When I was young I can never really remember there being music in our house…. sure the radio was often on but I don’t remember my parents listening to tapes or records of bands they liked.
Yet somehow I have become a person who can’t live without music. Every important moment in my life has a soundtrack running behind it. I can clearly remember making my first mixed tape – I must have only been about 7 or 8. I had scurried our crusty old radio/tape deck into my bedroom and was recording songs off the radio. Up until then I hadn’t taken notice of the songs playing on the radio but I was determined to make a tape of ‘my’ songs. I can’t remember all the songs I recorded but I clearly remember ‘Eternal flame’ by the Bangles and also a Billy Idol song which I have long forgotten the title of.
This started my love of music and since then it has evolved into the monster it is today.
To say that my music tastes are eclectic is being kind – I love everything to country and western (old style) to dub to hard rock. But behind every style of music is a solid reason why I like it – I like C&W because it reminds me of riding along with my Dad in his truck, listening to him sing along, I like Dub (mostly NZ Stuff) as to me it represents the time we lived in Wellington and I love rock because that what my teenage years were all about.
My Mother goes spare every-time she sees our CD collection – about 95% purchased by me. We probably have about 2000 cds and when you add up the cost – average CD price is $25 x 2000 = a lot of ‘wasted’ money). Yet every CD in my collection represents to me a certain time in my life. So as an explanation here’s a few CD’s and accompanying stories….
Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
this CD reminds of when I was about 14 – especially the song ‘daughter’. It was a time when I started going to parties with my friends and actually beginning to ‘know’ about music. This album was playing when I was busy holding my friends hair back as she spewed after drinking nearly a whole bottle of baileys. It reminds me of the excess of youth as well as the stupidity!!
Garden State Soundtrack
I went to see the movie with a friend who had travelled up from Wellington. At the time the Adman and I were going through a very very rough patch and for some reason the movie just clicked with me and weirdly gave me some strength to carry on and work through all the issues that we had – as just as Natalie Portman says in the movie – the Shins really do change your life!!
Otis Redding – The definitive Collection
The Adman and I got this CD in some bargain bin and its probably one of the few CD’s that we listen to regularly – in fact we are on to our second copy as we wore the first out. This CD reminds me of when we lived by the sea in Wellington and on a Sunday morning we would sit on the deck and watch the morning pass us by while drinking coffee and basking in the early sun.
Green Day – American Idiot
This CD reminds me of when I bit the bullet and told the Adman that he had to make a choice about our marriage – either he would stay and we would work through or he would go and that would be it. Its a long story but basically he had told me he would come around to talk things through one Friday night but didn’t actually show up until 2am ( after being at a party and being very drunk). The next morning at about 6am I got up and put on the CD as loud as it could go – I was making a point and I wanted to make it loudly!! It was the catalyst in some ways that turned everything around and things got sorted finally after almost a month of too-ing and fro-ing.
Everyday when I am at home with the Young Man I have either the radio or a CD playing – Often I will explain to him why I like a song and why its important to me – I guess its just one way of telling my life story to my son.
