Looking back on how I discovered these album, i started to realize that i came across most of them by mistake, the clouds didn't open up, a beam of light didn't guide me to them...none of that...i just kept an open mind and ear and I am glad that i did, b/c i would have missed out on a lot of great music.
Well here are a few of those albums that i bought, back in the day, that help me love and appreciate music...this is part uno!
** miles davis - kind of blue
favorite song(s) off this album: Blue in Green
i started to get into jazz while i was in high school. I think the reason stemmed from my memories of playing in the band during middle school. and of course i got stuck playing the clarinet... but i always wanted to play the trumpet. i loved the sound and look of the trumpet...i felt as though i would of had the coolness and mysteriousness of miles davis...unlike with the clarinet i felt like kenny g. not a cool feeling...
**Jimi Hendrix - Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix
Favorite song(s) off this album: Little Wing, Red House, Bold As Love
i always heard of Jimi Hendrix but I couldn't put a face to him or his music. When I was 15, I was with a friend of mine, who delivered flowers at a flower shop that my mom worked at, and we were out on a deliver with the radio tuned to local rock station in town and "Foxy Lady" came on...the 10 second feedback at the beginning of the song lured me in and as soon as the main guitar riff kicked in I was hooked till the end. After the song was over, I eagerly waited to hear the d.j. tell me the song's artist and title...but the d.j. didn't say anything he and proceeded to the next track...but luckily for me my friend knew who Hendrix was...**Santana - Greatest Hits
favorite song(s) off this album: Samba Pa Ti, Bella
I love the way carlos santana plays the guitar, i figured if i could play the guitar like him, NO WOMEN COULD RESIST ME! This is a great example of how I discovered music by accident. It was the beginning of my freshman yr. in high school and I spent the night at my friend's house, I was probably just waking up (around 2pm) and hungry...sleeping in does that. So while i was walking through the kitchen i noticed that the album cover caught the my eye, coincidentally it was sitting on the counter next to some carrot cake...mmmmmmh mmh! the album was just as good as the carrot cake.
**Makaveli (2pac) - The Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theoryfavorite song(s) off this album: White Man'z World, To Live and Die In L.A., Just Like Daddy
I remember when i first heard about 2pac's death...Sept. 14th, 1996 (day after he died)...i was in the 6th grade and it was during gym class (my 1st class that day). Each morning, my school would show a 12 min news program called "Channel One"...click here for more info...It was during this show that i found out about his death...at the time i didn't know much about him and it wasn't until after he died that i started to get into him and his music...so while i was watching Channel One, i didn't understand how much of a tragedy his death was and how much we lost that day. one of my friends had this album and he let me borrow it, the next day i bought this album and "Me Against the World" and within the month i had all of his albums...
**Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Live at Montreux
favorite song(s) off this album: Life Without You, Superstitions
I remember the first time i heard Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Texas Flood", I was with my grandpa and we were driving to the mall in his 92' Cadillac De'ville. good times. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble were my introduction to the blues, more specifically the Texas Blues. His sound is recognizable to a deaf person, he plays with so much soul and passion that you can really feel his love and pain in all of his songs, especially on a live album.
**Boyz II Men - II
Favorite song(s) off this album: On Bended Knee, When the Water Drys, I'll Make Love To You
My brother is a huge Boyz II Men fan...he thinks he is the lost member of the group. although i was only 11 yrs old and more than likely i was listening to Disney soundtracks when this album came out in 94', this an albums that i that comes to mind when i think of music from my childhood...i don't know why it wasn't like i could relate to anything they were saying...but their music is so great and timeless that it takes you back, back to when you first heard it...whether you were falling in love/falling out of love or thinking about a girl in the 5th grade that you could sing "On Bended Knee" too...lol...yeah that was me.
**Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Favorite song(s) off this album: Hummer, Mayonaise, Disarm
I bought this album at the end of my junior year of high school...it may sound funny but this album helped me get through high school. I'm not saying that high school was rough for me but you know how dumb things are high school: cliques, rumors, drama, puppy-love, heartbreaks, the whole sha-bang...and if i had to pick a soundtrack that summed up my feelings, experiences and attitudes toward high school this would be the album. This is the first Smashing Pumpkins album that I bought and i had most of their albums before the next weekend...i might have been broke for the rest of the month but i didn't care...it was worth it.
**Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Favorite song(s) off this album: Time, The Great Gig in The Sky
I was on the internet one night and i came across an ad for the current rolling stones magazine of that month. The main article talked about this album and its ironic and eerie synchronization with the Wizard of Oz. click here for more info. I asked my grandparents about this album, b/c they owned a record store, and i knew they would know something about it. Immediately the knew what album I was talking about, they said they couldn't keep this album on the shelves...everybody wanted it. This album was on the charts for more than 30 yrs....and it has sold more albums than most bands sell during their whole career. Even though i am not a fan of the Wizard of Oz, the idea that the two corresponded with each other intrigued me...so that friday I went to circuit city w/ my g-pa and picked up the album and lucky for me my grandparents had a copy of the Wizard of Oz...
**Prince - Purple Rain
Favorite song(s) off this album: Purple Rain, The Beautiful Ones
"You have to purify yourself in the Lakes of Minnetonka" a memorable quote from a memorable movie/soundtrack. I am not exactly sure how I came across this album, but I do remember having this on my Christmas List one year. I remember my brother looking at my Christmas List and saying "WTF?!? Purple Rain..." lol...it was pretty funny and i know it was random for me ask for this movie...I found the christmas list that i made that year and it reads as follows:
-Jordan XIV (black/red colorway) = $135
-Stereo w/ big speakers (sony, panasonic) = $?
-socks, underwear, etc = about $40
-jeans, preferably baggy (jnco's) = $30
-Purple Rain (dvd) = $10
-BMX bicyle (Mongoose) = $150
i didn't get the jordans but i got the Purple Rain Dvd...
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