Music is Life

I have sisters that claim my music taste is quite unusual, and I guess that is true. I love all kinds of music and only have a few exclusive favorites. There are so many songs that bring up all sorts of memories and that is simply why I love what I do.

My earliest memories start with my parents, as many can claim. I remember listening to the radio on the way home from visiting Grandma and Grandpa and it was set on a Fifties station. I believe Del Shannon and Buddy Holly died way before their time, and still enjoy their music today. Who can forget our old 8 track player at home?? We used to argue over what cassette to play, and that is why I can sing along to Johnny Horton and hunted down a copy of that tape on CD so we could still listen to it (and yes, my 16 year old know who he is). I will say I have yet to buy any Mac Davis though, somehow he just doesn't do it for me:) Dad always had the radio playing in the background in the shop, and I think you can still find that old 8 track player somewhere at home.

Who can forget the holidays? The car's FM radio just didn't play the music Mom wanted to listen to, so we were blessed with her knowledge of all verses of a large playlist of Christmas favorites. I really wish we had the technology we do now and the foresight to tape some of those backseat choirs. It still brings a smile to my face remembering poor Dad driving us all home from somewhere listening to what I am sure was angelic voices singing in perfect harmony to "Silver Bells", "What Child is This", and even "Winter Wonderland". (Somehow I don't think Kristen's favorite song is "Winter Wonderland" since someone who should remain nameless thought it funny to replace some of the verses with a new version)

In high school I received one of the best birthday presents ever, and I hadn't even asked for it. It was an early version of a boombox with cassette player. Oh how I listened to that thing for hours. I still don't know how Mom and Dad thought to get that for me, but I will never forget sitting in my room, hand hovering over the record button, waiting for the DJ to stop talking so I could record a song off of the "Top 40". My mixed tapes became famous and multiplied. I remember loaning many out to sisters and friends to make copies of, and I was only recording what I liked (Hall & Oats, Duran Duran). A few years ago I had the privelege to hire a former classmate of Kristen's as an employee and she actually mentioned she still had a copy of one of my mixed tapes still in her possesion!

My next stage in life I purchased a small stereo system with dual cassette players and this really broadened my passion. I could make mixed tapes from cassettes borrowed from others! This happened about the time that I was possessed with the new band Bon Jovi and absolutely rocked out to Def Leppard's "Pyromania" (which by the way was purchased on CD by my daughter for herself). In college the music choices grew, and working in a bookstore with other music lovers really opened my ears. I could special order cassettes in addition to the eclectic choices they sold. Fine Young Cannibals and The Cure were in the news, as well as the increasing popularity of Rap. Music was always blasted at the parties, and the people I hung out with all had selections to sample, so it was very common to carry a cassette in the back pocket because someone asked to borrow one of yours or you just had one handed to you with them saying "You gotta listen to this one!". That dual cassette player was the ultimate in music piracy, but what else is a poor college student gonna do?

In college there were a few concerts, but because of our location in the middle of nowhere and money being tight (I was a poor college student, remember?) I didn't see much live music. For some reason I did not know alot of musicians personally (that's what I remember anyway, I was a college student). My music tastes were from what was blasting in the car/bar speakers. I was out and about one night and remember a bar blasting a new sound I had never heard, and that, dear people, is when I was exposed to Steve Earle and his ultimate record "Copperhead Road". My family can verify my obsession and thinks it's a little wierd, but folks, he is not just country rock. He has created some incredible music, and I still regret not catching him live when he was in the area. Another regret is missing a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert in college because of a fund shortage. He was introduced to me by one of those infamous loaned cassettes by a bookstore coworker and has since become my obsession. Not long after the missed concert he died in a helicopter crash, lost to us forever. If you ever get a chance to see a taped performance, you have to catch a few minutes of it. Most memorable for me is one of his performances on Austin City Limits (that is another music icon) on public TV. I firmly believe that noone can touch his guitar skills. It has been my suprise and joy to find out that he is also Dad's favorite. I think it is amazing when a child discovers a passion on their own and find out later it is also a passion of a parent's. Now I am the one who usually gets Dad in the car when we are road tripping because we have the same taste in music. We also enjoyed together a JazzFest performance by Delbert McClinton a few years back.

Many soundtracks have creeped their way into my collection. "Footloose", "Dirty Dancing", and "Valley Girl" are at the top of my playlists. I have also loved the soundtracks from "O Brother" and "Walk the Line" and really wish that Eddie and the Cruisers was a real band. For me the music is more important than the story line, and in the case of "Walk the Line" it is what the movie is all about. Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings have a special place in my collection, as well as Charlie Daniels.

Living on my own in Des Moines after college introduced me to some special people, and yes, their music. A spouse of one had been a DJ at one time, and I delved into his collection with drool running down my chin. REM was a brand new band at this time, and I remember sitting in a coworker's bedroom listening to "Superman" for the first time. The DJ friend introduced me to Delbert McClinton and Joe Ely, his tastes planted a seed in mine, and my love of blues, country blues and country rock grew. I had purchased my first car before moving to Des Moines and my requirement was not the size of the engine, but making sure they installed a cassette player. My trips back home were filled with music and the passenger seat covered in tapes. My current vehicle has a 6 CD changer which was a deciding factor in that car of choice.

As I am writing, I am listening to my newly created playlist on iTunes. A few months back Faith decided her iPod (which she only had for 6 months) was not big enough (as in space, not size). She upgraded and handed me her old one. I recently spent all day loading entire CDs on the computer and now have 3 different playlists. This is the ultimate mixed tape. I have almost 600 songs on one of the lists, and the entire thing fits in the tiny iPod!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!!! I can also purchase an attachment for the car so we can just "plug in" and go. I no longer have to carry my CDs wherever I go and I can just purchase what I want online. Reducing music clutter is what I am all about now, and Lucy loves to play with the cords hanging off the computer. Thank you Faith, what you did has become another chapter in my music journey.

I don't know what music will be created in the future, but I am sure I will enjoy some of it, as well as hold on to what I love now. Thank you to all that have contributed to my passion, it has created who I am today and defined what I was in the past. I love all kinds of music, but may not love everything in those varied types. I'm not a big fan of classical, and hate elevator music, but will listen to something if a stranger says "you gotta hear this". I have even added some of Faith's music on my playlist. Music is the true universal language, and now it connects me to my daughter and her friends. She has included many of my choices on her playlists as well, and loves to say "Mom, you gotta hear this one".