I grew up in an era of radio and cassettes. There were no MTV or Astro back then, and our major source of music was basically the radio. Back then, there were deejays like Yasmin Yusoff, Patrick Teoh, Alan Zachariah, and later Flyguy hogging the airways.
The early 80s saw the launch of TV3, which quickly became THE TV channel for the family, as they brought in popular series such as Full House, ALF, Small Wonder, Out of this World, and many more. More importantly, we got a glimpse of something called music videos, I believe the same time MTV was launched in the USA. I remember being very fixated with Michael Jackson's awesome dancing. Cyndi Lauper and Whitney Houston were my idols back then.
During my teenage years, I was introduced by a classmate to Mariah Carey. I loved her songs so much, I started buying her albums, and tried to catch her videos on TV. I also began to spend some of my pocket money on casette tapes, but not too much coz I thought it was quite pricey, around RM20 plus. Even the pasar malam pirated version costs around RM8 - RM15, depending on the artist. During the mid-90s, the CD slowly but surely made its presence. While it was definitely better and longer lasting, it was expensive too. Prices were usually around RM38 to RM45, depending on the artists, and whether was it imported CD or not. I also chose my purchases very selectively, making sure I really like the CD and won't regret it. Tower Records in KL Tower was a huge hit in KL then, and while I like to go there and browse for CDs, I still like going back to Victoria Music at Atria, where you can get latest CDs for only RM35 (promotion price).
Well, all this took place before the launch of applications such as Napster, Limewire, Bittorrent where people can download music files for free. Now I think CDs are much more affordable, and even cheaper if purchased from the pasar malam. If you are looking for old CDs, there's always Rock Corner you can go to. I am still selective over my CD purchase, so usually I'll listen off the internet. If I like the album, I'll buy it from the shops.
Here are some cassettes I selected to be kept in my Time Capsule.
The early 80s saw the launch of TV3, which quickly became THE TV channel for the family, as they brought in popular series such as Full House, ALF, Small Wonder, Out of this World, and many more. More importantly, we got a glimpse of something called music videos, I believe the same time MTV was launched in the USA. I remember being very fixated with Michael Jackson's awesome dancing. Cyndi Lauper and Whitney Houston were my idols back then.
During my teenage years, I was introduced by a classmate to Mariah Carey. I loved her songs so much, I started buying her albums, and tried to catch her videos on TV. I also began to spend some of my pocket money on casette tapes, but not too much coz I thought it was quite pricey, around RM20 plus. Even the pasar malam pirated version costs around RM8 - RM15, depending on the artist. During the mid-90s, the CD slowly but surely made its presence. While it was definitely better and longer lasting, it was expensive too. Prices were usually around RM38 to RM45, depending on the artists, and whether was it imported CD or not. I also chose my purchases very selectively, making sure I really like the CD and won't regret it. Tower Records in KL Tower was a huge hit in KL then, and while I like to go there and browse for CDs, I still like going back to Victoria Music at Atria, where you can get latest CDs for only RM35 (promotion price).
Well, all this took place before the launch of applications such as Napster, Limewire, Bittorrent where people can download music files for free. Now I think CDs are much more affordable, and even cheaper if purchased from the pasar malam. If you are looking for old CDs, there's always Rock Corner you can go to. I am still selective over my CD purchase, so usually I'll listen off the internet. If I like the album, I'll buy it from the shops.
Here are some cassettes I selected to be kept in my Time Capsule.
My selections are based on these reasons :
Lion King OST - This was actually a regret purchase. I should have gotten the CD instead! I can't recall if CD was available that time or not.
Schindler's List OST - Love the OST very much, the music is haunting. I have yet to watch the movie.
The S-Files - It is a compilation of popular OST scores. Favourites include theme from Casper, Jurassic Park, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves. I actually played this cassette to death, but still reluctant to throw it away.
Mariah Carey - My favourite singer that time. Still is, but I miss the old Mariah.
Wilson Phillips - I like this group a lot after watching them performed during the Grammy's. I took a chance on this purchase (you can't really test cassettes that time) and had no regrets.
Frente - This was recommended by my classmate Juliana. She lend me her cassette, and I liked it so much I bought one for myself. To think about it, it's a pretty short album, but had a very quirky tune.
Whitney Houston - This is how a pasar malam cassette from Penang looks like. back then It costed RM8 and contains all of Whitney's hits in one album.
While I was packing my CD collection to be placed in our new home, these three stood out among the rest, each for their own reasons :
Faye Wong - Sky
If you notice the cover, Faye was still known as 王靖雯 before she switched to 王菲 . I first heard her songs on Hong Kong's Channel V (something new to me back then) .Fascinated with her voice and style, I tested her album in CD Rama at Atria and subsequently purchased it, making it my first ever CD purchase.
Lion King OST - This was actually a regret purchase. I should have gotten the CD instead! I can't recall if CD was available that time or not.
Schindler's List OST - Love the OST very much, the music is haunting. I have yet to watch the movie.
The S-Files - It is a compilation of popular OST scores. Favourites include theme from Casper, Jurassic Park, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves. I actually played this cassette to death, but still reluctant to throw it away.
Mariah Carey - My favourite singer that time. Still is, but I miss the old Mariah.
Wilson Phillips - I like this group a lot after watching them performed during the Grammy's. I took a chance on this purchase (you can't really test cassettes that time) and had no regrets.
Frente - This was recommended by my classmate Juliana. She lend me her cassette, and I liked it so much I bought one for myself. To think about it, it's a pretty short album, but had a very quirky tune.
Whitney Houston - This is how a pasar malam cassette from Penang looks like. back then It costed RM8 and contains all of Whitney's hits in one album.
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While I was packing my CD collection to be placed in our new home, these three stood out among the rest, each for their own reasons :
Faye Wong - Sky
If you notice the cover, Faye was still known as 王靖雯 before she switched to 王菲 . I first heard her songs on Hong Kong's Channel V (something new to me back then) .Fascinated with her voice and style, I tested her album in CD Rama at Atria and subsequently purchased it, making it my first ever CD purchase.
Yanni - Live at the Acropolis
Ah, the power of advertising. I remember this album being heavily promoted over the radio, which led me to test it out in CD Rama, and making this my second CD purchase. This album remains as one of my favourites, especially the track Reflections of Passion, which subsequently bacame our walk-in song during our wedding dinner.
Ah, the power of advertising. I remember this album being heavily promoted over the radio, which led me to test it out in CD Rama, and making this my second CD purchase. This album remains as one of my favourites, especially the track Reflections of Passion, which subsequently bacame our walk-in song during our wedding dinner.
Fugees - The Score
I really can't recall what led me to this purchase, but it still stands out as the odd one out among my CD collection. This was actually ordered from a shop called Virgo Music in 1 Utama which specialised in imported CDs, particularly those hard rock metal/rap music (Think Deftones/Limp Bizkit) that are not available in the conventional music stores. This is really an imported CD because the entire album is uncensored, making the parental advisory very necessary, and it costed me RM60 for that album!!! This is still my most expensive CD purchase, but surprisingly I still listen to it when I am in the mood for some Fugee-La.
Comments
My first CD was an Eagles CD - bought it because it was playing everyday at Häagen Dazs - used to work there when I was 16. Ahhh, memories... :)