What was the first song you ever downloaded?

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artist, title, where from, when, repsonse, reason.

? & the Mysterians, "96 Tears," Napster, September 2000. I was very skeptical about MP3s generally (because the ones I'd heard, um, six years prior had sounded like shit and took up about a third of my hard drive) until my then-GF installed Napster and showed me the way. I chose "96 Tears" because it's currently unavailable (in its original version) on CD. sixty seconds later, my life changed completely.

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:05 (twenty years ago) link

i was very resistant cuz i knew once i started i'd go overboard (this has proven to be the case), hence autumn 2001 "a stroke of genie-us" is what pushed me into the pool cept that wasn't the actual first song i downloaded. that would be: golden earring - "radar love".

― cinniblount (James Blount), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:19 (twenty years ago) link

I think the first one i ever got was No Doubt's Don't Speak, off a dial-in BBS around 1996. The guy who ran the place told me it was going to crack the charts like an egg. I disagreed, saying it was a load of tosh that would finish their (then) brief career off for good. Ha.

― edward o (edwardo), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:26 (twenty years ago) link

i felt like such a chump cuz 1) i'd mocked the spin 'your hard drive' thing mercilessly not ten months before and 2) (as with losing my virginity) i immediately thought/realized i should've done this long before

― cinniblount (James Blount), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:29 (twenty years ago) link

unless yr taking a roadtrip to Tijuana or thereabouts, though, losing yr virginity is something you generally have less immediate say-so about. (as in your computer and you don't have to mutually agree to let you d/l something) (unless the computer isn't working I mean)

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:31 (twenty years ago) link

yeah, but i still shoulda been balling alot earlier. when i look back at high school i think 'you FOOL! you're not gonna know any of these people by the time you're twenty! fuck as many of them as you can while you can!' instead of dawson's creek like melodrama.

― cinniblount (James Blount), Monday, 2 February 2004 09:35 (twenty years ago) link

some Yoda rap song off of napster in 97 or 98, forgive me I was a freshman in high school.

― D Aziz (esquire1983), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:06 (twenty years ago) link

orbital - 'p.e.t.r.o.l.'

― cloverlandthug, Monday, 2 February 2004 10:13 (twenty years ago) link

'98, I was 13, some dude on the internet was telling me about this crazy new "mp3" shit and had me download winamp. then he sent me some Nine Inch Nails mp3s.

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:14 (twenty years ago) link

i forgot: napter, 2001, can't remember, my friend was showing me how it worked and i wanted to pick something inoffensive.

― cloverlandthug, Monday, 2 February 2004 10:15 (twenty years ago) link

aimee mann: 'save me', circa '99

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:23 (twenty years ago) link

it was exactly four years ago i first used Napster but just before i think i downloaded some tracks a friend of mine had made (same friend informed me of Napster), one of which i did a rubbish remix of. first tracks i downloaded off Napster that i actually remember were Rob D's 'Clubbed To Death', Trinity theme from Matrix soundtrack, Madonna's 'Bedtime Story' (was really looking for the video) and the Giorgio Moroder remix of Mirwais 'Disco Science'

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:25 (twenty years ago) link

The Powerpuff Girls theme tune by Bis. I think that says it all.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:44 (twenty years ago) link

Saint Etienne, "He's In The City", March 99 or so, around the time I started Freaky Trigger (I'd bought a new computer and could suddenly DO STUFF!!) - I got it off alt.binaries.sounds.mp3s.1990s or whatever it's called, which was where I got most of my stuff.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Monday, 2 February 2004 10:49 (twenty years ago) link

Errorsmith 'Stiff Neck' from slsk about 3 weeks ago.

― hmmm, Monday, 2 February 2004 10:52 (twenty years ago) link

Pete Heller - Big love
Cassius - Feeling for you
Autumn -99

First mp3s ever heard was the complete "The Fat of the land" coded in 128k (-97)

― Jim Janse, Monday, 2 February 2004 11:17 (twenty years ago) link

Some point in late 2000. "Centrefold" by the J Geils Band. God that's a shitty song.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 February 2004 11:24 (twenty years ago) link

"Eight Miles High" - Husker Du

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Monday, 2 February 2004 14:17 (twenty years ago) link

I think that was fifth or sixth for me

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 2 February 2004 15:07 (twenty years ago) link

William Shatner's version of "Mr. Tamborine Man" from the Sing Along with Captain Kirk web page in 1997 or 1998. It all seemed like such a novelty back then.

― Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Monday, 2 February 2004 15:24 (twenty years ago) link

A cover of "I Against I" by the Bad Brains as being sung by Jeff Buckley. I downloaded it off of Scour, and then told folks about it on the late, lamented iMusic boards.....only to have Jeff Buckely's mother fire off a nasy "cease and desist" e-mail to me. True story.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 February 2004 15:26 (twenty years ago) link

wow. Jeff Buckley's mom is (a) hardcore and (b) currently working for the RIAA, probably

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 2 February 2004 15:28 (twenty years ago) link

Or just hyperprotective (I'm not sure whether that's a good thing, then again I hate Jeff Buckley so to hell with it!)

In my case...I think something from IUMA back in 1994!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 2 February 2004 16:40 (twenty years ago) link

'return to yesterday' - lillac time
and 'feel good hit...' - qotsa
simultaneously, january 2001, off napster.
how long ago it all seems.

― piscesboy, Monday, 2 February 2004 16:42 (twenty years ago) link

something by Man Or Astroman, in 1997.

either that or Spice Up Your Life..

― Shooz (shooz), Monday, 2 February 2004 17:15 (twenty years ago) link

Candi Staton's "Young Hearts Run Free" last July. And yep, dozens of others have followed in its wake. (Mostly one- or two-hit wonders from the early '60s or '80s.)

