Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I Got the Music in Me

Music has always been present in my life. My first memories are of the student housing where I spent my first 5 years as my father completed his PhD filled with music by The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan. There were always people around with guitars or small hand held drums (it was the 60's after all).

Once,my parents went to a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Boston, and brought back the soundtrack. Much to the bemusement of my mother, I appropriated that album and played it. To death. I knew every word. And would sing it,loudly,in various public places. Little did my 5 year old self realize "The King of the Juice" was not who they were singing about. Go figure, the son of God was not the Hey Kool-aid guy.

High school in the early 80's in a rural Virginia county was a dark time for the musically adventurous(it wasn't even a town,just a county with a lot of 4 wheel drive trucks). If I had to hear Hungry Like the Wolf one more time, and watch my friends dye their bangs blond and don headbands for one more minute I was going to scream. So I held my breath until college. Thank god for college radio! The promised land, and not a head band for miles. There I was introduced to music I had never heard before- Kate Bush, The Talking Heads, REM, Siouxie and the Banshees, and The Cure.

Where is this digression leading? Where else, to my iPod. I was setting up some play lists to get my ass moving when I visit my own personal level of hell I like to call The Gym. And Satan's implement of torture du jour? The elliptical cross trainer. Sounds kind of poetic doesn't it? Well it's not - it's 30 minutes of butt burning, calf cramping, oh my god is that my lung collapsing fun. I need my tunes to distract me from the encroaching coronary and the Access Hollywood crap they show on giant screened TVs. Seriously, do you really need to see a life size David Hasselhoff barfing a cheeseburger 27 times in 15 minutes? In slow motion? I think not,but again, I digress.

Where was I? Oh yes,music. Music is inspiration, whether it be to move, laugh, cry,create or love(ahem Marvin Gaye), it inspires. So,if you're still reading, Id love to hear what you listen to for inspiration. What music moves you?

4 comments:

flutter said...

well for gym purposes, this is going to sound SToooooPiD stupid, but I love the theme from 8 Mile. You know, the eminem song? Love it. I am a jazz girl, so old jazz, jane monheit, diana krall tony bennett classics. I have been loving Ryan Adams lately, too...not to be confused with Bryan Adams.

we_be_toys said...

i am so glad you included JCS in your list of early influences. After all, it spawned the whole repertoire of JUICE MUSIC, that we know and love, and pretty blame on you!

I want juice!
I want juice so baad babe!
I want juuuuice,
I want juice so bad
its driving me mad,
its driving me mad.

-not your parents' Beatles

we_be_toys said...

oops! having a fit of TLJ - i meant to say, up yonder, "pretty MUCH blame on you"
-Whoops, Ed!

Anonymous said...

My fav. on the Ipod would be Rolling Stones top 100. Up for another round of name that Tune?