Tell Us Your Story of Music

[onepixel]

Music is forever intertwined into our lives. What was playing on the first date. Crusin' on Friday nights. "Your" song at your wedding. Music you couldn't stand, but now love. Songs that pump you up! Ones that make you shed a tear. Music that just blows your mind!

Music is a personal journey and music is why we are here.

 

[onepixel]

My mom's family survived the Hiroshima bombing. When she grew up, she worked as a bank teller. Later she would meet my dad an US Serviceman. Before that she was learning French and was groovin' to Hank Williams, Sr. She passed the love of music and Hank to me.

 

[onepixel]

The last 2 1/2 years I went to high school on a military base on Okinawa, Japan. One night I was home listening to Armed Forces Network (AFN) radio in my room. The girls at the time were into Earth Wind and Fire, Boz Scaggs, Leo Sayer and the guys liked Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bad Company. There were cross-over bands that everyone like too.

Then Patti Smith Group's Radio Ethiopia came on over the air waves. It totally blew me away! I had never heard anything like it.

 

[onepixel]

16 years ago I heard this beautiful, moving instrumental. Some of the instruments sounded Chinese, but the vocals sounded Spanish. Other than that I had no clue. I asked the guys on AK for help. Miraculously one guy figured it out!

16 years ago Discogs and eBay were not what they are today. After weeks I found one on eBay in Germany. I ordered and it cost $12.72 shipped to California. My home at the time.
Couple weeks later I got this. It had a $2.95 Amoeba Records clearance tag on it. The Amoeba Records store was 5 miles away from my house. From Germany one way it's about 5,600 miles.

 

[loopstick]

I seem to like a lot of girl / poppy stuff and I think I figured out why. When I first went away to college I still had a girlfriend back home. So every weekend I'd drive from East Lansing to Detroit. To pay for gas I'd put up notes in the dorms for riders. They were always girls. It's a 90 minute drive and all I had was cassettes of this sludgy "heavy" rock stuff that I was pretty sure the girls were gonna hate after a while. So I bought dozens of 1960s cassettes. The first five albums of the Byrds, Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc. Well the girls really liked this stuff and were hearing most of it for the first time. Deep cuts, b-sides, like that. The dreary Manson Chick look was big back then but the music broke that spell and they're all morphing back into Gidget / Patty Duke. Fantastic icebreaker. Even today there are entire genres I avoid cuz subconsciously I'm wondering "Is this something girls are gonna like"?

 

[onepixel]

I seem to like a lot of girl / poppy stuff and I think I figured out why. When I first went away to college I still had a girlfriend back home. So every weekend I'd drive from East Lansing to Detroit. To pay for gas I'd put up notes in the dorms for riders. They were always girls. It's a 90 minute drive and all I had was cassettes of this sludgy "heavy" rock stuff that I was pretty sure the girls were gonna hate after a while. So I bought dozens of 1960s cassettes. The first five albums of the Byrds, Rolling Stones, Beatles, etc. Well the girls really liked this stuff and were hearing most of it for the first time. Deep cuts, b-sides, like that. The dreary Manson Chick look was big back then but the music broke that spell and they're all morphing back into Gidget / Patty Duke. Fantastic icebreaker. Even today there are entire genres I avoid cuz subconsciously I'm wondering "Is this something girls are gonna like"?

I think most of us guys are into more hard rock early on. I was. I didn't have any sisters. Then you meet girls and or get a girl friend and introduced to the softer pop stuff. And vise versa. I learned to love dance music because of girls. For awhile I was a bit embarrassed at some of the stuff I listened too. Now I just listen to whatever I like. If you like, cool. If not, no worries.

 

[onepixel]

By the time I got to college, I had OD'd on The Beatles. Nevertheless I bought this album in 1978, probably for $10 or something at Tower Records. Must've thought it would be good for prosperity since it was a 2LP set and had a good bunch of classics. 35+ years later I pull it out for a spin. It's blue! Well it is the Blue Album. I didn't know better. Recently, thanks to Discogs found out it's a remastered promo. Funny I was thinking I don't have any blue colored vinyl. Lots of red, orange, yellow, coke bottle green and pink. There it was all this time.

 

[Andre Garcia]

Great topic, and interesting stories. music always has been part of us for good or bad.
Grow up listen my parent music but later I choose my own during teenagers days and now I came back to more calm. One song I remember my dad plays a lot was this one.
A lot of memories when I was just a child.

