I'll go first:



The first time I heard the Chemical Brothers was in 1997, I was at work, in my little loft, and a coworker handed me a Dig Your Own Hole promo cd. I popped it in the cd player and went to town, until my assistant complained she had a migraine. I would've called myself a casual fan at the very most, I guess the Chemical Brothers were cool and innovative, but for some reason at that time, the impact of their music on me wasn't a big one.



My life pretty much changed drastically after that point, as my life was suddenly set into hypermode. After 3 years of partying and living hand to mouth, my husband and I found out we were going to be parents. Everything was put on hold as we had to sort out our lives and make room for the baby.



On March 31, 1998, my son was born. As any mother would, I gave up my life including everything I knew before March 31, for him. Consequently, I slowly slipped into a heavy depression. It's very hard to explain, but it sucks the life and passion out of you so much, that there's no other way to describe the feeling, except that the end result is a numbness in which you can't find a whole lot of joy, solace, or comfort. It's as hard to admit you have a problem to yourself, as it is to shout it out from the rooftops for all the world to hear, and you find it easier to put on a happy face in spite of it all.



Eventually, in mid 1999, it all came to a head. When people say "the world comes crashing down" it sounds melodramatic, but there is truth in those words. But sometimes things need to fall down so they can be rebuilt. I was stubborn and didn't seek any outside help, which in retrospect was probably the stupidest thing I (didn't) do. My family and I began the process of working it out alone, slowly but surely.



So that's pretty much where I was. I don't know what possessed me to turn on the radio one day, I didn't really like music that much anymore (which was a shame, because it was one of my biggest passions once upon a time) and I hated the radio, but there was the radio staring at me, so I turned it on. The station was playing 3 songs by the Chemical Brothers - Life Is Sweet, Setting Sun, and Let Forever Be from their newly released Surrender. It just seemed like, at that perfect moment in space and time, something clicked into place.



I don't know why, or what possessed me, but I went out and bought those records, and listened to them when my son was napping (I was a stay-at-home mom.) There was something about the situation that made me feel like I was listening to the world with a new pair of ears and a new outlook on life. I got these strange emotions, like I was meeting a good friend after years and years - or I felt like I did when my husband and I went on our first truly fuckwitted and hilarious adventure together, or I felt like how I did when I first saw my son. And I knew everything would be all right, and I would be a better person for having gone through what I did. I know it sounds cheesy and overly dramatic, but that's the sum of it.



Of course, I am a little reflective tonight, as tomorrow is March 31, my son's 6th birthday. With the exception of that glitch, it's been a great ride overall!





So how about you guys? Where were you, what frame of mind were you in, when you got into the Chemicals? What drew you to the music - a friend, situation, etc.?

whirlygirl Escribi�:

With the exception of that glitch, it's been a great ride overall!

In my sappy ramblings, I forgot to clarify - glitch, as in, that long slump I went through.



I ought to get some sleep!

Ok, the story why I got into the Chems in the first place has been told various times before, but for this question, I will got back in time a little more...



After finishing school in 1997, I searched for a company to spend my years as an apprentice there. Sent 80 application of which 78 were not needed at all - the second company replied pretty soon. :)



So the ten of us had an own little office room with various computers. No internet connection, but there wasn't too much going on online that excited me at that time anyway. We had a small stereo which was "occupied" by two or three people, which doesn't make that much of musical variation. We had a techno fan, someone being into the Backstreet Boys (oh yeah! but she looked sooooo nice) and two of them who listened to some crazy german artist. I was doomed. Sure, from time to time I smuggled my own CDs into the stereo, but a sudden switch from Paradise Lost to KLF to KMFDM caused a minor stir among my fellows. ;-)



So one day we had that techno radio station on... well, and that was where I discovered the Chems: in my office. 8)

I think i've told this story before:



I was a the Motor Show, where the cars are loaded to the max with quality audio equipment. I was walking past this spinning suped up Rover with it's boot opened up showing the subs and amp in the back. Blaring out in perfect quality sound was Setting Sun. It sounded fukin unbelievable.

