First CDs
- Wade
This Christmas will mark my 12th anniversary of owning a CD player. I knew the gift was coming-- my parents' idea of hiding it was putting the box (unwrapped) in my Dad's bedroom under a blanket. To be sure, I didn't have to peek... but I've never been one for delayed gratification. I remember staring at the features listed on the box, excited that I'd no longer be subject to the horrors of rewinding, fast-forwarding, and ejecting tapes. I'd be at the top of high technology. Did it get better in 1992?
I didn't want to get this great of a gift and not be able to use it right away... so during my holiday shopping I decided to stop by Musicland and buy my first CDs. But what to buy? It had to be something I already owned, and liked-- what would be worse than having your initial CD experience suck? So I went for duplicates of my favorite tapes at the time...
This one is probably obvious. R.E.M. was my favorite group at the time (and would be for the next five years), and AFTP had just been released the prior fall. Both they and I were still into their acoustic sound at the time, until 1994's Monster knocked that out of our systems.
If R.E.M. was all smooth edges and Pottery Barn hues, Pearl Jam was broken zippers and high contrast. While I appreciated Nirvana, Pearl Jam was more of the rock band I yearned to listen to. Blistering solos, great percussion, passion-filled vocals... I still love Ten. Too bad for everyone else that Vedder didn't love it, or at least didn't love the reaction to it, as the band's albums went downhill from there. At least, in my humble opinion.
Surprised? I probably listened to Simon & Garfunkel more in high school than any other band combined. I distinctly remember playing some strange SNES game (had something to do with conquering lands in ancient China) for hours on end the winter of my sophomore year, and listening to S&G's Greatest Hits over and over and over again. Can you imagine having that much free time again? Anyway, I'm still a sucker for Paul and Art's harmonies, and their Anthology frequently finds its way into my computer here during the morning hours, before all hell starts to break loose. It's a nice way to start the day.
So how 'bout you? Remember what your first CD's were? Seems like a good forum topic to me.... ;>
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