This was the first CD I bought, what was yours?
Alabama – Roll On. The Fat Boys – Coming Back Hard Again. Garth Brooks – No Fences.
Vinyl. Tape. CD.
They were my first. We all have them. And like many other firsts – most of the time – we aren’t proud of them. But that doesn’t make them any less special.
I was thinking about this last night. When you are a couple of weeks away from becoming a parent for the first time – as I am – you worry about all sort of things. Many of those things are rational. Some are not.
One of those things that most people would classify as “not rational” is the worry over the kind of music your kid will like. To me, it’s completely rational.
When we’re young, we all like shit music. I don’t care how cool you think you are – there are some pop skeletons in your closet. I’m the same. I’m old enough to admit – without shame – that I used to dance in my room to The Jets and that I have had an unhealthy enjoyment of several Rick Astley singles and the horrible band Little Texas.
To make matter worse, most kids eventually hate the music their parents like, no matter how good it is. That usually only lasts for five or ten years … so just as I was influenced by the music my dad liked (Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Jim Reeves, etc.); I hope my kid will be influenced by the music I like.
Which leads me back to my first. And your first. And his first.
If you are a huge music fan, you remember the first record or tape or CD you bought. Not one you were given, but the one you bought with your own money.
Maybe it won’t be a big deal for futurekid. Maybe he’ll be downloading crappy kids music so early there won’t be anything special about it. I hope that isn’t the case because – good or bad – it’s always awesome to talk with people about their first musical purchase.
Last night on Twitter I asked my followers, “What was the first CD you bought with your own money?
I got dozens of responses. They ranged from Nirvana to the ‘Waiting to Exhale’ soundtrack to Dave Brubek to Kenny Rogers. It was fantastic. But now I want more.
So I’m posing the same question here. We won’t judge. No matter how bad it was.
What was the first record/tape/CD you about with your money?
CD: Weird Al Yankovic’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Tape: Weird Al Yankovic – Dare to Be Stupid (purchase made shortly after that first CD purchase)
Vinyl: Two Gallants – s/t and Sonic Youth – SYR2 (but that was only a little over 3 years ago)
My first 7 inch single – the first music I ever bought – was Arizona by Mark Lindsay, who had been the singer in Paul Revere and the Raiders.
My first full length vinyl album was Chicago II.
My first CD was a copy of Blondie’s Parallel Lines.
My first digital purchase (I think) was a Johnny Cash collection off of eMusic, in 2000. In those days you paid them 10 bucks a month for unlimited tracks, and they had a nice collection of old country, jazz and soul, along with newer indie things.
vinyl – The Knack, Get The Knack
tape – Van Halen 1984
CD – Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever
all of that was with my own money. at 9 years old, I worked at a family fruit stand – The Knack record came out that summer. At 14, I worked at my uncle’s tire store, bought Van Halen when it came out. At 19, I was in college and had money left over from a beer run. My roomate had a CD player, so I went with Tom Petty.
Vinyl: Puff the Magic Dragon
Tape: Whitney – Whitney Houston
Cd: Mariah Carey Unplugged
Whitney we miss you.