Some songs make a bigger impression on us than others. Some songs remind you of another place and another time. Some remind you to take life by the horns. Some songs feel like they were written specifically for you. It's like the artists were secretly following you around, documenting something you had gone through or experienced. These are the songs that really make you stop and say "Whoa!" These are the most powerful songs of all.
You can be driving down the road, listening to the radio, when all of a sudden this song starts humming through the speakers. You are no longer driving your car. You are no longer in the driver's seat. You are somewhere else completely.
The past?
The present?
The future?
You are no longer your present age. You are 8, 17, 29, 37, 45, 52, or 64 years old again. Maybe you are the person you picture yourself becoming in the future. It just happens. And whether it inspires you, motivates you, heals you, or makes you cry, this song is now part of your life. This song has taken it's place in the soundtrack of your life.
Think about it for a moment. We all have a soundtrack to our lives. We are walking jukeboxes filled with records and CDs and Mp3 files continually playing the rhythmic timeline of our existence.
I wanted to try and map out my rhythmic timeline. So, I decided to create my own Soundtrack. It was my own personal playlist of melodic memories, hopes and dreams. I went a step further though. I tried document what these songs provoked in me, so when senility finally settles in, I will still be able to find parts of myself through my music. LOL! Trust me when I say my playlist spans every human emotion possible.
Here is mine. What is yours?
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
This came out when I was a freshman at Penn State. First time I heard it I was driving to class and was like "Who the f@ck are these guys???" I played the hell out of it at max volume. Still do. This song sometimes takes me back to Penn State and playing hacky sack outside the bookstore, doing my homework on the benches in between classes and all the cool college guys I had the pleasure of meeting. My ex-husband also taught me how to play the guitar riffs for this song.
"And I forget just why I taste, oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile. I found it hard, it's hard to find, oh well, whatever, nevermind."
Stagefright (Def Leppard)
Slip Of The Tongue (Whitesnake)
Pour Some Sugar On Me ( Def Leppard)
Still Of The Night (Whitesnake)
In high school, cruisin' Broad was what we did. My friends and I "cruised" almost every night of the week but on Friday and Saturday nights downtown Hazleton was virtual gridlock. Vesuvio's was the place to eat after football and basketball games. Convenient was the ice tea and cigarette pit stop. The shopping center is where we would hang to socialize while the guys with the hot muscle cars would line up until the cops would come by to kick everyone out. Sometimes we would park and hang on the corner of Laurel Street yelling to our friends as they drove down Broad. We were chased by cars full of guys and we chased cars full of guys. If I was driving that night, Shannon would take over the wheel at midnight since I had a Cinderella license. We both had late curfews. These songs were always blasting on one of our cars' cassette deck along with a few others. It was our cruisin' soundtrack. To say I really miss those days would be a complete understatement.
Up All Night (Slaughter)
This became my theme song in high school because of my insomnia. I never slept so you could always find me hanging out on Broad, Perkins, Two Guys, and/or Vesuvio's with the other kids that had late curfews. Some of the best times happened after midnight! It is even next to my yearbook photo. (Yea, yea, it was the 80's. Whatever. Still love this one.)
Would (Alice in Chains)
I Alone (Live)
All Over You (Live)
These songs reminds me of someone from my past whom I had a strong emotional bond with. It was unconditional love on both our parts. It was only time I have ever experienced such a deep mutual love. Life was very complicated for me at the time and we were so young. He wanted my complications, all of them, even went so far as to confess all of this to my mother, sister and grandmother but... I could not do that to him because he had his whole life ahead of him. Sometimes I wonder if this had been my one chance at true love. There is nothing I can do about it now, that was my past. I put that to bed a long time ago. All I can do is hope true love is still out there for me in my future.
"Into the flood again, same old trip it was back then. So I made a big mistake, try to see it once my way."
Edge of Seventeen (Stevie Nicks)
Okay so... yes I used to go in the basement, put on a flowy white dress and dance around pretending I was Stevie Nicks. Yes my sister caught me doing it and still busts my ass to this day about it. Yes I know why she wrote every single word to this song. Yes I try to sing it every time I go to karaoke. Yes I think the guitar riff is incredible. Yes she is still a goddess to me and when people tell me I look like her I blush and get all excited and happy to hear such a wonderful compliment. She and I are kindred spirits. Whatever.
"And I see you doing, what I try to do for me. With the words of a poet and a voice of a choir and a melody, and nothing else mattered." She wrote this about John Lennon.
10,000 Horses (Candlebox)
I hold this one close to me. It is about fighting for your life. It's about changing, even if it is painful. It's about moving on. Rolling with the punches. It's about choices. It's about listening to your heart. It's about not allowing anyone's words or opinions to affect your decisions. It's about not permitting anything or anyone from dragging you down the rabbit hole with them. It's about being strong. One of my biggest fears is that I will live a stale life or a life filled with would'ves, could'ves, should'ves but didn't. I witnessed too many unhappy people in my lifetime. I will not allow myself to become one of them nor will I allow my children to.
