Everyone remembers the first album they bought, most even remember the first single they bought. It's a big step in a kid's life when they hold up that album and think "This is what I want to spend my money on." It's a memory that appears to be dying out among the younger generation of ITunes kids, to keep the tradition alive I'd love to hear and post about your first album.
Catch me on my email; samanthahawxwell@hotmail.co.uk
Let's keep this experience alive!
Stop The Clocks - Sam Hawxwell.
The day you buy your first album is a big day, it's that first sign of being independent enough to make your own decisions. My first album was Stop The Clocks by Oasis, I was twelve years old and just beginning to get into music. I usually went shopping with my dad on a Saturday, I had £8 pocket money to spend and usually I was buying DVDs, but that week I wanted to buy an Oasis CD. It was in the middle of HMV, in Middlesbrough, on the right hand side of the aisle of rock and pop and a big pink sticker with '£7' was slapped on the case, I checked the track listing and noticed that most of my favourite Oasis songs were printed on it. I already had '(What's the story) Morning Glory?', 'Definitely Maybe' and 'Don't Believe The Truth' but these two discs held extra Oasis songs that I hadn't yet heard. I held it tightly in my hand and my dad told me to go and pay for it whilst he went out for a cigarette. It was the first time I had been to the till by myself, the man at the till shouted "Next" and I slowly walked up to him, my money in my left hand and my CD in my right, lifting them both up to him, carefully he took the CD and smiled at me "Good choice" was his comment as he scanned it in.
When I got into the car, on the journey home, I took immense pleasure out of torturing my dad with turning the volume up as loud as it would go as I listened to 'Stop The Clocks'.
All We Know Is Falling - Matt King
When I was growing up the only thing I ever used to spend my money on was PlayStation games which was lovely at the time but you know what games get old and eventually replaced, so it wasn't until I was 17 I decided to buy my first album. So with my first legendary EMA payment I signed up for Play.com and purchased Paramore - All We Know Is Falling, which was their debut album, the day that got delivered was one of the most exciting moments of my life. So I inserted into my desktop, turned up the speakers and instantly the sound of my best purchase echoed around my bedroom. I still listen to it now 5 years later, I can't say I have ever played a PlayStation game 5 years after buying it. Just Hayley's voice seduced my darkest and deepest thoughts into surfacing which was crucial at that stage of my life, favourite song off the album was Emergency, which I absolutely loved probably still my favourite of their entire collection.
By The Way - Stefan Bockmann
I had always liked music since I can remember. My parents had tried forcing a few instruments on me but I never really took to it (at the age of six, my parents bought me a keyboard and I simply used it as makeshift ladder to play with). I liked music, but I didn't love it. I didn't really know why it was so important.
However, at the age of thirteen, the first album I ever bought was By The Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers. I wasn't even aware of the band's existence up until this point but the album cover alone was enough to get my attention. I got home, plugged in my portable CD player and listened to the album. I then listened to it another four or five times, by which point I had actually fallen in love with it. It somehow suddenly hit me how important music can be. It was a form of escapism for myself. It took away my worries from school, my fears of bullying disappeared for 68 minutes and 46 seconds. It gave me a confidence in myself somehow.
It was a very popular album but it still felt very personal and my own. Because of this album, I realised how amazing music could be because I wasn't just hearing it any more, I was listening. Because of this album, I searched for more music, delving into my parent's record collection and discovering some bands that are still my personal favourites to this day. If it wasn't for this album, I might never have picked up a guitar. I owe a lot to By The Way.
(What's the story) Morning Glory? - Jordan Greenhalgh
The first album I ever bought was (What's the story) Morning glory by the best band in the world, Oasis. I was and still am a massive fan of Don't look back in anger, but being about 4-5 I knew it as "That, Sally can wait, song". Anyway, my Auntie told me it was by Oasis. I never knew how to get it though unless I heard it on the radio, until I went into a pawn shop where I saw the Oasis album Morning glory. My Dad reassured me the song was on this album and bought it for me with money I saved. It was then the best day ever as I could listen to "The, Sally can wait, song", as much as I wanted and as a bonus there was a bunch of other tunes on it as well!
(What's the story) Morning Glory? - Matt Heron (Of the Sub Rosas)
It's not REALLY "the first album I ever bought" but it is "the first album I ever really called my own." - Hopefully this still counts!I was eight, it was late '95, and I remember going through my Dad's CD collection. Normally I'd find some early R.E.M (Document), Paul Simon (Graceland) etc. I just enjoyed the music. But this one day, I found an album I didn't recognise, It was (What's The Story) Morning Glory. I put it in the player, (he was never happy with me doing that, he would have killed me if I had scratched it) put the headphones on, and just listened.
I had never heard anything quite like it. It was loud, it was full, and it had everything I was looking for. After a little while, I took the CD, put it back in the case, and took it to my room. I must have listened to that album over and over and over again for days. I knew after a while of constant listening that I wanted to play the guitar and be in a band, and make music, and dress cool...It changed my life.
As for my dad, he never got it back...
Marshall Mathers LP - Kelsey Daly
The first album I have ever purchased with my own cash would be The Marshall Mathers LP when I was 10. Rap music isn't for everybody, it isn't really my favorite genre of music but as a first album I think its respectable. If you haven't heard it its very provoking and it touches on a range of subjects from drugs, family problems to obsessed fans and what is special about it is that it distances itself from Rap's stigma of being about Guns, bitches and bling. It's not for everybody because of its explicit content but it is an album you can listen to from start to finish without getting bored.
The Only One I Know - Matt Liggett
I bled for the Charlatans, literally.
In the US, prior to the internet in the late 80s/early 90s, our best chance at hearing anything worthwhile was to stay up late and listen to “Rock Over London”. I did not know much about the show only that it came on late at night on the weekends and it was my best chance to hear good music.
The first CD I purchased was the amazing single, The Only One I Know from The Charlatans. That song started my love affair with “MadChester” that is still in full swing. My parents had just purchased a “Compact Disk” player and the kids knew they were seeing the future. The only problem was my sister and I always wanted to use it at the same time. So one day when it was clearly my turn to use the CD player, my sister and I got into a disagreement about scheduling. She scratched and clawed and being my big sister, won the fight. Suddenly there my blood was trickling onto the unique cardboard sleeve. You can imagine the calm collected nature in which I explained to my sister how she had ruined my CD and therefore, my life.
I am fairly sure it is the brilliant music that has kept me as a fan of The Charlatans to this day. However, can we pretend it has a little to do with the day I defended the best band in the world’s honor in the living room of a quiet little house in Utah?
While all my music is now happily stored digitally on my various Apple devices, give me a few minutes in the basement and I can find that cardboard case that contains the battle scars of a long lost battle. In fact that blood now stands as a badge of honor to my North Country Boys.
