1st Album, Single, Tape, CD etc, you bought with your own money.

[Volitions Advocate]

Alright, well I'll chime in as a representative of Gen Y.

My parents were on one of those Coloumbia Records clubs, and one day let me pick one CD for myself.  It was the soundtrack for Twister.  VanHalen, KD Lang, Allison Krauss, Goo Goo Dolls.  I destroyed that CD listening to it.  Doesn't count though since I didn't pay for it so....

Probably Tip. from Finger Eleven.  '99 or 2000 thereabouts.  They already had a 2nd album out by the time I bought it but it was the one I wanted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNjwwH09yBs

Canadian!

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Future generations will have thread headings like "First song you downloaded/streamed on your own".

 

[Jumble Jumble]

Mine was a 45 of New Order's "Blue Monday '88". I'll leave the year as a mental exercise for the reader.

 

[aarontunes]

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Oz

 

[Cagey]

I'm wracking my brain and can't really remember. I wanna say first 45 was Smokey Robinson's "The Tears Of A Clown", and the first LP was Elton John's "Madman Across the Water". But, I could be wrong. I can't remember if I bought the Partidge Family's "Family Album" or it was given to me.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

In your case Cagey, we'll allow wax cylinders.

 

[Cagey]

C'mon! I'm not that old!

 

[hannaugh]

I think the first CD I bought was The Kinks.  I think it was an anniversary edition with a bunch of extra stuff on it.  Some dirty thief stole all of my cds when I was in high school though, and it was never seen again. 

 

[mullyman]

I don't have a clear memory on any of this except the CD, but I'll give it a try.

I suspect the first LP I ever bought was probably Elvis Presley. I was born in 1968 but to this day I am still a huuuuuge Elvis fan. Long Live The King!

First cassette was probably AC/DC Back In Black or Iron Maiden Number Of The Beast

First CD, I remember this as clear as if I was standing there right now. First CD was Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy. I remember paying $24.99 for it at the  CD/video shop. I didn't even have a CD player. hahaha!!!
MULLY

 

[Cagey]

I've always thought of Elvis Presley more as some sort of zoological curiosity like alligators or ostriches than any kind of musician. Interesting to look at for a minute and marvel at the existence, but nothing you need get lathered up about. Calling him the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" has always felt profoundly false. He was a "product" like the Monkees, the Partridge Family, the Banana Splits or any of dozens of the RIAA's money-making pop music schemes. The most successful, of course, by a long shot, which is what encouraged them to keep playing that game. But, a product nonetheless. Nothing to write home about.

Led Zeppelin was, of course, a pantheon of gods. "Houses of the Holy" was my first LP from them, and I can't remember how many times I had to replace that one before CDs came out.

 

[mullyman]

I've always thought of Elvis Presley more as some sort of zoological curiosity like alligators or ostriches than any kind of musician. Interesting to look at for a minute and marvel at the existence, but nothing you need get lathered up about. Calling him the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" has always felt profoundly false. He was a "product" like the Monkees, the Partridge Family, the Banana Splits or any of dozens of the RIAA's money-making pop music schemes. The most successful, of course, by a long shot, which is what encouraged them to keep playing that game. But, a product nonetheless. Nothing to write home about.

Led Zeppelin was, of course, a pantheon of gods. "Houses of the Holy" was my first LP from them, and I can't remember how many times I had to replace that one before CDs came out.

To each his own. Robert Plant has said that it was hearing Elvis that changed his life and got him into music. The Pantheon of Gods bow to the King.
MULLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP-zcXtiXhA

 

[SustainerPlayer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFp7ywR5c5Y

 

[Cagey]

To each his own. Robert Plant has said that it was hearing Elvis that changed his life and got him into music. The Pantheon of Gods bow to the King.

Clearly, Mr. Planet was starstruck, and there shouldn't be any surprise there. He's a singer, Elvis was a singer - whaddaya expect? It was validation. Elvis couldn't play an instrument or write a song; he was just a saleable icon. And as Robert mentions toward the end of the interview, Elvis was white. He brought all the good work of the blacks to the forefront and enabled a lot of good work to follow by people who actually had talent. So, the guy was a game-changer and a gateway, which I won't argue at all. But, past that? I'm not impressed, and I wouldn't call him "king" of anything other than rampant self-abuse and debauchery. I suspect he knew that himself, which is what drove him to those extremes. He knew it was a planetary-scale sham, and sought escape. To be fair, I'd probably have done the same thing.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Sounds like Teh Kurdtz.