"Never want to slow down, I keep rolling on. Never want to slow down, it's what I feel and what I know. It feels like a strain, that everybody's giving to me. Won't let my hands get tied. I'm going to ride it all out. Never going to slow down this time."
Chain Reaction (Journey)
When I was a kid, I would often times spend summer days with my older cousins and my Aunt Ann. My cousin Nikki and I would ride bikes around her neighborhood. Her older sisters would let me ride one of their ten speeds because I did not have one. I never told them how many times I wrecked that thing. Eventually I got my own cool shiny red ten speed to ride but in the meantime I had theirs. Nikki and I would sometimes follow her older sisters up to the train tracks where the big kids hung. Journey was huge then. This song as well as many other Journey songs were always playing on one of the guys' portable stereos. Eventually her older sisters and the big kids would get annoyed with us so Nikki and I would go off wandering down the tracks, exploring the woods and getting into our own mischief. We didn't find any bodies along the tracks like the boys in the movie "Stand By Me" but we had so much fun on our adventures.
Name (The Goo Goo Dolls)
This one of my all time favorite songs. Loved it the minute I heard it. I could relate to so much of what he was saying. Growing up too fast, trying to hide who you really are, the emotional scars you earned along the way, lost hopes and dreams. Losing yourself completely and becoming a shell. Not knowing how to break the shell. Sometimes even if you are with someone you feel like you are the loneliest person in the world. If you are single, sometimes you feel you are slowly losing hope in finding the right one. The one that gets it. Gets you. I do not believe in fairy tales but I do believe this song is as close to Prince Charming as it gets. He really gets the girl. Gets why she is the way she is. He understands. He still wants to be with her. He sings this beautiful song to her. One day my prince will come..... right?
"Scars are souvenirs you never lose, the past is never far....."
One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head)
This song reminds me of summers spent at the James Street playground in fifth and sixth grade. My friend JR would always make me sing this song as we swung on the swings. I don't know why he asked me to sing it but I would sing it. It was just one of those random things I guess.
Love My Way ( The Psychedelic Furs)
Valley Girl and the John Hughes movies were my youth. The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Pretty In Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science.... I loved them all. My friends and I would talk about them all the time. Hughes really understood the life and times of being a teen in the 80's and early 90's. All the songs from 80's teen movies remind me of my teenage years.
Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House)
This song reminds me of my freshman year and some of my closest friends. The year was 1988. It was our last year of junior high before we went to the big high school where inevitably, some of us would drift apart. I remember walking to The Third Base with some of those friends and just taking all of this in. This song was playing on the jukebox while we ate lunch. It was so fitting. When I close my eyes, I drift right back....
"There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost but you'll never see the end of the road while your traveling with me."
My fascination with The Cure began with this song. Reminds me of all the cool skater boys in the hood growing up.
Union of The Snake (Duran Duran)
My cousin Sue and I were huge Duran Duran groupies in elementary school. We used to blast their songs in her room every time I visited. She was in love with Nick Rhodes. I had the hots for John Taylor. My aunt used to get her all the Teen Beat magazines and we would gawk over them. Good times on Arthur Street.
Hold On Loosely ( 38 Special)
My ex husband and I loved a local band called White Bear. Our friends used to sneak us into the bars just to hear them play since we were only 18 and 19. They always opened with this one, which happens to be a favorite of mine. The lead singer sang it perfect! Miss that band. Miss the challenge of sneaking into bars.
Foreplay/Long Time (Boston)
Boston is one of my favorite bands. Someone from my past, whom was seven years older than me and whom I had a flaming crush on, gave me two of his Boston cassettes to listen to because he loved them. And while the flames for him have long been extinguished, my flame for Boston still burns bright to this day. I blast this on max, roll the windows down and drive it like I stole it! It always lifts my spirits. A great Sunday drive or road trip song.
"Good times and faces that remind me. I'm trying to forget your name and leave it all behind me. You're coming back to find me."
Love Is Like A Rock (Donnie Iris)
Fantasy (Aldo Nova)
Saturday afternoons when I was in elementary school Skate Oddessy was the place to be. The DJ always played these two songs. And whether we were trying to skate faster to be near the cute boy or skate slower to avoid the stalker boy, all I know is I could never quite get the hang of skating backwards but I could spin. Oh, and it was a complete blast. I had Strawberry Shortcake roller skates. Wore the hell out of them.
The Only Time (Nine Inch Nails)
This song and the whole Pretty Hate Machine album reminds me of the dump my ex husband and I lived in before our daughter was born. The sink drained into the basement. The tub leaked. The upstairs apartment's toilet leaked into our bedroom. The windows didn't have screens. The oven didn't work. One neighbor was a dealer, one was always asking to borrow something from us and one had a confederate flag as their front window curtain. The neighbors above us with the five kids in the two bedroom apartment were constantly making the mattress creek causing us to laugh hysterically. Go ahead and keep breeding more kids you can't afford. I remember the first time I heard this song I was like "Wow!" I like these guys. I played the hell out the album at night because my ex worked third shift and I hated being alone at night. Trent and his deep, dark lyrics got me through those nights. Sometimes he still does to this day.
