Earliest music memories.

[sje46]

What were they? Say your age and the first five or more songs you remember hearing, or anything else you feel like sharing that relates to your first musical memories. Often they're not the first songs you actually heard, but they're usually pretty meaningful, if only for nostalgia reasons.

I was born in 1989.

1. Losing My Religion - REM. This song turned me into a solipsist. I thought it was about a guy losing his religion because he found out reality was an illusion. Turns out it was actually about stalking a girl.

2. Free Falling - Tom Petty My mom listened to a looot of Tom Petty when I was a tyke.

3. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana A lot of Nirvana too.

4. Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side. He would turn out to be one of my favorite songwriters, fifteen years later.

5. Eric Burden and War - Spill the Wine ...kinda a weird one, actually.

[Midnight]

The Beach Boys. I was born in '92.

[Magnanimous]

Oooh, good thread.

Born in '91. My sister (four years older than me) listened to *NSYNC (or however you spell it these days) and The Backstreet Boys, so that's pretty much all I heard... But there was the occasional radio song.

[SirMustapha]

I was born in 1985. People in my house listened to ABBA, Julio Iglesias, some icky Brazilian stuff, but I also have vague recollections of pretty good 80's/early 90's stuff from the radio, for example, the extremely campy and wonderful I Love to Hate You by Erasure. Fuck yeah.

[Microscopic cog]

I started getting into music after my parents bought a CD with the most popular tracks of the annual radio Top 2000 ( radio event and stuff, not important )

It featured of course, the #1 track of the list, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I was hooked. Got myself a CD. Loved it. I was twelve. ]

After a lot of Queen, my brother got me into the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with songs like "Otherside", "By the way" and "Can't Stop."

Then I started listening to lots music, mostly crappy mainstream rock and stuff. However. also David Bowie which I am still a fan of. Especially Absolute Beginners, just when think it won't get any better you get the saxophone and the world gets torn apart.

So yeah, first two years was mainstream rock. After that I got a cooler music taste.

[Dirk]

Dire straits first album, my dad listened to it a lot when I was a little kid. He listened it together with other music from that time, but this one really sticked

[PatrickRsGhost]

Age: 4 or 5
Song: "Our House" by Madness

It's one of the first songs I remember learning some of the lyrics to, mainly the chorus. I always sang it as "Our house, in the middle of our screet."

Another early music memory seems to be from when I was 6 or 7. Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" was very popular at the time, as was Huey Lewis & The News' "Hip to be Square".

MTV seemed to have been the main resource of music when I was a wee lad, back when they played nothing but music videos, a.k.a. "The Good Ol' Days". Michael Jackson, Dire Straits, Billy Idol, Huey Lewis & The News, Bruce Springsteen, all of them raised this child.

Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons Project, however, seemed to have been the forerunners, along with Yes, Fleetwood Mac, and a couple others. Mainly Floyd and APP.

[Retne]

Born in '85. Probably my earliest musical leanings were a combination of paul simon, the beatles and the intro songs to all those old black and white TV shows they used to show on nick at night(bewitched and the like). As for my first real enjoyment of music it was when I was in the 4th or 5th grade I can't remember but someone shared Offspring's Smash with me. From there I branched out into a lot of punk and metal. An album I associate with my teenage years(specifically a trip to ireland) is Soulfly's 3. Picked it up over in ireland and when I listen to it to this day it takes me back to riding in a car looking out at the irish countryside. I also remember my first dancing with a girl experience was while listening to Korn's Life is Peachy. A group of us being silly goth kids at a summer camp and not wanting any part of the regular dance found an empty room and hooked up a cd player with it and had our own little dance.

OK now I'm getting all sentimental. Excuse me while I go cheesily listen to some 90s music.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

The "Les Miserables" soundtrack, and Simon and Garfunkel, in the early early 80's.

Oddly, I'm a metalhead with an emphasis on stoner and psychedelic. Go fig.

[poxic]

Aside from nursery rhymes and the suchlike, my earliest music would have been my parents' record (as in vinyl LP) collection. (The 8-tracks came a wee bit later and were mostly the same stuff.)

John Denver. Nana Mouskouri. Percy Faith And His Orchestra. Gordon Lightfoot. Anne Murray. The Irish Rovers (I had to look up their name -- could only remember "The Rovers" -- and found out they were Canadian, not Irish. Oh the disillusionment. )

Yep, there was a fair amount of suck therein, but also some awesomeness that I still appreciate. Mr. Lightfoot and Ms. Mouskouri remain on my watch list for opportunities to pick up some of their stuff in modern formats. Good old thoroughly-competent folk music is good old stuff.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

John Denver. Nana Mouskouri. Percy Faith And His Orchestra. Gordon Lightfoot. Anne Murray. The Irish Rovers.

Mom?

...

My mom looks JUST like Nana Mouskouri (or she did back then) and had a lot of her stuff.

