7 years since we were last in SF (as part of a California road trip along route 1). We had such a great time. We should visit again soon!
you should, route 1 is so beautiful!
I love this, Andres. Hearing about your childhood, the role of music and vinyl in your family's life, the evolution of your life through music and how much joy it brought you.
I'm not old enough to remember vinyl as the first way of hearing a song, but I am old enough to remember going to Tower Records in NYC to buy an album on CD when it first came out. And my son, who is now 18, has spent many Saturdays with his dad at Amoeba Music on Haight Street in San Francisco, a magical place.
As I write this, I'm listening to Vision of Love. Thank you for reminding us of that song. What an uplifting way to start the day:)
Thank you so much for your very kind words, Michelle! I am glad you enjoyed hearing and connecting with my story. It means a lot to me.
Tower Records and Amoeba… magical places indeed. It’s also great to read you and your family have memories associated with records.
Vision of Love is such a monumental and emblematic song for so many reasons, and it is indeed a very uplifting way of starting the day!
Once again, thank you ever so much for stopping by and for sharing!
PS: now that you read/heard this post, the mysterious connection between Stephan and me will have hopefully become a bit clearer :)
Yes, I loved seeing that and putting two and two together, it made me happy:) Beautiful!
I miss Tower! Growing up my friends & I had a tradition of meeting there after getting gift certificates for Christmas (remember the heavy card stock they were on). We're scattered everywhere now, but invariably as we text happy holidays messages back & forth, someone'll bring it up. I think those of us that got to experience Tower are pretty lucky.
What a sweet memory. That was a cool place.