"Lay my hands on heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car. Nothing quite like the feel of something new."
Kayleigh/Lavender (Marillion)
I first heard this song not too long after my daughter was born. It hit me like a ton of bricks because I was going through such an emotional time. I was second guessing a decision I had made and was feeling a lot of heartbreak about what was and what could have been. The torment lasted for years for both of us. It was then that I realized just how hard grown up life could be. Good thing is my heart doesn't break anymore when I hear this song. Now I can listen to it and love it for how beautiful it is.
"By the way, didn't I break your heart? Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart. So sorry, I never meant to break your heart but you broke mine."
"Lavender green, Lavender blue. When you love me, I will love you."
Still Frame (Trapt)
This song is my anthem for trying to figure my shit out and get it together. Even I don't always have the answers.
" A small confession, I think I'm starting to lose it. I think I'm drifting away from the people I really need."
Down With The Sickness (Disturbed)
Freak On a Leash (Korn)
Oh! (Union Turnpike)
Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer (Jay-Z/LinkinPark/Eminem/Jonathan Davis DJ Bruno version) (One of the best remixes ever!!!)
Songs that get my blood pumping and motivate me to tear it up.
"It's time to sink or swim, to see who gets scared when the lights go dim."
"And there I go trapped in the kit kat, back through the system with the riff raff again."
Ready To Go (Republica)
This song reminds me of all the fun, goofy shit my sister and I do.
MacArthur Park Suite (Donna Summer)
I scratched the hell out of my mother's albums. So did my sister. I loved Donna Summer, she loved Olivia Newton John. I used to sing this one while digging holes in the yard to make mud pools for my Barbie or obstacle courses for my matchboxes. I had a pink VW matchbox that the boy up the street always tried to steal. I couldn't understand why anyone would put a cake out in the rain but thought it was probably gross and mushy. It's actually a beautiful love song but what did I know. I was six. I played with dirt.
"Spring was never waiting for us dear, it ran one step ahead as we followed in the dance."
The DJ (KRS One and DJ Revolution)
This song takes me back to Ms. Mowery and my spontaneous road trip to New Orleans in 2010. As we were coming up on the city it was nearing midnight and this song was playing as we were crossing the twin span bridges. We were literally awestruck when we finally saw the city lights. This trip will always be one of my all time favorites.
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (The Beatles)
Strawberry Fields Forever ( The Beatles)
I used to play in the attic because my sister would not follow me there. Funny how she would go in the basement but not the attic. Not at first anyway. It didn't last very long. Anyway, my dad stored all of his albums in a crate in the attic. I thieved them, brought them down to my room and believed I was quietly playing The Beatles, Cream and Jimi Hendrix. I was not playing them as tacitly as I thought. He knew. I didn't get in trouble though. He loved that I was listening to his records. He even discovered a few Beatles albums at flea markets for me. I still have all his albums as well as the ones he got for me in a crate in my attic. These songs are what entranced and enamored me to the entity known as the Fab Four. I began to accept the quirky child I was. I unearthed and nurtured my imagination listening to the Beatles. The music spoke volumes to me. They are my #1 band. I tend to listen to them more when I am down and need a break from reality without the use of LSD. LOL! Some of my friends can tell if I am having a moment when I start posting Beatles songs to Facebook. That is when you realize someone truly knows you. When they can recognize your little quirks and how to interpret them, it shows they really are paying attention. They really care.
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see. It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out, it doesn't matter much to me....Let me take you down cuz I'm going to Strawberry Fields."
What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani)
This song is my anthem to get my ass out there and just do it. It reminds me that I can do just about anything I set my mind to. I will never be too old to accomplish another goal or try something new.
Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac)
Sara (Fleetwood Mac)
I had taken a shining to Fleetwood Mac at a very young age. I recall HBO playing a Fleetwood Mac concert all month. I can't remember how old I was but we had cassettes by then. I remember watching it every time it was on. My father found a way to hook up a cassette player to our floor model TV with a wire and taped the entire concert onto a cassette for me to listen to. It was one of the best, most thoughtful presents I had ever received. I played it so much I eventually wore it out and the tape broke. This was before dual cassette players came out so I could not make a copy. Anyway, my father always did sweet little things like that for all of us. He was the one that taught me about the little things in life and how they are actually the big things in life. On a side note, I took my Confirmation name Sara because of this song.
"And he was just like a great dark wing, within the wings of the storm. Well I think I have met my match. He was singing, and undoing, and undoing.... the laces, undoing the laces."
