Soundtrack of My Life

Feministe inspired me to create the soundtrack of my life. I guess this is the next big meme. I purposefully sat out of the page 23/fifth sentence one, so I'd better get on task.

Edited to add: Oops, I forgot to include the criteria set forth by Green Fairy: "These aren't necessarily your favourite songs, or even ones you like, just ones that you associate with a particular time, incident or memory." Lest anyone think these are my favorite songs, heh. Others haven't put them in any particular order, but I've done mine chronologically: two from childhood, two from junior high/early high school, two from high school, two from college, and one from my master's program. It was hard to think of some recent ones; I don't have the perspective yet.

Celebration - Kool & the Gang

This is the first song I remember. My parents had the 45, and my mom showed me how to arrange the little arm on the record player above the needle so that I could make the 45 play over and over again. The exuberance of the song stuck with me, and to this day I love it.

Angel of the Morning - Juice Newton

I used to go to the house of the little boy about my age who lived across the street, and we'd play in my yard or in his, sometimes with other kids, sometimes just the two of us. His mom owned a Juice Newton 8-track and played it all the time. She had shag carpeting and a huge storehouse of granola bars, cookies, and snack cakes. (Actually, she played "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band and "Sixteen Tons" by Merle Travis a lot too, but "Angel of the Morning" stood out.) The little boy ended up committing suicide at age 16. :(

Down on You - Lillian Axe

I had to include one from my hair band phase. This one was as good as any. It does have some interesting memories associated with it, though. In 9th grade, my friend Jennifer and I started picking up this AM station out of Jackson, Mississippi. It played pretty much only hair bands, but especially Lillian Axe. There was this deejay, Warren Peace, whom Jennifer and I promptly decided we were in love with. We started 3-way calling the radio station and flirting with Warren (who was 19, so he told us) just about every night. One time he dedicated "Down on You" to us, saying that "this one goes out to my friends in Alabama. I haven't heard from you in a while." At one point, he told us about a Battle of the Bands show going on and said we should come out and see it. I persuaded my dad to take us to Jackson, which is about a 5-hour drive from Florence, Alabama, and we had a great time with all these metalheads. We ended up going two more times, and then we eventually lost interest and started crushing on people who were closer by.

I Am Stretched on Your Grave - Sinéad O'Connor

I went through a dark phase somewhere around 8th-9th grade in which I listened to the I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got album and also Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session. Imagine me sitting right in front of my stereo, which was in a closet with louvred doors, in the corner of my bedroom, brooding.

Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe

I was in a little high school sorority *cringe,* and the summer I was going through rush, this song was in heavy rotation on the radio. It reminds me of fun pool parties at which I was hanging out with juniors and seniors, nervous and excited about which club I might get into.

Country Club - Travis Tritt

My friend April and I, and others, would ride around singing this song in high school. If April and I are in the car even now and happen to catch it on the radio, we'll still roll the windows down and sing the song with gusto.

100% Pure Love - Crystal Waters

This song makes me a little sad, now that I think about it. It reminds me of my club kid days, age 19-20, when I went to thrift stores to put together outfits I'd wear to the club that night after scouring out the popcorn popper as I closed the movie theater where I worked. The outfits were way over the top: old, purposefully hipster-ugly prom dresses, my Viking helmet, wigs, lots of spikes and studs, and stiletto heels. Add to this the fact that I had a short haircut with a devil's lock in the middle of my forehead and often wore black lipstick. The whole thing is quite poignant; I look at the young woman I was when I danced to this song in clubs, usually on the platform, and I would love to have that much mojo and bravado again, and let's face it, I'd love to have that body again, but at the same time, I think about how devastatingly resentful, insecure, and jealous of everyone I was. I was the textbook example of a drama queen.

Baby Love Child - Pizzicato Five

"Baby Love Child" is closely connected to a relationship I had in college that spanned six years, on and off. He and I are very good friends now, but that relationship was as tumultuous as it gets. When I hear this song, I think of warm, fuzzy, tender, snuggly moments combined with relentless head games.

Country Grammar - Nelly

Knoxville, Tennessee, baby! "Country Grammar," and also "Back That Ass Up" by Juvenile but mostly "Country Grammar," reminds me of football season in Knoxville, when we'd go out on the strip, hang out on restaurant patios, and go out dancing at a place called Lord Lindsey's. It was always packed, and as always, the drama ran high. I see a pattern here.

Note: I might be adding to this list. I'm not altogether satisfied with it in its current state. It isn't as comprehensive as it could be. :)