I’m listening to Audioslave’s self titled. It’s still perfect. What’s yours?
Green Day. Dookie.
Weird Al Yankovic in 3D.
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. Funny story time - it seemed like everyone had or wanted to have that album when it came out. We did not have it though because it was hard to find in my village. A boy I knew had the album and agreed to make a recording for me on cassette. I was super pumped and got the tape from him on Friday at school before a slumber party with my besties. Saturday morning we’re all sitting around the table with my friend’s huge family and they pulled out a cassette player and set it in the center of the table. The first three tracks played while we’re monching pancakes and I was so chuffed to have brought this sought after album. Then “Thriller” came on - the song - which is nearly six minutes long. Everyone knows the song and it’s ramping up but then suddenly the music cuts out with a click. It was the boy who recorded it speaking in to a mic saying, “Elaine, I recorded this for you because I love you.” Mind you, I’m ten so the entire room - adults and kids are dying of laughter while I was desperately trying to crawl across the table to shut it off. Someone grabbed the tape player from my reach and I died instantly. This is my clone typing this in 2024.
Oh my god.
Polka Party! by “Weird Al” Yankovic
Brandy’s first album. Or TLC’s. Both of those tapes got played to deaaath. But my real favorite was probably whatever mixtape my sister and I had most recently made from the radio because that shit was custom. No skips.
Yessss. One thing I really miss is making custom mixes. (Though it was cds for me). A playlist isn’t quite the same.
When I was ten Master of Puppets and Slippery When Wet were both released and awesome.
That said, and as a fan of the wierd and heavy, Graceland by Paul Simon was also released and is one of the best albums of all time.
Ænima
You were listening to that at ten?!
I didn’t understand it but it was like nothing I’d ever heard before.
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
That was a time where a young kid listened to anything his older siblings were jamming to. So Oasis was one of my favorite bands at that age.
That’s one of the albums my older sister brought home too!
When I was 10 I hadn’t really had the chance to explore music on my own and discover music outside of my parents’ preferences. I think about that age I listened to one album by an acapella group called The Bobs.
A few years later I stumbled upon a video on Youtube that had You’re Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring as the audio track and was immediately hooked, and finally saw them in concert about a year ago
Styx - Paradise Theatre
(And no wonder I’ve always spelled it like a Brit! Learn something new everyday.)
The Kick Inside by Kate Bush
It was my Dad’s CD and he made me a cassette tape for my walkman. It’s still one of my all time favorites.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5NKTuBLCYhN0OwqFiGdXd1?si=rq5Oqcb0S6-wxhpJGQ5Uww
I hadn’t really developed any musical taste at that point. The first favorite would’ve been Nirvana’s Unplugged in New York.
Machine Head, Deep Purple.
Backstreet Boys - Millennium
Comes down to one of two, and to varying degrees they both hold up.
- Dare to be Stupid by Weird Al. Not a single miss, Al possibly at the height of his powers, and that’s saying a lot.
- The Top Gun soundtrack. Whammy bar intensifies: wah wah wah, wanna wanna wah wah, wanna WAH wanna WAH, wanna WAH wah.