No Jesus Christ (Seether)
Trouble (Coldplay)
Too Bad ( Nickelback)
These songs reminds me of my separation, eventual divorce and the emotional roller coaster both my ex and I put each other on for almost a year. Sometimes things are worth a second chance if the feelings are still there. Sometimes the feelings fade faster than you actually want to believe. Sometimes having one more day makes you realize you cannot forget what was done to you, what you have done, how much you have grown apart and that it really is time to let go for the mental and emotional health of everyone involved. I learned that you can miss many things about a person and they can miss many things about you but it doesn't necessarily mean you are a supposed to endure as a couple, even after many years together.
Sometimes we mistake comfort and security for love even though deep down we are unhappy and restless. Sometimes we mistake control, possessiveness and jealousy for love when in fact it is nothing more than the insecurities of the parties involved and really doesn't have much to do with love at all. I learned it can be more about fear than anything. Fear of being alone, losing the future you planned. Fear of being viewed as a failure, selfish or a bad parent. Fear of losing the money and lifestyle you once had.
I learned that the only thing I lost was the negative environment we had unintentionally created by lying to ourselves about the people we had grown into. We were just kids ourselves when we started a family. We knew everything but we knew nothing. I thought the time apart would make us stronger. So did he. We were both wrong. We had grown into different people. I no longer wanted to make it work. He didn't either. Every situation is different I guess. This was ours.
"You keep taking over. I keep rolling over. I can't take it anymore."
The Boys of Summer (Don Henley)
I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)
Little Red Corvette (Prince)
Strip (Adam Ant)
Relax (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
Our House (Madness)
These songs remind me of growing up in the 80's. Spaced Invaders on the Atari, friendship pins traded and worn on the laces of our shoes, playing cops and robbers in the neighborhood, big neon shirts, learning how to put on make up, smoking in my friend's attic, roller skates, ten speeds, MTV actually playing videos, my friends and I pretending we were the 1984 Gold Medal Woman's gymnastics team, my junior high boyfriend and the 8 million times we would break up and get back together, walking around the football stadium on Friday nights, the 1986 World Champion NY Mets, basketball games, my paper route, exploring the woods, summers spent swimming at Angela Park, slumber parties, my dogs Hazel and Felicia, school dances, big gawdy jewelry and punked out hair. These were some of my favorite songs.
I Hate Everything About You (Three Days Grace)
I Don't Care (Apocalyptica)
Pressure (Rains)
These songs remind me of relationships ending and how you can still love someone but hate them at the same time. The five stages of grief I guess.
What's My Name? (Rhianna)
This song reminds me of springtime and falling in love. Both bloom new life from former life. I remember walking into a mini mart near my house back in the spring of 2011. I was newly in love back then. A woman was singing this along to the radio. She was so happy and spirited. She smiled and winked at me as she left. It is such a pretty, playful song. It always lifts my spirits when I hear it even thought the relationship ended.
Try Yazz (Two Without Hats)
Together Forever (Lisette Melendez) Let The Beat Hit Em ( Lisa Lisa and The Cult Jam)
French Kiss (Lil Louis)
Freestyle was huge when I was in high school. These are songs that remind me of our jaunts to the big WB aka Wilkes Barre to the cool dance clubs. Of course no matter how hard my friends tried to sneak me into the 18 and older clubs, no matter how many fake IDs we had, no matter how much we chatted up the doorman, they would not let me in. Fuckers! There were 16 and older clubs too though so we would just go there. Unless of course while dancing under the ultra violet lights my skirt road up to my waist and exposed my undies to everyone in the club. Yea...that sucked. Now a days I probably just say fuck it and pull my skirt down but back then I was horrified.
Everlong (Foo Fighters)
A gorgeous song about a waiting for the one the doesn't stop when you say when. In other words, finding someone that can handle you at your best and your worst forever. Someone who doesn't quit when things get hard. No matter how good a relationship you are in, there are going to be hard times. If it is worth fighting for and working it out, both of you will work at it. If one wants to and the other doesn't, then that is not the person who isn't gonna stop when you say when and no matter how hard, you need to let them go so you can both find that person that won't quit. One of my favorite local bands Torn used to play this one at the Roadhouse. This one reminds me of Network Solutions too. Not sure why but it does. Maybe because we used to play this one a lot on the juke after work. I love both the rock and acoustic versions of this song. It is one of my favorite songs.
My My ( Seven Mary Three)
Tourniquet (Marilyn Manson)
Stinkfist (Tool)
Machinehead (Bush)
The 90's alternative scene was mind blowing. Some of the music was deep, dark and sad. Some was fun, uplifting and vivacious. Most songs were thought provoking which is always right up my alley. My children were born on to this scene just like I was born on to the progressive rock scene. These songs remind me of waitressing, driving my son to therapy, late night shopping trips with my sister and becoming familiar with the world wide web. We were on the web before it became mainstream. I remember Bulletin Boards (BBS), AOL, the Imagination Network. I even had a short lived job writing for a national online city guide before it became a victim of the .com mess of the nineties. It disheartened me to have a job I loved only to lose it. I have never been able to completely get back on the horse again but I am working on it. These favorite songs of mine as well as many others played in the background that was my life in the 90's.