 

[mullyman]

To each his own. Robert Plant has said that it was hearing Elvis that changed his life and got him into music. The Pantheon of Gods bow to the King.

Clearly, Mr. Planet was starstruck, and there shouldn't be any surprise there. He's a singer, Elvis was a singer - whaddaya expect? It was validation. Elvis couldn't play an instrument or write a song; he was just a saleable icon. And as Robert mentions toward the end of the interview, Elvis was white. He brought all the good work of the blacks to the forefront and enabled a lot of good work to follow by people who actually had talent. So, the guy was a game-changer and a gateway, which I won't argue at all. But, past that? I'm not impressed, and I wouldn't call him "king" of anything other than rampant self-abuse and debauchery. I suspect he knew that himself, which is what drove him to those extremes. He knew it was a planetary-scale sham, and sought escape. To be fair, I'd probably have done the same thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEzSuFShgYc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m1tlowwKM

Granted, he'd never give Eddie Van Halen or Billy Joel a run for their money, but I don't think it's fair to say he "couldn't play an instrument".
MULLY

 

[Cagey]

Ok, so he could play almost as well as a 2nd grade Guatemalan missionary nun for the 7 seconds the camera was watching, as long as somebody else was there playing his part. Still not impressed.

But, I don't want to clutter up the thread with something nobody cares about. Let's just say I was never impressed with the guy while you were, and leave it at that. I'm sure you weren't impressed with the Partridge Family, while I thought they were great back when I was a grasshopper. And they were about a million miles from having any redeeming musical qualities/talents <grin>

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Back on track,
The first cassette I ever bought was Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon! And there is quite a story about it. I still have it and never even opened it, but not because I didn't want too!

I bought it and stuck it in the console of my car and went immediately to an all night keg party at a local lake. It was dark when I got in my car and drove to the lake, and it was still dark the next morning when I opened the console to get out my new tape to play in someone else's cassette deck. (I had a cassette deck in my house, but still had an 8-track in my car. A couple of weeks later I bought one of the plug-in units that allowed you to play cassettes in your 8-track. Can't remember how many cassettes it ate, but I could have bought a real cassette player instead and been money ahead.  :toothy12: )

Imagine my surprise when I opened the console and found that the cassette, case and all and still un-opened, was extremely warped as if it had been setting on a hot dash board in the sun all day! :sad:

The case and cassette were both warped more than a 1/4" in the middle, but it wasn't burned in anyway, so it couldn't have been done with an open flame. Never did figure out what happened to it, but my best friend swears to this day that it was the heat of re-entry from the trip we were on that night!  :laughing7: :dontknow:

Anyway, I had to replace it the next weekend, but I kept it around as a conversation piece! So, ultimately I wound up paying for 5 different copies of that album; the original vinyl, that first cassette, a replacement that I wore out, a second replacement cassette, and finally a CD! :guitarplayer2:

 

[KaiserSoze]

Clearly remember; first album I actually bought was Ziggy Stardust.  After that I raided my older brothers albums when he left for college  (fair game, I say) and was introduced to Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Santana, the Stones, Zep, and all the others that saved me from the evil musical influences of the 80s.  Although I did take a distinct turn to punk in about 1982.

Those were the days.


I'll amend the initial question:

What album/artist sparked the desire and made you pick up an instrument?

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Iron Butterfly convinced me I wanted to be a drummer (as it did with about 80% of the males of my generation ), but a triple shot of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love", CCR's cover of "I Put a Spell On You" and The Beatles "Revolution" totally changed my mind!!!  :laughing7:
'68 was a very good year!  ccasion14:
:guitarplayer2:

 

[DangerousR6]

First vinyl I owned was The Monkee's, first vinyl I bought was soundtrack to Kelly's Hero's. First Rock album was Kiss Alive II..