at some point in 1995. i was still an indie kid and i bought 'the best.... album in the world...ever' which was an indie music compilation. there was some good old music on there. but there was alot of this brit pop shit on there, suede, elastica, blur and oasis. i wasn't digging the nu bread in the indie world. but on the second cd in this compilation, track 9 contain the first ever chemical brothers track i heard 'leave home'. it was quite unlike anything i had ever heard before!!



for some bizarre reason my little sister, who was at university had a copy of 'exit planet dust'. i don't know what she was doing with it, cos she has never really shown any real taste in music!! maybe it was a message from the gods, or just destiny, maybe the only reason she had it was so i could steal it of her!! ever since then i have been a fan. bought every release on the day of release from loops of fury onwards.



this was a very transitional point in my life. i got deeper into music you could really dance to. i started buying 12" records, i learnt to mix. i started going up london clubbing every weekend. it was a kinda cool point in my life!!

happy birthday whirlykid!!!

Back in 1995 I was into independent bands.

Mostly rock and metal music.

Back in those days I always listened to a radioshow on national radio.

That radioshow always played the new album releases for that month.

In between some 2 new lofi-rock songs they played "In Dust We Trust".

I was like what the fuck anybody turned the channnel????

But I was interested.

The week after that I was in my local record shop and listened to the album. I thought that it was weird kind of great. (or great kind of weird)

So I bought "exit planet dust" and I'm addicted to the chemical brothers ever since.



Just like sneakerbeater I also started my real interest for electronic/dance music after The Chems.

I allready listened to electronic music just like Eno, Klaus Schulze and stuff like that but never had any interest in electronic/dance music.

@Whirly: Congratulations!!!! (!) (!) (!)

Congratulate him from this everybody on this forum .

I hope that your boy will have a great time today!!!!

I trust you'll give him the best presents he'd ever had.

(hint: maybe you can give him his own copy of the Chemical Brothers singles collection ;-) )

How old is the little fellow????

Dig your own hole was a turning point in my musical taste. From then on, it's all been good.

my chemical brothers obsession came about basically through a recomendation, so i got surrender and i remember when i first switched music:response, i lthought it was ok but i carried on listening. And then let forever be came on. and i was blown away. I had an obsession with that song and after falling in love with it i had a much more open mind when listening t any chems track and eventually i ended up loving surrender and it was never out of my cd player. Then gradually i bought all the albums one by one and i think they are all equally great. I like none better then the other because they all had their highlights for me.



so there you go, i know it's quite boring and nowere near as emotional as whirly's but thats how i grew to like the chems. Through a recomendation.

now if anyone ever recommends anything to me i always check it out no matter what type of music it is and i have found many great artists doing that. It was this forum that got me into BOC and aphex twin , so thak you fellow che fans :D

Congrats Whirly !!!! ANd that's a very nice story.

I don't have such a nice answer...mine is quite boring.



Last year i was on a holiday , and one of my friends had a cd with My Elastic Eye on it. I just looooved the song when i heard it but i forget to ask from who this great song was. ( yeah , call me stupid :p )

Anyways , 3 or 4 weeks later in Paris , they had this huge sale in Virgin , and i saw COME WITH US from the Chemical Brothers. I was like ''The chemical brothers , arent they from this Hey boy , Hey Girl song ?'' And i decided to buy the album.



When i listenend to it back in my hotelroom and i discoverd My Elastic Eye on it...i totally went crazy. The next day i went to virgin again and bought the three outher cd's , and that's how it started.



It's quite funny , because before i was only listening to rock music.

Blablabla.

well my story is very stupid, is 1998 , i see the chems dyoh cover and well i take the cd and i see the titles, and well in that moment i have it 10 dollars so i decided to buy it, LATER I LISTEN TO IT IN MY HOUSE AT TOP VOLUME ....and Kabooom!!!! THE CHEMICAL EXPLOSION ENTER INTO MY HEAD AN i never be the same...

My first ecounter with the chemical brothers was back around 1999. This was back when napster was rampant and there were web sites that just hosted mp3's on them. I remmeber the web site i went to and i saw this song "hey boys hey girls" by the chemical brothers. I clicked on it and didnt like it much at all. I must have kept the mp3 on my computer, I bought DYOH. I have basically bought everything that they've ever published now so :).



