Sound Or Silence - What Do You Reckon? 433

By: Glenn Torrens

Date: 07.01.2020

With his mojo running low, Glenn Torrens finds a new burst of motivation

As I’m writing this, I’m in a warm little home office where I research and write about some of Australia’s coolest classic and modified cars for Unique Cars and Street Machine magazines. I like it quiet; a while ago when my now ex-girlfriend, hung-over from her regular binges was faffing around in my house while gurgling coffee in the morning, I found I couldn’t concentrate on my work – as fun as it is – until she’d eventually got herself together and left for work. It seems that I need peace when I’m working… even rain on my tin roof distracts me!

But recently I’ve realised I have a different mind-set when I’m working on my cars in my shed.

Last year my faithful old radio – the first thing I switched on when I walk into the shed – started to make odd noises: Brzzoooaachzzzp! An exploratory twiddle of its knobs and a bit of a slap on its cabinet brought Triple J radio back crisp and clear. No worries!

Until it happened again a week or two later. More volume-knob twiddles and another bop on the top of its plastic cabinet had Good Nights playing again. The third time, I scowled as I realised that my glorious old 1980s grey-with-chrome-edges Toshiba boom-box stereo radio/cassette player, that I’d proudly bought with my first two months’ earnings as a 10-year-old paper-boy, was gravely ill. Sure enough, a few days later: CrAcKle-zdDdzZzt-craCKle… and silence.

It couldn’t be revived.
RIP Toshiba.
1980-2019.
You Witnessed Many Cars Being Fixed.

After a long hot summer, I slid into my routine of regular evenings and the occasional weekday in my shed. But for some reason, I didn’t feel as happy or as productive; I didn’t seem as motivated. Tasks that I’d usually finish in a week seemed to be taking two. I was going to my shed later and switching the lights off earlier. Things were… I dunno… different.

Then I realised it was because I didn’t have happy sounds in the background. My shed had become a silent tomb of old dead cars, not the joyful toy-box of fun projects with me whistling as I worked with Triple-J radio’s Bridget and Linda and Dr Karl keeping me company as I spannered and sanded.

So I’ve bought a new shed radio – a 1990s radio/cassette that my mate Dodty spotted in a local charity shop for $15 – and I’m grinning again! I need some music in the background!

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