Our October documentary pick, “All Things Must Pass,” was a vehicle for nostalgia, both for the record store and the experience it offered its customers.
Jeffrey H. from Evans, Georgia, wrote: “I wasn’t lucky enough to have a Tower Records near my house, so my weekly dive into the record bins was done at Music Plus. It’s true what was said in the documentary: for the 20 minutes or more you spent in a music store, you were part of a community.”
We heard about seminal memories of listening to music at home.
Robin O. from Nashville, Tennessee, wrote: “My father was a square dance caller, so we all learned to dance and had many, many square dance records. We also learned to dance the ‘Jarabe Tapatio,’ otherwise known as ‘The Mexican Hat Dance.’ My brother and I would [wear] a giant sombrero that my grandfather brought to us.”
Bill B.’s first album was “Destroyer” by Kiss: “I was in third grade and I spent my hard-earned money cutting lawns on the album, which featured ‘Detroit Rock City’ and other classics. When you have a band with a bass player who spits blood and breathes fire, an eight-year-old soul becomes compelled to buy all of their albums and merchandise and enlist in the Kiss Army.”
Many of you wrote to us about pooling your money with friends or siblings to afford a single album. That was the case for Elisabeth when she bought the Beatles’ White Album and for Vivian H., who shared Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumper” with her two siblings.
Nanci B. wrote: “The first album I ever purchased with my own money was Chubby Checker’s ‘Peppermint Twist.’ I was 7. My sister, a friend, and I split the cost (a whopping $1.99!) and we took turns keeping it at our houses. The back of the album cover had detailed diagrams on how to do the dance. We spent hours perfecting [it]!”
Some admitted that early music tastes were less than refined. Matt H. wrote: “I remember proudly acquiring a CD single of U2’s ‘Staring at the Sun’ in middle school, after watching the music video numerous times on MTV. Not one of their greatest in retrospect, I suppose, but for me, it felt like a turning point.”
Plus, we heard from a former Tower Records employee, Bucky F., who worked for the company as a store artist. He wrote: “I would design and construct those large bright art pieces for all the releases and record features, and also every sign and display in the store(s)! What a job! Anyways, the very first record that I ever bought for myself was ‘Pork Soda’ by Primus.”
Thanks to everyone who shared their first album with us. We got hundreds of replies, more than any previous newsletter callout. I loved reading all your stories. Keep ’em coming.
First Albums: A Playlist
We asked about your first album, and here’s what you sent back. There are more than 175 songs, or 12 hours of music. For every album you submitted, we selected one song off that album to include in the playlist. When two or more people submitted the same one, we added another song from the album. There is no rhyme or reason to the order.
P.S. Marketplace engineers regularly update our Spotify account to document the music that ends up in our podcasts and on the radio. Here is the playlist for “Marketplace Morning Report.”
P.P.S. Unfortunately, we could not include any submissions for Neil Young or Joni Mitchell. They, along with many other artists, removed their catalogs from Spotify after the platform didn’t cut ties with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who spread misinformation about COVID-19.
Here’s the Econ Extra Credit team’s first albums
You shared yours, so it’s only fair we share ours. (None of us is embarrassed.)
- “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac (Carrie Barber, copy editor)
- “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck (David Brancaccio, host)
- “Rhythm Nation 1814” by Janet Jackson (Redmond Carolipio, digital producer)
- “Redd” by Wheein (Jarrett Dang, production assistant)
- “Disintegration” by The Cure (Jesson Duller, engineer)
- “Darkness on the Edge of Town” by Bruce Springsteen (Nick Esposito, engineer)
- “Middle of Nowhere” by Hanson (Meredith Garretson Morbey, producer)
- “The Sign” by Ace of Base (Olga Oksman, editor)
- “Spice” by the Spice Girls (Ellen Rolfes, newsletter writer)
- “Amor Prohibido” by Selena (Ariana Rosas, producer)
- “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” by Aaron Carter (Alex Schroeder, producer)
- “The Cheetah Girls” by Cheetah Girls (Erika Soderstrom, producer)
- “Tubthumper” by Chumbawamba (Virginia Smith, editor)
- “’N Sync” by ’N Sync (Tony Wagner, digital producer)
Watch this month’s film, “All Things Must Pass”
“All Things Must Pass” is available to watch for free on YouTube. It’s also streaming on several platforms, including Kanopy and Hoopla for some library card holders, and on Peacock, PlutoTV and Popcornflix, for free. A digital streaming copy can be rented or bought on several platforms, and if you want a physical copy, you can purchase the film as a DVD and Blu-ray too.
Here are links to all our coverage this month:
- Buying vinyl is a sign of true fandom and Taylor Swift knows it
- The benefits of promoting from within
- The rise and fall of Tower Records
Want other movie recommendations? Check out all the films selected for Econ Extra Credit on our website.
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