[poxic]

Neither of my parents looked particularly like Nana M., nor any of the other people who made the records they owned. It might have made things more interesting if they did.

[Magnificent Minimalist]

I was born in 1980. I first remember hearing Whitney Houston singing "The Greatest Love of All"; I was in the car with my mother on the way to kindergarten. We ended up singing that song at our kindergarten graduation. Then I sang it at my mother's wedding: I was clinging to her skirt and shrieking the words at the guests.

[Whistling Nixie]

The earliest thing I can remember hearing is probably "Listen What the Man Said" (1975) by Paul McCartney & Wings, on a commercial AM radio station (one of only six - all on the AM band, and they shut down overnight), in the living room of our house in the suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand. I would've been less than two years old.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I was born in 1980. I first remember hearing Whitney Houston singing "The Greatest Love of All"; I was in the car with my mother on the way to kindergarten. We ended up singing that song at our kindergarten graduation. Then I sang it at my mother's wedding: I was clinging to her skirt and shrieking the words at the guests.

Funny, when I was in 5th Grade, we all (all 3 or 4 classes) had to sing this at our D.A.R.E. graduation. We sang "From A Distance" by Bette Midler at our 5th Grade grad.

[Jar'O'Jam]

I was born in 1989 myself, and one vivid memory I have is me sitting in front of a music center and listening to Sting or some compilations of soft jazz music. Other one is me, traveling on a train ( with the family, of course), listening to the 5ive on tape late at night. Somewhere around that time I also bought Scooter, Gorrilaz and Vacuum tapes, all are still gathering dust somewhere.

What do I listen to now ? Pretty much none of that. Last three artists in my playlist are Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi, The Mars Volta and Pomplamoose.

[Phill]

Born in '83. My earliest musical memories are the records my parents used to have - some old 60s and 70s music as well as some 80s music from my sisters.

The ones that stand out to me are ABBA (their greatest hits I think), The Beatles (Please Please Me), Cliff Richard and the Shadows (all sorts), Telstar, Brotherhood of Man... um, probably a few more I've missed too.

I still listen to The Beatles quite often, the others mainly hold nostalgic value

[philsov]

Earliest musical memories are from mix tapes my parents used to listen to a lot. I actually burned it to a CD with a CD burner that accepted analog from records/tapes.

My dad's tape had... let's see... notably Jefferson Airplane - Fast Buck Freddie + Miracles. Queen's We Will Rock You + We Are the Champions, and Cactus - Token Chokin' (which I just loooved as a kid, the line of "run out, throw up, hope your brain don't blow up" was hilarious but it wasn't a good 15 more years until I figured out what the song was -really- about).

Mom's tape was mostly Dolly Parton. We'd listen to it whenever we'd drive to the grandparents's house. Memorable songs off that one were 9 to 5 and Apple Jack.

[Converge]

My earliest memory is definitely "Shine" By Collective Soul. I would sing IT all the time from the time I was 3-6.

OHHHHWHOAAAAA HEAVEN, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE DOWN.

[Cathode Ray Sunshine]

Well, I remember listening to my cousin's Héroes del Silencio tapes like 15 years ago more or less.

[Mumpy]

Another '92-er. my first album was gorrilaz first one. The words from that album are ingrained in my brain. Other than that though, a lot of backstreet boys, nickleback and five.

and I started this post so well.

[freakingidol]

As a kid, I thought singing was kind of a feminine thing to do, I don't know exactly why, maybe it was the '80s.

[Sheikh al-Majaneen]

Born in 1985. Most of my earliest music memories are of REM, and this Christian band called The Call (I think...? I remember loving their tape, but I don't remember any of it and wouldn't recognise it if I heard it). And some shitty local radio station which ruined every song made before I was born by overplaying it. Stairway to Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody shouldn't be boring, but because of the aforementioned radio station, they are. Burned into the back of my skull before I learned to write.

I suppose the scope of this thread doesn't include when we moved into a house with a cable box (in 1993, when I was 8 ), and I could watch MTV for the first time. When they actually played music videos. Then music exploded, and it was Collective Soul, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Toad the Wet Sprocket nonstop. And then the Offspring, when Americana was released...it was moving. But fear (by Toad the Wet Sprocket) is still one of my favorite albums, because it has deepened in beauty as I've grown older.

[Jplus]

I was born in 1987. As a small kid, I used to get all quiet as well as euphoric when I heard female arias from the opera. My mom told me she often listened to such music when I was very small (I don't recall very well how small, but it was definitely before any memories which in my case start at age 2).

Apart from that, I mostly recall lots of baroque music (especially J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Monteverdi), as well as some Vaya Con Dios, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Nina Simone, Sting and Bruce Springsteen. More or less in that order.

[zombie_monkey]

Born in 1984. My earliest musical memory is C. C. Catch. A friend of my parents was DJing. So 80's disco. :shrug:

A close second is Voyage Voyage on a road trip in the Rhodopes with my parents. It was so beautiful everywhere around us.

