Your Life, the Soundtrack

Shawn tagged me with this a while back, and it's been sitting on Blogger as a draft. Well, finally here it is. I think I've strayed a bit from the original idea though. Too Bad.

You are making a feature film about your life. What songs do you select for the soundtrack? You'll want at least one song for each major stage of your life, the highs and lows, significant relationships, educational and career milestones, etc.

If Shawn starts with Mickey Mouse Disco I suppose I ought to mention Alvin and the Chipmunks. I don't remember if the records were mine or belonged to my brother or sister, but they were played quite a bit. At this same time I would have to include 70's (and early 80's) AM country radio. It seems this is what the 'rents were listening to, and most of those songs weren't too bad. Like Shawn you can toss in some TV themes: Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Simon & Simon, Magnum P.I. etc. Unlike Shawn, you can omit Thriller.

In Junior High there was Men at Work, which I still dig. This time also brought to my full attention The Beatles. You can assume for the rest of this post that they remain the basso continuo for my musical experience. At some point, most likely in high school, Revolver became my favorite album, and it has held that spot since, though later it has to make room to share that spot.

High School was more Beatles, and some other "Classic Rock" abundant on the radio. I also started picking up some jazz listening, but that was very limited; mostly big band and other HS jazz band fare. I also started to pick up an appreciation for Mozart and some other classical music.

Up to this point this soundtrack is maybe a double LP. College is a friggin box-set. Like Shawn it had a grungy tinge to it. Pearl Jam's Ten, and then VS, Stone Temple Pilots etc. College also expanded my classical listening, and the World Famous Wartburg College Concert Band, with soloist Jaquandor, helped cement Mahler's Symphony No. 5 one of my favorite pieces of music. One performance was so sublime it brought many of us to tears. Dr. Vinny introduced me to Berg, Bartok and other 20th century composers, and took me deeper into the The Beatles. My awareness of the jazz world was also blown wide open, thanks in part to Knightliters Jazz Band director Alan Jacobson, and fellow members like Mark, but one man had a deep impact on what is currently sitting on my CD shelf. I don't know what ever happened to him, but thank you Scott Olson. Enter the Holy Trinity of Miles, Trane, and Monk, along with the minor deities. Miles Davis Kind of Blue joined Revolver perched atop the heap.

The late nineties were filled with the music of 44. Dan, Pat, Krista and I made a go of it, and had loads of fun, took too many votes and made too many lists. We made some decent music too. You can buy it on iTunes, or if you want the physical item you can buy it (and read more) here. During this time I also started listening more to artists I discovered in College. Bjork, Beck and Lyle Lovett would rise to the top, and remain three of a very few from whom I will purchase a new album unheard. I also started listening to some Ska, thanks to my brother and Shawn.

New century. Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Flaming Lips and some others have made their way onto my CD shelves. Lately though, I have been listening to more and more Jazz. Lots of Hard Bop. Art Blakey and his minions are at the center of it. Lee Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Hank Mobley. YourMusic.Com has quite a few jazz albums, and they are all $6.99. Sorry to end on a commercial, but it is a great deal.

Now, who to tag? We know Jaq has a great love for film scores, but what was his journey to get there? Has her love of poetry had an effect on Amanda's listening? Mark has the same guitar as me. And Dan and Pat need to explain how they got to all those songs we played in the late nineties.