"I can help you change tired moments into pleasure. Say the word and we'll be well upon our way. Blend and balance, pain and comfort deep withing you til you would not want me any other way."
My family knows I am nuts but they fully supported it. I was five when this came out. I would play this song over and over and over and over and over on the record player in the living room. Finally my parents got me a little Donnie and Marie record player for my room because they probably hated it thanks to me. So anyway.... I played this a lot, and I took the words literally. I had absolutely no idea what this song was really about. I thought it was about people getting coffee and bad weather and people wanting to touch other people, like as in touching their shoulder. The mind of a child right? We were all there once. I loved the groove though. Hell yeah!
Not Strong Enough (Apocalyptica)
This song reminds me of how sometimes love and attraction is so powerful that we do crazy things like wear our hearts bleeding on our sleeves hoping that eventually something we do will convince the object of our affection that we are the one they really want. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Regardless it is a beautiful song.
"And it's killing me when your away. I wanna leave and I wanna stay. And I'm so confused, so hard to chose between the pleasure and the pain. I know it's wrong and I know it's right. Even if I try to win the fight, my heart would overrule my mind....and I'm not strong enough to stay away."
One Trick Pony ( Deadmau5)
This song will forever remind me of my love affair with the Concept 2 rower at Gerrie's Fitness Center. I would put the rower on the hardest resistance # 10, pump up the volume on my mp3 player to max and work it to this song. It's very empowering.
Bad Religion (Godsmack)
Somebody Told Me (The Killers)
These songs remind me of the Roadhouse. When I first started going out, this bar was my haven. I felt completely comfortable there. Every Friday for over two years I was a fixture there from 5:30 PM until closing. I forged great friendships, got drunk off my ass, laughed until someone puked, listened to some amazing bands, met a few boys, did some pretty crazy things, hell I even worked there for 6 months. I came out of my shell completely while working at Network Solutions and going to Evan's Roadhouse. You could tell when I reached my drinking limit because I would drop my cup on the floor and ice would go flying everywhere. I never did it on purpose but it happened almost every Friday. Some of my best and most favorite memories and adventures happened there. My friends and I would play these songs on the jukebox all the time.
"Drink up, it's last call, last resort, I'm only your first mistake tonite!"
Pardon Me (Incubus)
I listen to this one when I am made to be the asshole by an asshole. Whether it is speaking my mind, expressing my feelings or saying enough is enough this song empowers me. Too old for games and mind fucks by anyone.
"Pardon me while I burst into flames. I've had enough of the world and it's people's mindless games. So pardon me while burn and rise above the flame."
25 or 6 to 4 (Chicago)
My dad is a huge Chicago fan. He had every album tucked away in the attic. So... of course, my sister and I followed suit. His band played this one a lot because they had a great horn section. This is one of our favorites. Reminds me of his band when I was a kid. Love when the high school and college bands play this one too.
Crush (Dave Matthews)
My intrigue with Dave Matthews began with this stunning song back in 1999. I have been a fan ever since. This one is a gorgeous, vulnerable song about a man telling a woman just how much he loves her. Any woman would love a man to really love her as Dave poetically describes. Dave does have a way with words I must say. Love like this does exist but now a days it is rare.
"Am I right side up or upside down, to each other we'll be facing. By love, we'll beat back the pain we found. You know I mean to tell you all the things I've been thinking deep inside my friend. With each moment the more I love you."
Riptide (Sick Puppies)
I can be a little off the cuff, a little out there. Sometimes I think and act way outside the box. I'm quirky. I have been judged, accused, taken the wrong way. I used to care. I don't anymore. It's my life.
Flagpole Sitta (Harvey Danger)
This song reminds me of my sister when we would drink because something just isn't right with either of us and it gets even more goofy when we are drinking. This song is so us. We would sing this one a lot. It also reminds me of working at the Ground Round. We were all nuts. It was the first waitressing job I had where I actually looked forward to going to work. Yes...we had that much fun. I remember singing the amputee part of this song to my friend Vern while tapping a plate off the garbage can to remove the food. I broke the plate as I said goddamn you. I didn't mean to, it just happened. His expression was priceless. Oopsies! I sang this part to Alish all the time. Ironic now that I'm looking back on it since I pierced my tongue 13 years later.
"I wanna publish zines and rage against machines. I wanna pierce my tongue. It doesn't hurt it feels fine. The trivial sublime, I'd like to turn off time and kill my mind."
