Day 1: A song from the first album you bought
Tori Amos - Space Dog
Since I was casting around for something to post today, I thought I’d do this 30 day song challenge that’s doing the rounds. Tori Amos’ “Under The Pink” was, indeed, the first LP I spent my own money on. This track is my favourite off it, and it is my favourite Tori Amos song ever.
I remember asking my dad to go to Grace Bros department store in his lunch break to get this for me. Being frugal, I told him “just buy the normal version, I don’t want to spend the extra on the bonus disc version”. Being an awesome dad, he came home with the bonus disc version. Before the advent of eBay and MP3 trading, I could have sold that bonus disc edition for well over the $30 I paid for it. Now, nobody really cares, but still, thinking that I was considering turning down the bonus disc of b-sides still makes me smile.
This album has always been one of my most treasured records ever. I can’t imagine not having it around in some form. That’s my excuse as to why I own I think 8 copies of it:
- Original bonus disc version
- Japanese version I purchased when the original one got scratched (incidentally, it was scratched in the middle of ‘Space Dog’
- White label promo version I got as a spare for if the Japanese one got scratched
- Pink LP version
- Another Pink LP version that I bought because it was only $20
- Tape version I got at a second hand store in Merrylands for $6, to play in my car
- Deleted cover tape version
- Plain old ordinary CD release, only purchased in 2009
I did have 9 - three copies of the pink LP - but I sold one to a friend because he was looking, and really, I didn’t need three.
I suppose I still do own 9 if you count the score book. Even if civilisation crumbles, we have no electricity, no turntables, and corrosive winds burn all the metal strings on pianos and guitars and everything meaning no musical instruments, if I’ve got the score book handy, and a bunch of willing vocalists, we can still listen to these songs. Well, I can at any rate. If you’d like to join me, you’ll be welcome to.