I was exploring alot of new music at the time and so i guess that's my sate of mind.

I'm not entirely sure where the chems came from for me....but they appeared in a period where I was discovering LOADS of music and I guess abosrbing a lot/reading a lot of magazines.books etc....



I think exit planet dust had a massive impact on our group of friends.....everybody had a copy and it was hammered!.....it seemed like very bold out there music, very heavy and dirty......I remember reading about the social and thinking it was somehwere I wanted to go but it wasn't until it moved to smithfields and eventually on to turmills that we started going...



what was cool was that as our little group was exploring the musical world the chems were broadedning in the same way (or so it seemed)....I'd been a hip-hop/soul n funk kid and my mates loved guitary stuff (which rubbed off on me too!)....but we discovered electronic music and (for me and mips and few others) a love of house music followed and suddenly there it was......DYOH



indie/breaks/house/techno all those influences under one roof -and they still continue to blow me away today.....on a club level there is a trippy intensity to their music that I can't put my finger on....and thats the magic.....



if it wasn't for the likes of the chems and orbital (what a great band in sad decline......tribal gathering 97 is still a highlight of my dancing career...and as for the brown album...)....where was I?.......drunk posting....never a good idea.....



put the keyboard down m'chebne.....leave it alone



Mchebne ;)

they day surrender came out I just gotten out of the mental hospital ( please dont ask ok !! ) and my friedn who was driving me back to his place turned on lert forever be and i played that song non stop for a 4 days .. it just spoke to me and all ... yup yup

DELETED

*Falls asleep*

@ Iguana: Do you need some matches to keep your eyelids open?????



X-D

In 1995 I used to listen to the Top 40 from start to finish (sad I know, but at least there were some good songs in it back then). I remember hearing a couple of Chemical brothers songs in there, but the first one I really noticed was a song which entered the chart at no13 (as I remember). I wanted to go out and buy it but I was skint. I thought: "It came in at no 13 so it should still be in there next week''.

The following Sunday Mark Goodier announced the list of tracks that had fallen out of the Top 40 and the track was in it! I couldn't believe it. One week and its out already!



In 1997 I heard a song called 'Block rockin' beats' on the radio but strangely enough, did not take much notice of it.



Between these times I pretty much forgot about the chemical brothers until 1999 when I heard a song called 'Hey boy hey girl' on Radio 1. I found out it was The chemical brothers and thought ''I remember them'' and assumed the track was from a few years ago. The tracked stayed in my head for ages, I walked around with bits of this crazy song going round and round.



Then I found out it was a new release, so I thought ''I have to buy this!''. I bought it in Virgin Megastores in Leeds at the end of May 1999 (I remember it well) and went home to listen to it on my dad's stereo as the one I owned was ancient and did not have a cd player.



A few days later, I showed the cd to my uncle (who is a Kraftwerk fan) and he said he had bought the album. He played a couple of tracks (Music: response and Under the influence) and I thought ''wow''! My uncle put the album onto tape for me and I remember listening to the tape on this ancient stereo when I was lying in bed. At the time I was depressed (mainly due to school) so I wasn't really wanting to go to sleep and go to school the next day.



A couple of months later I got into Moby after buying 'Play' and didn't listen to the chems much. In January the following year I found Block rockin' beats in a record store and bought that. In January 2001 I then found Music: Response in HMV for �1 and bought that. In another HMV sale I bought Exit Planet Dust for �7 as I heard the song 'Chemical beats' on my Wipeout Playstation game about a year earlier.



Around this time, I happened to see 'Loops of fury' in HMV. I could never remember the name of the track from 6 years ago but I remember the cover from seeing on an MTV chart show when it was released. I knew now that this single had entered the charts as a limited edition one and had sold out the first week! Thats why I couldn't find it! I bought it and finally owned it.



So there you go; thanks to radio 1, my uncle and a HMV sale I discovered the greatest dance act ever. And Hey boy hey girl is still my favourite song of all time....

anType Escribi�:

My story is really boring - I borrowed a "Dig Your Own Hole" cassette from my friend and listened to it at home. :-|

You daredevil 8)