Hush (Deep Purple)
Denial (Sevendust)
Saturday Night Is Alright For Fighting ( Nickelback and Kid Rock)
Here To Stay (Korn)
Some of my favorite driving songs. Yes, sometimes I forget I drive a Blazer and not a Mustang. Yes, sometimes I tend to press my foot to the gas pedal with a little more force when one of these songs are playing. I can't help it. Yes, I had my license taken away once for speeding and once I had to take a test to keep my license as a result from another speeding incident. I speed within reason now. Ruckle and a few of my other friends at Network Solutions used to bust my ass about how I arrived for work every morning. As Ruckle describes it, "You knew Fess was at work when you heard the wheels squeal as she turned into the lot. You would hear the music about a minute before she made it to the back lot. You didn't even have time to say hello because she would jump out of her Blazer and take off like a flame haired rocket into the building while she bitched about being late." He told this "story" a lot at work. Of course I denied it.
No Leaf Clover (Metallica)
I think I am one of the few people that actually loved when Metallica did the S&M CD with the San Francisco Philharmonic. I fell in love with this song instantly. Through the years I have played the hell out of it. I write to it. I used to play this CD to help me fall asleep back in the 90's. It also reminds me of playing Rockband with my friends. This was always a favorite.
Say You'll Haunt Me (Stone Sour)
Love Walks In (Van Halen)
These songs reminds me of how sometimes emotions happen so unexpectedly that it catches you off guard completely. It's funny how you can see someone one day, not really take notice of them other than that they are attractive, go about your business as usual, then a few weeks later find yourself having a conversation with them and completely connecting. Sometimes it hits you so fast you haven't any time to react or fight it. Life is funny like that sometimes.
"Little supernovas in my head, little soft pulses in my dead. Little souvenirs and secrets shared, a little off guard and unprepared."
It Takes Two (Rob Base)
Ordinary World (Duran Duran)
Take Care (Drake and Rhianna)
Bent (Matchbox Twenty)
Birthday (Taproot)
Hemorrhage In My Hands (Fuel)
Snuff (Slipknot)
Over And Over (Three Days Grace)
The Space Between (Dave Matthews Band)
Songs that help cope with finding love, fighting for love, losing love, getting over love and finding love again. Most of us are wounded soldiers on the battlefield of love. These songs represent that battlefield, those scars, our unique personalities, our pride and esteem, how we love, how we feel, the endless search for someone who can handle it all but more importantly, make it better. We are all dysfunctional in our own way. It's a matter of who can handle you and love you just as you are and vice versa. These are some of my favorite songs. They are all beautifully written and composed.
Jackson, Mississppi (Kid Rock)
I first heard this song on the way to a Kid Rock concert with my friend Stacy. It took me a little off guard. The music itself is rockin' but the words are what struck the chord in me. There is no doubt this song is about addiction. I myself was finally coming to terms with the fact that I have an addictive personality and that alcohol will never take my problems away.
#41 (Dave Matthews Band) (Listener Supported CD is the best version of this song. )
This song reminds me of a few things. I went back to school in 2006. My computer was shot so I would go over my parents to use theirs. I would play this one a lot while studying. My father would be sitting in the kitchen and I would catch him humming or whistling along to it. I thought it was so cute. He became an even bigger Dave fan than me. His first love is jazz and DMB has plenty of jazzy and blues undertones to their music. It also reminds me of finally putting myself out in to the dating world. I was clueless. Not that I am that much better now but back then I was like a baby deer learning to walk. I was more naive than I wanted to believe. I still am but now I have a few lessons under my belt. Sometimes I pull myself back in for a bit to regroup, but eventually I put myself back out into the big old sea with the other fishes. As usual the lyrics to this song are filled with vulnerability and yearning. This song was my cell phone ringtone for almost 3 years.
" Only waiting, I wanted to stay. I wanted to play. I wanted to love you. I'm only this far and only tomorrow leads the way. I'm coming waltzing back and moving into your head."
Immigrant Song (Led Zepplin) I first heard this song on the way to a Kid Rock concert with my friend Stacy. It took me a little off guard. The music itself is rockin' but the words are what struck the chord in me. There is no doubt this song is about addiction. I myself was finally coming to terms with the fact that I have an addictive personality and that alcohol will never take my problems away.
#41 (Dave Matthews Band) (Listener Supported CD is the best version of this song. )
This song reminds me of a few things. I went back to school in 2006. My computer was shot so I would go over my parents to use theirs. I would play this one a lot while studying. My father would be sitting in the kitchen and I would catch him humming or whistling along to it. I thought it was so cute. He became an even bigger Dave fan than me. His first love is jazz and DMB has plenty of jazzy and blues undertones to their music. It also reminds me of finally putting myself out in to the dating world. I was clueless. Not that I am that much better now but back then I was like a baby deer learning to walk. I was more naive than I wanted to believe. I still am but now I have a few lessons under my belt. Sometimes I pull myself back in for a bit to regroup, but eventually I put myself back out into the big old sea with the other fishes. As usual the lyrics to this song are filled with vulnerability and yearning. This song was my cell phone ringtone for almost 3 years.
" Only waiting, I wanted to stay. I wanted to play. I wanted to love you. I'm only this far and only tomorrow leads the way. I'm coming waltzing back and moving into your head."
