I just had to cut out of a Social Media Conference to get on with the rest of my day but it certainly had me thinking. As I walked to my car I had a little 'bounce' in my step; I was on a college campus, it was a beautiful late morning, air still a bit crisp but not a cloud in the sky and I knew as soon as I got to my car I was going to open the roof put down the windows and crank up exactly what I needed on THIS morning...
The first thing I love about music is that it can change my mood or channel my thoughts instantly. Usually I can control that by what's in my head or what I want my personal 'playlist' to be but sometimes it will happen just by what is on the XM on a 'spontaneous' nature, and it doesn't ALWAYS make the mood a good one (think John Cusack in 'Better Off Dead' when he chucks the radio out the window). So, as I am walking and admiring the scenery on a SOUTHERN COLLEGE CAMPUS I think about music and where my love for it began and how it developed...
At 8 years old I had the best stereo system on the block; not only did it have a turn table and double cassette deck but it also had an 8 track deck as well and it was hooked up to FOUR speakers and we could plug in microphones and create our own 8 tracks. The 8 track that stands out the most to me in my mind is the GREASE SOUNDTRACK. My mother would play it in the car alot and we would sing along. I also remember hours in my room with Scott Rubenstein dubbing over hot songs. Our favorite was RAPPER'S DELIGHT by Sugarhill Gang. To this day I can 'rap' the ENTIRE song --- you should try me sometime, this and BABY GOT BACK, but that's another story entirely.
Shortly thereafter we moved to South Florida and the stereo came with me but 8 tracks were replaced with vinyl. My two best memories of vinyl; before our house was finished I lived with my cousins for about a year. Everyday I would come home from school and hang with Stacy for hours listening to her 45's. Stacy was cool, she was a FRESHMAN in High School and I was only in 6th grade. To this day I can picture that tan 45 holder with the blue K-102 sticker on it...I think she wore MY SHARONNA out! The other memory is of the records I would play in my room alone with the headset on; Queen - News of the World, Kiss Live and Kiss Live II, Van Halen, Journey and of course AC/DC - Back in Black.
I'll also admit that around this time I was in the band and I really enjoyed it, though I didn't enjoy falling off the top riser in 6th Grade only to lay on the floor looking up as the tuba came down next on top of me...
My favorite part about playing music was solo competitions. I liked being able to pick my own music, work with my teacher and get 'lost' in the piece. In 8th Grade I tackled the theme from Carmen, the Opera, on the tuba. Why did I take that on? Well, one of the stanzas is the theme from the Bad News Bears and I loved baseball. I received straight Superiors in competition and went on to be First Chair All-County and All-State that year. I gave up band in high school, mostly under the peer pressure of a growing social calendar, I wish I hadn't.
Music has always been the 'score' to my life. Songs from the 80's and 90's bring back memories of friends and girls, of times and places I wish I could escape to or could have escaped from. Today I love music as much as ever. My iPods are almost full and I have two hard drives full of music and I still have at least 100 CD's that have yet to have been transferred over. The other day I was going through them and I came across R.E.M.'s Eponymous Album and the sticker from the store I bought it from was still on it. The second I picked it up I could see myself in that spot, at the cash register and then the ride back Gainesville where we listened to non stop R.E.M.
Today I listen to everything. I can go from Keith Urban to Lil' Wayne and everything in between. I appreciate it all because it is someone's love and inspiration from their heart and soul put into Art for us to enjoy.
I still love to go to live shows and can't wait to see Springsteen in April. I love going to outdoor shows that are small and intimate.
I picture a bottle of red wine, a blanket and the stars as we listen to a jazz ensemble or the Symphony and reminisce on life, what we've been through and how we got here.
Cheers and happy early Valentine's Day
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