Saturday Six – First Music You Ever Purchased

Welcome to the Saturday Six, where each week I help you get to know me a bit better with the help of a list. Any idiot can do a Top 5 list, which is why I kicked it up a notch to a Top 6. This week’s topic: The First Music You Ever Purchased

So this week marked the 50th release in the Now That’s What I Call Music series here in the States, which is a lot of crappy pop music, going back to 1998. This got me to thinking about all the crappy pop music I used to listen to as a kid, so I’ll embarrass myself and share the list of the first 6 pieces of music (non Pocket Rocker) I ever paid my own money for.

In what must have been early 1989, when I was second grade, I trash picked a record player when my neighbor moved out. Why, I have no idea, I didn’t own any records, but it did have a radio I listened to alot. Shortly after this I remember my mom taking me to Final Vinal, the record store around the block from my house to get some records to play, and I bought the first 3 entries (all singles, not the full albums) on my list for like $10 total. Then the following year at Christmas I got a Walkman, and bought the cassettes for the final 3, and wore them all out along with the Yo MTV Raps compilation I received from Santa that year.

1. Madonna – “Like A Prayer” – What, it was the 80’s, it was impossible to miss Madonna in the 80’s. Sure, she was done with her blonde ambition phase, but I remember watching the hell out of the video for this. I was too young to really get it, either the message of the video or Madonna’s sexuality, but that didn’t stop me from watching it over and over again anyway.

 

2. Mike and the Mechanics – “In the Living Years” – I don’t really have any answer as to why I bought this, I just loved the song as a kid, but another one I didn’t really understand the meaning at the time.

 

3. The Escape Club – “Wild Wild West” – I have even less of an answer for this one. I vividly remember owning this, but have no clue why I purchased it. I can only surmise that it must have been in heavy rotation on MTV at the time. It’s a fun pop-y song, but definitely not the type of thing anyone ever need to own.

 

4. Vanilla Ice – To The Extreme – Every school aged kid at the time was obsessed with Vanilla Ice, it was just a fact. You couldn’t be caught dead on the schoolyard not knowing the words to “Ice, Ice Baby”. Interesting post script here, have you seen Ice’s shows on HGTV? He’s actually a very knowledgeable contractor, and the series where he works with the Amish farmers is hysterical. Good for him finding work past his one hit wonderdom.

 

5. MC Hammer – Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em – Hammer on the other hand, didn’t work out so well. While I can still do the 2 Legit 2 Quit hand signals, it didn’t stop him from declaring bankruptcy. I will however admit that I owned many a pair of Hammer pants. What, I was 9. Shut up!

 

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Coming Out Of Their Shells – OK, technically I didn’t pay for this, as it came free with my dinner at Pizza Hut. I remember I forced my parents to take me there for my birthday dinner, and when they seated us and I asked, they said did not have any tapes, so I threw a massive tantrum. They told me they would send someone to another Pizza Hut to go get me one. If that was true or not, I’ll never know, but I did leave the store with my copy, which I still listen to occasionally, and I still know all the words to every song. I never did get to see them in concert, as it was like christmas day or some time I couldnt get off school, but I remember watching them on Oprah, and I linked to the whole VHS performance, if you’ve never seen it. David Ruprecht from Supermarket Sweep is in it!

There was a time when you played music on something this big

JohnScott is the proud owner of a life size replica Captain Kirk Chair. He is a hoarder of Comic Books, Transformers, and Star Trek action figures. He attended Space Camp as an adult. He has taken vacations to the closing of the Star Trek Experience and the final night Shuttle launch. He has been known to yell at his television when the kids can't put together the damn statue in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. When not writing for InsufficientScotty, he is a Software Engineer for a major healthcare communications company. You can Email or follow on Twitter @NotEnoughScotty or Facebook