I was 15 when I got my first CD player/stereo. My dad got it for me for Christmas. It was our first Christmas after my parents split. My mother had promised to send us gifts but she never did. My father felt so bad about this. He had no reason to. It wasn't his fault; we knew that. But, as a caring parent, it hurts when your children are disappointed. He took me to Stroud's to pick it out a stereo for Christmas. I was conscientious of prices because my father was struggling financially at the time. I chose a nice, lower priced stereo. My dad, however was not having it. He got both my sister and I Technics. These stereos were loaded. They had the CD player, dual cassette decks, digital radio tuning and bass thumping speakers. The music quality of the CDs were mind blowing compared to cassettes. My Uncle Jimmy came over to hook them up on Christmas. He put Zeppelin III in my CD deck and this song started playing at max volume. It sounded incredible. I couldn't think of a better, more rockin' song to be the first song ever played in my new CD player.
Sail (Awolnation)
Miseria Cantare/ The Leaving Song Part II (AFI)
By and Down ( A Perfect Circle)
Sirens (Pearl Jam)
My most recent ex had Siruis radio and we both loved the Octane channel. These songs remind me of being with him. Our trip to Philly for cheesesteaks and my first wrestling match. Snuggling and watching movies. Talking all through the night. For the first time ever I was completely comfortable with someone. Thought I could be myself for real. Thought I had finally found the one this time. It wasn't meant to be though. This one hurt really bad but despite the pain and anger that will eventually pass, I genuinely do wish for the both of us to find the happiness and calm that both seem to elude us. It just won't be with each other. He is a good person.
Lazy Days/Crazy Nights (Tesla)
Not too long after I started seeing my ex husband, he moved back home to Pottsville. So...I would go to Penn State, then work, then make the hike to go see him. I would fall asleep at his place sometimes then leave at 3AM to get back home for class the next day. It was on these drives, where hardly anyone was on the road that this song always seemed to come on the tape deck, especially when I was driving the grid. It just seemed fitting at the time.
Sister Christian ( Night Ranger)
For obvious reasons this song will always stick with me. So here it goes, my father liked the nickname Chrissy but felt there were too many Christines in the world back in 1973. He wanted something unique and different so....he named me Christian. Ironic huh? If I had a dollar for every time a teacher, classmate, doctor, employer, new friend, etc. said "But that's a boy's name." I would be filthy rich. Seriously, I would. I should start charging people. This song fits me for two reasons. First, when my friends and I were younger, we were talking about songs that had our names in the title. It was the summer of '83. I was turning ten years old. Most of my friends knew of a song about a female with their name in it. I remember saying there will never be a song with my name in it and it be about a girl. Never say never. Trust me, no one was more surprised than me when the following year, in 1984, a song came out called "Sister Christian" and not only was it about a girl, but it was a great song!
The second reason it fits me is because I was always a little tomboy. I had more friends that were boys than girls. I played with them all the time. I was like one of the boys, climbing trees, playing cops and robbers, playing wiffle ball and football, riding bikes, kicking their ass at spaced invaders, getting my ass kicked in snowball fights etc. Every night I came home filthy, muddy and bruised. Then it happened. One of my playmates no longer wanted to play with me. He ignored me and avoided me like the plague. A few months later he sent his friend over to my house to tell me he had a crush on me. It was weird. I didn't see him like that. He was my buddy. This happened with a few of my buddies. And then the teasing began as I started developing. It hurt at first but eventually I started cracking right back to them. I was a sassy little thing. I had to be. Things were never quite the same for me after that. They never are once you really start growing up. All of this happened right around the time this song came out. Crazy huh?
If You Needed Somebody (Bad Company)
This was the class of 1991's Prom Theme. It was bittersweet because we knew in a few more weeks many of us would be going our separate ways. Some of us would never see each other again. We laughed, we danced, we cried, we had a blast. This song is actually a very sweet love song too.
"Should have told you by now, but I can't find the words. If I could show you somehow, but I don't have the nerve. You don't see me looking at you, how could love be so blind? Somehow you don't notice me, but sooner or later there will come a time. If you needed somebody....."
Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix)
I introduced My Aunt Lisa to my ex husband's friend Kenny during a 4th of July party we had. Two years later they were married. In fact I have had many successful introductions to future couples over the years. Several of them have gotten married. I am quite the little matchmaker....for everyone else, just like Amelie From Montmartre. Anyway, my uncle's band played at my Aunt Lisa and Kenny's wedding. He asked my dad to join him for a few songs. It was the only time I ever saw them play together and it was one of the last times I saw my dad play the drums before he retired. This song was one of the songs they played at the wedding. I will never forget it. It was 1994.
What's Luv? (Fat Joe)
Family trips to Wildwood and Cape May, NJ were always a family tradition. On the drive down, there was always a hot song that the radio would continuously play. This one sticks out in my mind for some reason. Getting there was half the fun. When we crossed the drawbridge and passed the shanties which have all but been wiped out, we knew we were close. Excitement would rush in, even as adults, as we would turn onto 17th to the Sandpiper motel. Some of my greatest memories happened in Southern Jersey, my home away from home.
