The Soundtrack of My Life

Today I'm linking up with Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday.  When I first saw this link up, I knew that I had to participate because I love music so much.

Music.  Oh, music.  One of my favorite things.  One of the things that I couldn’t live without. 

Music has always been so important to me and my taste has always been very eclectic – I’ve loved it since I was tiny.  I know all of the words to thousands of songs over umpteen genres, and it’s something that’s been a constant in my life since I was a tiny tot.  First kiss?  There’s a song for that.  High school graduation?  There’s a song for that.  Our wedding reception?  There’s a song for that.  Having my first baby?  First heartbreak?  Spring break with my girlfriends?  You guessed it.  There are songs for all of those as well.  Before the days of iPods and iPhones, I was the queen of mixed tapes.  The queen!

My early years were filled mostly with the music that my parents listened to – plenty of classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Steve Miller Band, 80’s jazz and R&B musicians like Anita Baker and Al Jarreau, as well as a lot of classical, motown, big band, 70's music, and all of the contemporary pop songs that were popular at the time.

Around the age of six, a band called New Kids on the Block became very popular (you may know them), and they were the first band that I ever loved.  I had posters of Joey McIntyre plastered all over my wall and I had the crimped hair and leg warmers to match.  I dreamed of going to a concert one day, but my dreams never came true.  Bummer.  My uncle who worked at Turtle’s Records & Tapes (does anybody remember those stores??) gave me my very first CD when I was eight years old – Step by Step by guess who?  NKOTB, of course.  At the time, I didn’t even know what a CD was, nor did I have anything to play it on.  Haha.

My love for NKOTB eventually faded as their careers did and I turned to country music while also continuing my love for pop.  I adored Brooks and Dunn (think Neon Moon), Tricia Yearwood (She’s in Love with the Boy), Joe Diffie (John Deere Green – still adore that song!), as well as many others. 

In 1994, when I was 12, a little band called Dave Matthews Band released their second album, Under the Table and Dreaming, and little did I know at the time that I would find in them my favorite band of all time.  To date, I have been to nineteen of their concerts, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles to see them.  They have actually become a part of my identity and I love that.  As a matter of fact, I named my blog after one of their songs, One Sweet World.  I even got to meet the violinist for the group back in 2013 and it was one of my favorite moments ever!

In addition to DMB, my early teenage years were filled with a lot of Mariah Carey, Ace of Base, Boys II Men, Aerosmith (remember Cryin’, Crazy, and Amazing?) Britney Spears, Nsync, Backstreet Boys, and other top pop favorites, while I also still listened to a lot of classic rock favorites – Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Tom Petty.  And Michael Bolton.  Lots of Michael Bolton.  Although, that was because of an inside joke with my best friend.  Don’t worry, we didn’t really like him.  Ahem.  Anywho, I even went through a 50’s and 60’s music phase at one point.  The one thing that remained constant was my love for Dave Matthews Band.

In high school I found a love for rap and hip hop (Master P, Coolio, Juvenile, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, and Dr. Dre, anyone?) and my love for that never left.  You can still find me rolling up to my kids’ school blasting some of those oldies but goodies.  As a matter of fact, my favorite Sirius station is 47 – Fly.  Have any of y’all ever listened?!  You guys, it’s the best station evarrrr!  Just don’t listen to it with your kids in the car.  ;o)  But do definitely check it out.  You will not be sorry!

I also found a love for R&B at that time and to this day I still love the sweet sounds of Jagged Edge, 112, Usher, and New Edition.  And I could definitely go on…

Fast forward to meeting Brian in 2002 and he threw in some 311 and 2 Skinnee J’s, the alternative genre that I had dabbled in but never listened to a lot.  Turns out, I love them, too!

These days I feel like I love pretty much everything - current music (Ed Sheeran, Phillip Phillips, Justin Timberlake), Country (Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan), rap and hip hop, Christmas music (never gets old!), classical, Dave Matthews Band (duh – oh, and they’re their own genre to me, by the way) and my verrrrry favorite – old standards!  Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble, the Rod Stewart Songbooks, and Steve Tyrell.  You guys, if that music doesn’t make you happy then I don’t know what would!  It’s the best!

I’ve also been listening to a lot more music that is kind of off the beaten path as well – Ray LaMontagne, The Lumineers, Paul Thorn, and Matt Nathanson.

To this day, many songs instantly transport me to a different place and time when I hear them.  To name a few…

• Moving Into Our New House (1989) – Healing Hands by Elton John
• First Slow Dance (1991 when I was in 3rd grade – don’t ask me why I was so young.  Lol.  It was at our Spring Fling at school.) – One More Try by Timmy T
• 6th Grade Talent Show (1994) – I Saw the Sign by Ace of Base
• School Dances in Junior High (1993-1996) – Everything I Do I Do it For You by Bryan Adams, I’ll Make Love to You by Boyz II Men, and Cryin’ by Aerosmith
• First (and only?) Time Playing Spin the Bottle (sorry mom and dad!) (1996 when I was in 8th Grade) – Amazing by Aerosmith
• First Got My Driver’s License (1998) – Let’s Ride by Montell Jordan and Make ‘Em Say Ugh by Master P.  Lol.
• First Started Working at the Movie Theater (1998) – It’s Not Right But It’s Okay by Whitney Houston
• Senior Year of High School (1999-2000) – Here’s to the Night by Eve Six
• High School Graduation (2000) – Graduation Song by Vitamin C
• My Grandfather’s Death (2001) – The Space Between by Dave Matthews Band
• Summer 2001 – Hero by Enrique Iglesias, Superman by Five for Fighting, Pop by Nsync, and I’m Real by Jennifer Lopez
• First Trip to Vegas (2003) – Unwell by Matchbox 20
• All Trips to Vegas, Because, Bellagio Fountains! - Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli
• When Brian and I First Started Dating (2003) – Liz Phair – Why Can’t I?
• Partying In Athens With Brian When We First Started Dating (2003) – In Those Jeans by Ginuwine, The Way You Move by Outkast, Shake Ya Tailfeather by Nelly
• Our Wedding Ceremony (2007) – Cannon in D Major by Pachebel and Ave Maria by Bach
• Our Wedding Reception (2007) – Love Song by 311, Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle, and Crank That by Soulja Boy (ask any of our wedding party… they’ll tell ya!)
• Jacob’s Birth (2011) – Firework by Katy Perry, Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Michael Buble, and Safe and Sound by Matthew West
• Olivia’s Birth (2014) – A Thousand Years by Christina Perry and Let Them Be Little by Billy Dean
• My Other Grandfather’s Death (2015) – Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran (because my cousins and I sang it one night at our family get together) and Afire Love by Ed Sheeran

I now have all of these (and so many more) neatly organized into playlists on my phone, so if I’m feeling nostalgic about a certain era, I can bust out the music and relive the memories.

Concert-going is also one of Brian’s and my favorite things to do.  Some artists I’ve seen in concert:

Dave Matthews Band (duh)

Justin Timberlake

Luke Bryan
Brad Paisley
Darius Rucker
Blake Shelton
The Lumineers

Elton John

Celine Dion
Paul Thorn

311

2 Skinnee J’s
Shawn Mullins

I guess I should stop here now since I've written a novel.  I didn’t think that it would get this wordy, but dang, apparently I could go on about music forever! 

Who are some of your favorites?

*Linking up with Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday and Our Pretty Little Girls for Tuesday Talk.