Age 5: attempted to memorize all the words to "The Gambler." (Dad was a huge Kenny Rogers fan. I know more Kenny Rogers songs than I care to admit.) Mostly successful in this effort, and those words are still mostly ingrained in my brain. Also listened to Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album a million times thanks to Mom. While I do question whether a 5-year old should've been going around singing "Cecilia" in public, to this day "The Boxer" is still my favorite S&G song. (I may take after my dad in terms of stubbornness but it's pretty clear where my music appreciation gene comes from - I was also fond of her Peter Paul & Mary, Beatles and Neil Diamond albums as a child.)
Age 7: began my 45" vinyl singles collection. Lots of Michael Jackson and Prince were involved. Also this year, ventured into the world of new media and purchased my first cassette tape - Men at Work, Business as Usual.
Age 8: sang Paul's part of "Say Say Say" (CLICK! you MUST click!) into a tape recorder over and over to get the perfect "take" as judged by my brother, who thought I had a lovely singing voice back in the day. Three years later, rejected by county choir. Hrrmph. Also this year, the "Thriller" video was released. We did not have cable but my uncle did, and we were at his house when the video premiered on MTV. Scared the holy crap out of me.
Age 9: heard my first Weird Al song, then memorized the whole album. Spent the rest of the summer creating song parodies to Michael Jackson songs (I think this is where my interest in writing began) and being slightly afraid to listen to "Nature Trail to Hell In 3-D" before bed.
Age 10: indoctrinated into Run's House by my brother.
Age 13: my "song" with my "boyfriend" was "Always" by Atlantic Starr. Don't forget the extra "r" in Starr. Or the air quotes around any of this.
Age 14: attended NKOTB concert. Was mocked by dozens, didn't care.
Later that year, introduced to Erasure and thus began my long, slow descent into the world of indie rock by way of electronica.
Which leads to a belated Friday five: albums that had the most significant impact on my formative late high school/early college years, in no particular order and of no surprise to anyone...
- Ten - Pearl Jam
- Disintegration - The Cure
- Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
- Pretty Hate Machine - Nine Inch Nails
- Mental Jewelry - Live
That album cover is excellent. Remember the video? Also brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI have a distinct memory of singing Say Say Say on the school bus, all of us in harmony for the "ooh ooh ooh" part and cracking up after hearing ourselves.
Ahh Michael Jackson when he was still human...
Oh yeah, the video that has nothing to do with the song.
ReplyDeleteAhh MTV when they still played videos.
omg you youngster, I would have been your funky weird yet studious babysitter. Thriller reminds me of hanging out with 21 year olds and getting drunk off cheap white wine, as a wee high school freshman! We'd have MTV playing all night long (with the hopes that some cool indy or punk band video would sneak in) and that darn MJ video repeated all the time. Of course, it was much better than that other epic video by Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart. Ack.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you were such a rebel!
ReplyDelete