 

[onepixel]

Great topic, and interesting stories. music always has been part of us for good or bad.
Grow up listen my parent music but later I choose my own during teenagers days and now I came back to more calm. One song I remember my dad plays a lot was this one.
A lot of memories when I was just a child.

Yup. Some music has a way of triggering memories and sensations. An often there are interesting stories tied to them.

The Sukiyaki song was part of my childhood too. Good stuff!

 

[onepixel]

In 1980 I was working part time through school. A guy I worked with was ex-US Navy and a stoner. Crusing around after work he would be playing some really different stuff. His girlfriend also worked with us and was real pretty. Once she was in the back seat when he asked me if I wanted to do his girlfriend. He said he was too tired. I looked back and she just had this biggest smile.

But I digress... he was playing The B2s and The Pretenders first albums. I bought those albums and proudly played them for my college roommates. They were like WTF?!

A week later they were all grooving to them.

 

[Andre Garcia]

I was in a Party in the 80’s one of the most beautiful girl decide to dance with me “loves bite” we danced and I remember (until today) before the song ends she looked at me and closed her eyes......ok here I go......I didnt kiss her, dont ask why....my 15 min strike that moment. Never saw her again, but every time I hear that song I just see myself there. Lol! I am 50 now. Love music.
Feel like Bob Seger singing Main street.
AG.

 

[Andre Garcia]

Music is a time machine indeed, we like the frequencies that resonate with us. Some song that sound amazing few years later are not relevant.
I was 8 YO when I hear “Call me”, that was an branding iron for me and I think the trigger to start listen more music.
AG.

 

[ra7c7er]

My grandpa got me into records young but I never really got into music till I 12-13.

My whole family listened to either pop music or country. I just never could get into it. Not only was it boring to me but I only experienced it on the radio so it was the same songs over and over. While on a visit to my dad (parents divorced) I went into an FYE, in Nederland TX, and when the guy behind the counter who looked like a cross between a punk and goth asked me what I was looking for I just said something that isn't on the radio. He pulled a few CDs and I was instantly hooked. That day I went home with Strange Boutique - The Kindest Worlds, The Crow soundtrack, Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom, and a homemade cassette of some local Texas punk/alt/metal stuff the guy gave me. When I met up with my dad and grandparents to eat a Luby's (I miss that place) I showed him what I picked up and he got mad took it away from me till we were at the airport for me to fly back home. Once I got home I spent days just listening to those albums and realized music was way way more then just what was on the radio.

That completely changed my album collection from cool covers and not caring about what was on the record to actually buying stuff to listen to. My grandpa never seemed to really like what I was into but when I was at his house we would switch off listening to his country western stuff and whatever I brought over. He never got up and never interrupted the album playing even when I could easily tell he didn't like it. He was the only one in my family that didn't outwardly hate the music I liked. If my mom could hear the music in my room from outside my door she would come in and take the album from me. Never really kept track but from the first time it happened till I moved out I bet she took 40-50 albums. Funny thing though my mom wonders why I don't talk to her much now. This is a small part of the reason why.

 

[Andre Garcia]

AAA lol!
This topic is getting interesting.
During my teens days I was listen heavy metal, born and raise in a very conservative family to listen it openly wasn't an option. Then I found that not all the music was suitable for everything, so I always stick with resonate with my life. Today 80’s are fading and jazz and some oldies still just there like in the early days.
AG.

 

[onepixel]

I was in a Party in the 80’s one of the most beautiful girl decide to dance with me “loves bite” we danced and I remember (until today) before the song ends she looked at me and closed her eyes......ok here I go......I didnt kiss her, dont ask why....my 15 min strike that moment. Never saw her again, but every time I hear that song I just see myself there. Lol! I am 50 now. Love music.
Feel like Bob Seger singing Main street.
AG.

Yeah... I've had to many chickenshit moments. I wasn't confident with girls back in the day.

 

[onepixel]

My grandpa got me into records young but I never really got into music till I 12-13.

My whole family listened to either pop music or country. I just never could get into it. Not only was it boring to me but I only experienced it on the radio so it was the same songs over and over. While on a visit to my dad (parents divorced) I went into an FYE, in Nederland TX, and when the guy behind the counter who looked like a cross between a punk and goth asked me what I was looking for I just said something that isn't on the radio. He pulled a few CDs and I was instantly hooked. That day I went home with Strange Boutique - The Kindest Worlds, The Crow soundtrack, Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom, and a homemade cassette of some local Texas punk/alt/metal stuff the guy gave me. When I met up with my dad and grandparents to eat a Luby's (I miss that place) I showed him what I picked up and he got mad took it away from me till we were at the airport for me to fly back home. Once I got home I spent days just listening to those albums and realized music was way way more then just what was on the radio.

