Soon the US will be celebrating Independence Day, people often do not appreciate the freedom that are available. About this and the love of vinyl, the music that my story.
I would like to share my state of affairs, selling and collecting vinyl in our country - Ukraine. Ukraine is a part of the USSR in the past. In the days of my childhood, vinyl came to us through the sailors and rare travel employees. To public sale the majority of LP were prohibited. We boys bought albums secretly in the markets and was afraid to be detained by the KGB, the same albums in the USA, Europe, etc. freely lay on the shelves in stores. Cost these albums are very expensive, for example one LP, the average cost is more than half the salary of an average worker. I was a kid and was trying to earn money to buy vinyl. The USSR collapsed 24 years ago! Now we are also available to buy in shops nearly all vinyl. Of course we have no such choice as You and that’s understandable. For example I started to collect vinyl 4 years ago. Since the choice we have in the country a little, I bought mostly through eBay, Discogs and a couple other online stores. Bought from different countries: USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, Germany, Italy, England, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, France and others. For the last 4 years I have bought over 3500 LPs. Spent more than 70 000 USD. Of course I envy you that you can find and buy from different people good vinyl for a couple of dollars. We have not in our country these old and cheap stocks. That there are consequences closed our society in the USSR in the past. But the old love to good music are not goes. And now I admire my collection and so happy that my dream of childhood finally turned.
For vinyl I bought all the equipment from the second half of the 70-ies. Then a long time neither I nor my parents could buy. For example: a tape reel to reel recorder AKAI 646 cost as a new car. I’m sorry that so many years we were denied full access to the world culture. For the last 4 years, I learned about new music and artists more than in my all life. Dreams come true!
I will add to this story the small other about the love to music of the free world.
When I was 15-17 years old I played on guitar in a group at the technical school where I studied. To buy our own music equipment and rest for group we could not, it was expensive. In technical school they given us all, but…. We had no right to play foreign music and songs. They told us that rock music is harmful to the human psyche. They shown us propaganda films from the concerts of the Beatles, where weeping with happiness fans shouted happily and waved. Our leaders told us: "you see, they’re at rock concerts go crazy!”
Then came into fashion Disco style and once again they told us that disco rhythm harmful to the rhythm of the heart and its better not to listen! Just what nonsense we had to listen. But we didn’t believe in this nonsense.
Every year in our city and the region was a contest of groups. Two years in a row, we were ranked first in the city where we lived and studied and second place in our region. We sang political songs praising the Communist party, Lenin and other nonsense. For myself at rehearsals we are closing the door and play things from Deep Purple, the Beatles, etc.
And what is interestingly, it has been almost forty years ago, I can’t remember any note and even melody from any song that played our group officially at concerts and contests. But I remember that closing the door of the room where we rehearsed, we taught and played the song “Girl” the Beatles, “Smoke on the water” Deep Purple, etc.
All my life I love rock and listen to disco. But only now I begin to understand that the rock has of various styles. And I tried to put in my collection at least a little but of representatives of different styles.
Years passed… the USSR is dead, Rock lives!
Conclusion: all false and foolish leaving and truthful and really valuable lives.
Now I am happy to listen to Sinantra, Climax Blues Band, Chicago, Chet Atkins, Black Sabbath, Bad Company, B.B. King, Alan Price, Aerosmith, Nirvana and more, more, more….
I am glad that my children and my grandchildren will not live in the prison of the mind. I’ll leave my collection to my granddaughter.
with regards,
Vadim
Soon the US will be celebrating Independence Day, people often do not appreciate the freedom that are available. About this and the love of vinyl, the music that my story.
I would like to share my state of affairs, selling and collecting vinyl in our country - Ukraine. Ukraine is a part of the USSR in the past. In the days of my childhood, vinyl came to us through the sailors and rare travel employees. To public sale the majority of LP were prohibited. We boys bought albums secretly in the markets and was afraid to be detained by the KGB, the same albums in the USA, Europe, etc. freely lay on the shelves in stores. Cost these albums are very expensive, for example one LP, the average cost is more than half the salary of an average worker. I was a kid and was trying to earn money to buy vinyl. The USSR collapsed 24 years ago! Now we are also available to buy in shops nearly all vinyl. Of course we have no such choice as You and that’s understandable. For example I started to collect vinyl 4 years ago. Since the choice we have in the country a little, I bought mostly through eBay, Discogs and a couple other online stores. Bought from different countries: USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, Germany, Italy, England, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, France and others. For the last 4 years I have bought over 3500 LPs. Spent more than 70 000 USD. Of course I envy you that you can find and buy from different people good vinyl for a couple of dollars. We have not in our country these old and cheap stocks. That there are consequences closed our society in the USSR in the past. But the old love to good music are not goes. And now I admire my collection and so happy that my dream of childhood finally turned.
For vinyl I bought all the equipment from the second half of the 70-ies. Then a long time neither I nor my parents could buy. For example: a tape reel to reel recorder AKAI 646 cost as a new car. I’m sorry that so many years we were denied full access to the world culture. For the last 4 years, I learned about new music and artists more than in my all life. Dreams come true!
I will add to this story the small other about the love to music of the free world.
When I was 15-17 years old I played on guitar in a group at the technical school where I studied. To buy our own music equipment and rest for group we could not, it was expensive. In technical school they given us all, but…. We had no right to play foreign music and songs. They told us that rock music is harmful to the human psyche. They shown us propaganda films from the concerts of the Beatles, where weeping with happiness fans shouted happily and waved. Our leaders told us: "you see, they’re at rock concerts go crazy!”
Then came into fashion Disco style and once again they told us that disco rhythm harmful to the rhythm of the heart and its better not to listen! Just what nonsense we had to listen. But we didn’t believe in this nonsense.
Every year in our city and the region was a contest of groups. Two years in a row, we were ranked first in the city where we lived and studied and second place in our region. We sang political songs praising the Communist party, Lenin and other nonsense. For myself at rehearsals we are closing the door and play things from Deep Purple, the Beatles, etc.
And what is interestingly, it has been almost forty years ago, I can’t remember any note and even melody from any song that played our group officially at concerts and contests. But I remember that closing the door of the room where we rehearsed, we taught and played the song “Girl” the Beatles, “Smoke on the water” Deep Purple, etc.
All my life I love rock and listen to disco. But only now I begin to understand that the rock has of various styles. And I tried to put in my collection at least a little but of representatives of different styles.
Years passed… the USSR is dead, Rock lives!
Conclusion: all false and foolish leaving and truthful and really valuable lives.
Now I am happy to listen to Sinantra, Climax Blues Band, Chicago, Chet Atkins, Black Sabbath, Bad Company, B.B. King, Alan Price, Aerosmith, Nirvana and more, more, more….
I am glad that my children and my grandchildren will not live in the prison of the mind. I’ll leave my collection to my granddaughter.
with regards,
Vadim