The Fall (ELO)
I'm Alive (ELO)
My sister and I were Xanadu fanatics. It's a cheesy movie but we still adore it to this day. We had roller skates, dresses like Kira and even wore beads, feathers and headbands. Kira didn't have all the bruises on her knees and legs like my sister and I did but it was one of the few times we were actually girly growing up. Love the whole Xanadu soundtrack but this movie actually was my first introduction to the Electric Light Orchestra and the wonderful Mr. Gene Kelly. I am a huge fan of both to this day.
Centuries ( Fall Out Boy)
This song played constantly on the radio during Becky's and my Football Weekend in September, 2014. This song will always remind me of my first Pittsburgh Steelers game, seeing the Lombardis, watching #43 come out on to the field last, while all his teammates and the crowd went wild for him, and all the laughs and goods times Ms. Brominski and I shared that weekend. One of the best times of my life. I will never, ever forget it.
Runaway (Kanye West)
Lost In The World (Kanye West)
Chalk Outline (Three Days Grace)
Reminds me of the last go round with one of my exes and the lies and heartbreak he put me through. Told me one of the saddest days of his life was losing me as a best friend. Only guy to ever cry with me over our final split and what went down because of it. Lots of life lessons were learned in this relationship.
Battle Born (Five Finger Death Punch)
Thought he wrote this about me to be honest. The constant battle not to be come a hard person because of the cards life has dealt me. Not knowing which way to turn next because every path leads to more pain and disappointment.
Fancy (Iggy Azalea)
This one reminds me of all the fun and good times surrounding the events of Chris and Jere's wedding. Another one of the best times of my life.
Here I Go Again (Whitesnake)
This song reminds me of several moments of my life and is also an anthem of sorts. It reminds me of Juniior High and H.F.Grebey, cheerleading camp and wrestling matches. It reminds me of one night at The Roadhouse when Becky was trying to leave way too early so my drunk ass went outside, crawled up in the hood of her red jeep, and did my own Tawny Kitaen dance on her hood. I dented the hood, and woke up the next morning with a black and blue middle finger, wondering how the hell I did that. Becky said I was using the hood handle to do some maneuvers and was grabbing it pretty hard. LMFAO!! The times we had with the jeep.
It is also an anthem about starting over again., which I have had to do a few times in my life. When I hear this song playing, I know I am not alone in my hardships because everyone has had to start from scratch at least since in their life. I know what I need to do to regroup. I know i have the strength to overcome just about anything. I know my roots. I know I love the great unknown. And...I know I can survive just about anything life throws my way.
"And here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone. And I made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time. Here I Go Again."
Daylight ( Matt and Kim)
This song always brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it. It reminds me of my kids when they were little and how cute and quirky they were even then. I loved watching them play and laugh and experience new things. I made sure to seer those moments into my memory. Even when I am senile, I will never forget those precious moments with my children.
It Was A Very Good Year (Frank Sinatra)
This song reminds me of my brother and sister's graduation party. My cousins Mick and Jocy also graduated the same year as them so our families rented a grove for all the cousins to have a party. My sister was 19 and I was 22. We were riding the swings on the swing sets and my dad came over and was pushing us just like when we were little girls. He started singing this song to us. I was almost in tears. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful father and in his eyes, we will always be his little girls. It was one of those unexpected, precious moments you will never forget.
"When I was 17, it was a very good year. It was a very good year for small town girls and soft summer nights. We'd hide from the lights on the village green, when I was 17."
Lighters (Bruno Mars)
Hey Ho ( The Lumineers)
Whenever Becky and I are having a moment, we usually send the other a text with some of the lyrics to one of these songs and it just makes the day so much better. It's those little things. <3
Shipping Up To Boston ( Dropkick Murphys)
I am sorry but every time this song comes on I, the Irish tap dancer in me comes out and I have to step dance. I have step danced to this so many times at Evan's Roadhouse it is not even funny. I have even done it at work. It can't be helped. LOL!
Rosetta Stoned ( Tool)
Awake ( Godsmack)
Polyamorous ( Breaking Benjamin)
Stricken ( Disturbed)
All these songs remind me of the awesome hard rock band Torn. My friend Stacy and I would go see them every time they played for a span of two years. They were so good and Rock music, especially hard rock, is my first love, so to have an excellent local band play it was heaven. They are no longer together but if there is ever a reunion, I will so much be there, smack in the front, jamming out to Jonathan's guitar riffs like I always used to.
There are so many more songs that will eventually be added to this list as life and music march on. Some will be new songs for new memories and emotions. Some will be old favorites that have long been forgotten until they pop up on the radio, taking me back to another time and place.
I must say, this was actually really fun to do. Take a weekend, maybe during a snowstorm or a heatwave, and map out the musical timeline of your life. Make your own soundtrack. You and you alone, compose the beat to your own life.
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