That completely changed my album collection from cool covers and not caring about what was on the record to actually buying stuff to listen to. My grandpa never seemed to really like what I was into but when I was at his house we would switch off listening to his country western stuff and whatever I brought over. He never got up and never interrupted the album playing even when I could easily tell he didn't like it. He was the only one in my family that didn't outwardly hate the music I liked. If my mom could hear the music in my room from outside my door she would come in and take the album from me. Never really kept track but from the first time it happened till I moved out I bet she took 40-50 albums. Funny thing though my mom wonders why I don't talk to her much now. This is a small part of the reason why.

Sounds like you have a cool grandpa! My grandma would call me a yippie. Other than that and making us got to Church, she was cool.

Being a Military Brat growing up we moved a lot, every couple years. So I was on the quiet side and had to adapt. I even kinda developed a stutter. That was messed up. But I've come to appreciate all that moving around. I got to see and experience a bigger, diverse part of the world without joining the Navy. I ended up having all kinds of friends, so I appreciate almost all kinds of music.

Like the O'Jay's song,
"I love music
Any kind of music
I love music
Just as long as it's groovy..."

 

[onepixel]

AAA lol!
This topic is getting interesting.
During my teens days I was listen heavy metal, born and raise in a very conservative family to listen it openly wasn't an option. Then I found that not all the music was suitable for everything, so I always stick with resonate with my life. Today 80’s are fading and jazz and some oldies still just there like in the early days.
AG.

I'm 63 and I'm waiting for this record in the mail. My daughter turned me onto the Gorillaz back in 2005. It's fun not growing up.

 

[bobsvinyl]

My Dad loved music. He had several hundred albums and I was his sidekick. My two brothers had no interest in music so I joined my Dad on his trips to the record store. I have to admit I wasn't too keen on my Dad's musical taste.

He was into low budget World music (Polka, German Oompah, Spanish brass etc.) and Country Western. It was my introduction into the magical world of music played through a stereo system. While my friends were spending their money on car parts and fast food, I was saving up to buy records. I remember enjoying Johnny Cash, Lorne Greene and Spike Jones.

I then discovered rock and the blues and tried to turn my Dad on to it. No luck. One day I walked into the kitchen and he was listening to an easy listening group's version of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. My Dad said "Why don't you listen to good music like this?". I told him that it was a Beatles song he was listening to. Without missing a beat he responded, "Yeah, but they know how to play it the way it should be done."

I sure miss my Dad.

 

[onepixel]

My Dad loved music. He had several hundred albums and I was his sidekick. My two brothers had no interest in music so I joined my Dad on his trips to the record store. I have to admit I wasn't too keen on my Dad's musical taste.

He was into low budget World music (Polka, German Oompah, Spanish brass etc.) and Country Western. It was my introduction into the magical world of music played through a stereo system. While my friends were spending their money on car parts and fast food, I was saving up to buy records. I remember enjoying Johnny Cash, Lorne Greene and Spike Jones.

I then discovered rock and the blues and tried to turn my Dad on to it. No luck. One day I walked into the kitchen and he was listening to an easy listening group's version of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. My Dad said "Why don't you listen to good music like this?". I told him that it was a Beatles song he was listening to. Without missing a beat he responded, "Yeah, but they know how to play it the way it should be done."

I sure miss my Dad.

That's a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[onepixel]

My mom liked musical, so we grew up with them. Since we only had one tv and when the weather was bad that's what we watched.

Years later, my sister-in-law was an actor on Broadway. So it introduced the music to my daughter growing up. We had the VHS/DVDs too. My daughter (7-9 years old) would watch and sing along with Bloody Mary, I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and other songs on repeat, on repeat, on repeat. And that was just one of them!

My daughter got a walk on part in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway, because her aunt was on the cast. The judges started off with easy words, but progressively got harder, harder and couldn't get my daughter off the stage, because she was spelling all the words! lol

Met Debbie Boone as (Anna) and her dog afterwards when they were on the cast of The King and I. Fun stuff.