[King of Frogs]

I was born in '89, and most of my formative music experiences involved my mother's love of the infinitely uncool Bryan Adams, as well as Travis, Runrig, U2, The Prodigy and the soundtrack from the film The Mission, which got me onto the marvelous Ennio Morrecone early on.

I have some nice memories of playing Medal of Honour: Underground with a friend of mine, listening to early U2 on repeat. New Year's Day and Pride (In the Name of Love) are still guilty pleasures of mine.

[studyinserendipity]

As a young child (really young, this song is pretty much my earliest childhood memory), I was obsessed with Seals & Crofts "Summer Breeze." Not to the point of wanting to own the song or listen to it when I wanted to, but I can remember bits of it getting stuck in my head and I would listen to them mentally over and over. There was something about the chord progression or the instrumentation or the harmony that 'got' to me and I can remember being secretly excited to hear it on the radio. Come to think of it, I don't know if I ever knew the name of song until I was older or if my parents know I liked it so much. Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle" was a favorite for a similar reason.

There was a mix tape of songs from the radio that were silly that my parents let my brothers and I rock out to in the basement. We used to sing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles and just yell random things in place of the words "Diamonds" - "Lucy in the sky with PICKLES!" - and collapse on the floor laughing. And we liked Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" because of the falsetto section. "The Bitch is Back" (another Elton song) was also on the tape, and I can remember being in awe of it because someone was swearing in the song and my parents let us listen to it anyways.

I was in a car with my friend from down the street and her parents on the way back from the beach. I was around 7 or 8 years old. Pink Floyd, who I had never heard of, was on the radio. I think the song was "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2." I remember feeling guilty because I could understand the lyrics and I didn't know if my parents would like that I heard it. Turns out a few years later both of my parents become avid Pink Floyd fans, so I didn't have to worry about that!

[luis013]

I was born in 1985 of the first songs I remember are, creedence clearwater revival down on the corner, bee gees, john lennon, iron maden the trooper

[chris661]

Born in 1994

The albums I remember from my childhood:

- Supernatural by Santana
- Stanley Road by Paul Weller
- Nevermind by Nirvana

There were, of course, other individual tracks - such as Somebody Put Something in my Drink (which I have on 7" vinyl) - that occasionally appear on the radio.

Chris

[theGoldenCalf;]

As a kid, I thought singing was kind of a feminine thing to do, I don't know exactly why, maybe it was the '80s.

I had a similar sentiment as a child - not that singing was feminine, but that women are so much better at it than men that they put men to such shame they better just quit. These days I rarely listen to music with vocals.

Born in 1979, almost all the music I knew as a child that wasn't hebrew was the beatles and abba (I still like some of the beatles, abba sucks but feels cosily nostalgic), or classical music, which I really tried to like as all the grownups around me said it was THE music. Never liked any of it and still don't.

[Obby]

Born in '88 here.

My earliest memories of music, period, were from when I was very young (maybe 4 or 5), sitting in my living room. My mom was cooking something and had a band called Firefall playing. I still don't like them to this day.

The earliest memories of music I enjoyed, however, was when I was not much older than the previous memory, I was in the car with my dad and he had Metallica's "... And Justice for All" playing. We were both rocking out, and it was awesome. Another memory from around the same age was when I decided that I would hijack the stereo system in the living room and blast "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd.

My music tastes since then have expanded, but there's not much I've moved away from, in terms of genres. Pretty much the only genre I will outright refuse to listen to is country.

[jobriath]

'85 also!

Triangle Man by They Might Be Giants and Meatloaf were endlessly replayed in our car.

I once got told off for singing Western Promise by Ultravox while bouncing off the walls in infant school. I loved that track. Still do, when I can ignore the lyrics.

Ooo, here's a one: Radio Gnome Invisible by Gong. My brother and I could sing the whole thing. Banana? Nirvana? Mañana? (I know!)

Ska cover wizard Judge Dredd also got played a lot. It reminds me of playing GTA, also with my brother, and once again we knew all the lyrics. "There was a nude sailor who sat on a rock / waving and shaking his big hairy---" "Fist at the ladies..." and so on. My grandma loved it.

[Narsil]

First music memory is Star Guitar, by The Chemical Brothers. Every time I took a ride in his car I would beg him to play Come With Us over. and over. and over again. Sometimes he refused and played Fatboy Slim or Soul Coughing instead. But I had no problems with that.

[raike]

My earliest memory involving music is my father's habit of loudly singing old Bollywood movie songs in the shower, very often, "Aane wala pal jaane wala hai."

I remember hearing ABBA and Michael Jackson a lot, some Ace of Base every now and then. (I was born in 1993).

[Kisama]

Born in 1986, the earliest music I can remember noticing was Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, which may explain my partiality to Baroque music.

I only recently figured out the reason for coming over all weepy when I listen to them now is a sense of pain for my lost youth. [/melodrama]