Times have changed.When I was young and listening to rock that got my parents all upset, I didn’t have a boom box. I couldn't walk around and get everybody to listen to my noise. I had to listen to my stuff with my room closed and at a volume my father would tolerate. If it had to be loud , it was with headphones. Later on they had boomboxes but all with normal batteries and that was way to expensive to change them after a few hours of boom boom. We couldn’t go to park and public places and blast away. It just didn’t exist and if you did have a power cord somewhere, the cops wouldnt be far to make an end to this fun.
Off course I did listen to loud music at my lake house, in my car or later on my boat. But I couldn’t really disturb a lot of people with it. The speakers were not outside.

Today seems different. I own stock of the Swisss Logitech company and they make tons of portable boom boxes. All kids have them here. You can hardly see a teenager that doesn't carry one. Some must be cheap Chinese copies. But its amazing what loudness even a little one pumps out….and for how long.

The teenagers were on vacation from school in Papeete. The municipality organizes a lot of games and other activities , so they don’t get too bored on this island. But most of the evenings they are hanging around the 2 ports . And when they meet each other its boom boom. Each group has a designated “Boomer”. I don’t know how they decide who gets to boom and who doesn't. I have seen them at the windward side of the village far from any house. The elders tell me that they don’t dare to hang around where the people live. “Why not “ I ask. “Oh, we would throw rocks at them so they go somewhere else with the boom boom” they joke.
Its been a bid heavy at times. Up to four groups hang around Yelo with a serious surround sound from all corners. Most evenings they run out of Lithium power and go home after 10pm. But a few nights they got us up at 2am by banging on my tight docking lines. I ran out at yelled at them and I just see a few kids giggling and speeding away on their bikes. I am not quiet sure but judging by them giggling and shouting they were stoned or drunk. I don’t know how they get the money to buy booze or dope.
So the advice of the older people was to stock up on rocks at night…. Common I said , we were never young and never did hassle the old farts , No? Big laughter, its all cool here. And now they was a frantic activity at the airport. Many charter flights and fast boats taking them back to school. Hao has a secondary boarding school as well. Its for the small islands around Hao. Some have only Primary school, others nothing at all. So you see your kids a few weeks in summer and then again for Christmas. It must be the same in the remote alpine villages in Switzerland.
Here the kids are in boarding school all the time and are only allowed to go outside to the village or the beach under supervision from a teacher.

The lithium boys are gone now and an eerie silence hangs over Hao. Its very quiet now and I almost miss them. All though I cant get into that mechanical drum beat. It upsets me somehow when I hear computer generated rhythms. Its dead, it has no variation of slightly faster or softer. Its always the same shit….Oh well , that's what my father said about the Rolling Stones or ANYTHING I was listening.
It must be a sign of old age that I cant follow the new sounds, I guess. Stuck with Rock, Raggea and Salsa. Or now that the boom boxes are gone I can plug in my headphones and fly away with Silvius Leopolt Weiss, or Augustine Barrios . I listen to “El Cathedral” from Barrios,I like it withJohn Williams.
I was so happy I could listen to all my favorite classical music when I was in Canada. Youtube is great for that and I miss the fast web at my daughters place. I miss her company too. One thing I could watch for over and over is Weiss’es "Fantasie" played by Asya Selyutina . When I used to play classical guitar in the 70- 80s , recordings from the stars were always lousy. But now,with better microphones and recording techniques , it just like the real thing. You listen to…..and you think you are holding her guitar ,the sound is so close so real …I am amazed how this has changed. Also amazed how many great young classical musicians are coming up all the time. Not just guitar and Lute…anything. Thank god it doesn't die. With the avalanche of commercial garbage swallowed by the masses, its no surprise that I find nothing to get exited about…its all dull and empty. Not that I don’t try to listen, I do . But I find this time lacks any inspiration. I could well be my old age. Maybe yes . I don’t know. I just like to get fired up or fly away with music. Ramstein still fires me up and so do all the old rock n rollers. But Weiss is special. To be able to get your mind into a time 400 years ago and listen to what they enjoyed. Amazing …it brings it right to my heart and I am almost there…long long time ago , before any tablets before any boom boxes. What a cruel time it was if you got sick or if you are stuck in a war. But how much light there was in the composers imagination. And still today he could bring it back to me and make me feel alive. What a time it must have been for creativity when there was no fuggn tv, no tablets that blur your mind and kill all your power of creation.

Enough all ready.