Musicography - Disc 1

Inspried by JW & LW I've decided to document my life in music as well. Here we go.

DISC 1 :: THROUGH THE MUD
My tastes were ever changing and I had to push my way through a lot of muck to finally decide on who I was and what I liked to hear.

Down By The Bay - Raffi
I mean we gotta start at the beginning right?! Raffi was, is and always will be a rock icon to the kiddos.

Woolly Bully - Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
I don't remember much about my Grandpa Bauman but I remember begging him and my GramCracker to put this record on and I would dance like a crazy person in their living room every time the chorus came on.

Elvira - The Oak Ridge Boys
Saturday mornings cleaning and Chirstmas decorating are the only things that come to mind every time I hear this. My mother the music aficionado!

Hangin' Tough - The New Kids on the Block
Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh! I loved those boys, especially Donny, and why wouldn't I he was the jerk of the group haha. Although I was pretty young for NKOTB I knew what was up.

Thunder Rolls - Garth Brooks
A staple tape in my parents full size van, I can probably still sing you all the lyrics to this number. You have to admit Garth was the man.

Jump Jump - Kris Kross
My first taste of rap. I loved this song and remember dancing to it in the kitchen as well as dressing backwards for a day at at school and thinking I was pretty much the coolest kid ever for channeling my inner "Kris-Kross-ness". I remember losing the tape and being devastated only to re-buy the album years later on CD.

The Sign - Ace of Base
Also owned this on tape. Gaga is still channeling this crew and with good reason their disco-pop-dance-funk is right up her alley.

Jagged Little Pill (entire album) - Alanis Morissette
Enter my very first CD. I listen to the words now and can't believe my mother let me get this CD in 5th grade! I still remember standing in line for the bus after school with several girls singing, "slap me with a splintered ruler" man, that harmonica is amazing. I still listen to this album today, it's that good.

Strawberry Wine - Deana Carter
This was a part of my very small country kick. Junior High PE consisted of walking the trails in Lohrville and singing this at the top of our lungs.

Closing Time - Semisonic
As I began high school this tune was everywhere. I think it was my first step out of main-stream pop as my swim coaches constantly played 97.5 The Edge - KBVU (Buena Vista's college radio station) while we were at practice. There was something from there on out that changed my musical tastes.

What's My Age Again? - Blink-182
As proof of my love for Blink I devoted my very first email account to them (leslie_b182). This was my first taste of punk and as crazy as it might seem this was when I began rocking the studded belts and rubber bracelets. I'm completely with N when she talks about her love for Tom Delonge, that lip ring still melts my heart.

Scott's A Dork - Reel Big Fish
Enter my days with Andrew. I can remember him coming to talk to me through the fence at a swim meet and he and his crew sang this at the top of their lungs to their friend Scott who was hitting on a girl at the softball field a block away from the pool. I then proceeded to give him a beaded necklace I was wearing through the fence and I am confident to say that's where it all began with him. RBF still reigns as the group I've seen most in concert at 3, all at the same club in Minneapolis.

Horrorscope (entire album) - Eve6
I can remember the summer I started dating Andrew like it was yesterday. He opened up my world when it came to music and we literally cruised for hours in his explorer listening to this CD and flipping through his massive binders of music. Appropriately "Here's to the Night" would become "our song" and honestly I still tear up a little bit when I listen to it. That's what's funny about music and love, even though we grew apart, hearing songs from this album take me back to a point in my life when things were easy and I was deliriously happy with the kid. I couldn't have asked for a better "first love".

Responsibility - MxPx
"Responsibility? What's that? Responsibility? Not quite yet. Responsibility? What's that? I don't want to think about it; we'd be better off without it." Another CD in steady rotation in the summer of 2000.

Anyway - Dynamite Hack
My friend Kelli introduced me to this little known gem in high school and I still have the burned copy of the album "Superfast" in my car. The version of "Anyway" with the girl singing and playing the piano reminds me of the days that were a little rougher in high school. When fitting in was hard and when I wasn't so sure about who I was. I got the sheet music to this song as a gift and it's still one of the sweetest things I've ever gotten.

If You C Jordan - Something Corporate
These guys were good enough to make Andrew forget about my birthday and leave a note on his door reading, "Went to Council Bluffs to see So Co with the guys, call you when I get home!". Did I forgive him? Yeah, but only because Andy really was that good. "Leaving Through The Window" is on my top album list of all times and this song was the first one I heard off the album.

Spanish Bombs - The Clash
As we grew out of the pop-punk phase Andrew brought me into the roots of the punk revolution and of course The Clash led the way. I'll never forget asking him if the song really said, "Oh my God a thong". Good job Les, try "Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón" meaning "I love you, oh my heart" which was entirely appropriate.

Testify - Rage Against The Machine
I will never forget seeing my friend Joey wearing a RATM shirt in the halls at SoCal and deciding to look them up. I couldn't get enough of them and let me tell you there are still days I want to yell and scream and who do I put on? RATM!

So there it is, Disc 1! I've just got a start on number 2 but wanted to leave you all with a taste. I think why I love music so much is because of the impact it has had on my life. I can associate songs with exact moments and feelings and sometimes when I can't feel anything playing a song or hearing a chorus can take me back to a place in my life I never want to forget.

I'll leave you with a song you probably never heard of before this posting, mainly because I haven't heard it in awhile and it's worth sharing.