― Myonga Von Bontee, Monday, 2 February 2004 17:29 (twenty years ago) link

Ghetto Supastar.

Song woulda sucked if it wasn't for ODB.

― djdee2005, Monday, 2 February 2004 18:03 (twenty years ago) link

some mid-90s fall peel sessions, dl'd off an angelfire site before they had popups, must've been around summer 97

― mig, Monday, 2 February 2004 18:45 (twenty years ago) link

The first Ma$e after it came out. On 22k DIALUP. From a ratioed FTP. I kept the mp3s on a zip disk which was full with this turd of an album.

― dean! (deangulberry), Monday, 2 February 2004 18:51 (twenty years ago) link

does midi count?

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 2 February 2004 19:00 (twenty years ago) link

Negativland's 'U2' appears to be the oldest mp3 I have on my computer, I probably found it on the Negativland website back in ver day...

― mmmmsalt (Graeme), Monday, 2 February 2004 19:05 (twenty years ago) link

2000. Probably a Stereolab rarity hosted by a fellow fan. Either that or something by Marumari - a legit download off the web.

― Jeff W (zebedee), Monday, 2 February 2004 19:12 (twenty years ago) link

i think it was back in mid 1998 when i had:

Ice T & Bodycount - Copkiller
Prodigy - One Love
Prodigy - Voodoo People

and then Ghetto Supastar when that came out also.

― astroblaster (astroblaster), Monday, 2 February 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago) link

and

Sepultura - Territory

is the oldest surviving mp3 on my computer right now, dated THE IDES OF MARCH 1999.

― astroblaster (astroblaster), Monday, 2 February 2004 20:31 (twenty years ago) link

The first mp3 I dowloaded using actual proper p2p-like software was the Stereo MCs remix of Quannuum's "I changed my mind", which I then played so much that I couldn't hear even its beat without turning winamp off.

But the first mp3 I ever downloaded was smile.dk's 'butterfly'. Bless you, DDR.

― cis (cis), Monday, 2 February 2004 21:41 (twenty years ago) link

Radiohead - "Paranoid Android." I had just seen the cool-as-fuck video and so of course I played it about 56,086,157 times in a row.

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 03:55 (twenty years ago) link

Hmmn. I'm pretty sure it was an LFO Bjork remix (although it might have been an Aaliyah song) off of my then girlfriend's stepsister's computer (they had digital cable.) I was totally in love with Napster, I made CDs of Bjork remixes and Timbaland tracks and all sorts of recent hip hop stuff I'd loved off the radio that I couldn't be arsed to buy albums of. Eventually they told me that if I came over I needed to stay off the computer cuz they needed it for schoolwork. I was sad when Napster went away. It was nice.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 04:50 (twenty years ago) link

First song I looked for was My Bloody Valentine's cover of Wire's Map Ref on a friend's computer - Didn't find it which embarassed my friend who had told me you could find anything on Napster.

First song downloaded was Gino Soccio's "Dancer".

Map Ref was however, the first song I downloaded using soulseek.

― Jedmond, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 05:07 (twenty years ago) link

Hey whattaya know, MBV for me too. Looks like I downloaded some remixes + the Wire cover back in February 2000. I think they were posted on a fan site.

― Mark (MarkR), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 05:20 (twenty years ago) link

And the nice thing was that MBV's cover lived up to expectations (translation: It's great = with the original, which is the greatest pop song of all time) especially since I had already heard their Louis Armstrong cover which is weak.

― Jedmond, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 05:32 (twenty years ago) link

From an actual website: 30-sec excerpts of "Roadrunner" and "Plastic Energy Man" from Papa M's Live From a Shark Cage album. December 1999. Installed Winamp on my parents' computer.

From a p2p: Justin Timberlake, "Rock Your Body." August 2003. Installed LimeWire on my new DSL-equipped iMac.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 05:55 (twenty years ago) link

(Very shortly soon after: "The Super Bowl Shuffle.")

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 05:55 (twenty years ago) link

I think it was Daphne and Celeste's "Ooh Stick You", sometime in 2001. From Napster. I remember thinking, "How come nobody told me how GREAT this record is?!?". It's so much easier to find out what's great and what's not these days.

― Arthur (Arthur), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 06:56 (twenty years ago) link

C'mon, don't any of you remember IUMA in its heyday? First song I can remember downloading was "Circle" by Versus in MP2 format (yep, that's MP2 and not a typo. Remember those?). Sounded great, back in...1994? Yikes.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 07:24 (twenty years ago) link

C'mon, don't any of you remember IUMA in its heyday?

*coughs, notes Ernest should read upthread*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 16:55 (twenty years ago) link

there's an mbv cover of map ref ?
where from ? is it live ? is it any good ?
the cover of 'we have all the time...' is the last
thing they ever did right ?

― piscesboy, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 18:07 (twenty years ago) link

It was done for the Whore tribute album that Wire thoughtfully released themselves (or at least Colin did). It's studio and it's fantastic, and actually came out two years after the "We Have All the Time In the World" cover.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 19:10 (twenty years ago) link

Radiohead's 'Creep' in early 1999. Later that year I discovered Napster when looking for the Pixies' 'Debaser', so that song will always have a special place in my heart.

― fcussen (Burger), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 19:27 (twenty years ago) link

in 1998 i downloaded "music sounds better with you" off of some UK top 40 mp3 website, and i played that song with winamp.

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 20:33 (twenty years ago) link

Fuck'd if I remember. Perhaps "Summer Babe" by Pavement.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago) link

Oh yeah...Napster, Sept. '00...yada yada yada.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 21:23 (twenty years ago) link

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