Columbia House Records

My middle school years were a series of negotiations with my parents about what music I could buy on cassette, and later on CD.  Being a bit conservative, they were concerned for my well being, and the effects of rock and roll on that well being.  My brother and I managed to convince them that we should join Columbia House Record Club.  The deal was you selected 15 albums out of this catalog, and they sent them to you for free.  Then every month for maybe nine months? (something like that) you had to buy an album.  Because we were joining together, we selected most of the albums together.  The ownership of these albums became somewhat contested over the years, until my brother left for college, and then it wasn't an issue any more.  I think I got to keep four or five of them.

I think I can still remember all 15 of those first free cassettes...

By R.E.M.:  Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, Life's Rich Pageant, Document
By U2:  Boy, October, War, Live Under A Blood Red Sky, Unforgettable Fire
Midnight Oil: Red Sails In The Sunset, Diesel and Dust
Weird Al Yankovic: Dare To Be Stupid
Big Pig: Bonk

I was twelve when we got these in the mail.  I'm thinking it was 1987, because I know for sure we got Document and every R.E.M. album released up to that point.  The Midnight Oil albums I'm not as sure about - they may have come later.  It may have been Huey Lewis and the News instead.  Sports.

U2's Joshua Tree may have been in this order.

Does anyone remember Big Pig?  They had one song that made it anywhere, because it appeared on the Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure soundtrack:

Big Pig was one of the albums I got to keep when my brother went to college.