our soundtrack

Memories of childhood are laced w/sounds and smells. Don't need to elaborate on smells - we all know that. But the idea of sounds has been resonating w/me lately (pun intended). Early on the kitchen radio played all my waking hours w/50s, 60s, 70s and "today". I can sing the lyrics (or my version of them - ask Greg) to at least several hundred songs from those decades. At some point either the station changed to news/talk or my parents changed the dial. Still the sound of the 5 o'clock stock report or the characteristic news chimes would make me salivate for dinner. The sound of Red Wings (that's baseball in western NY, not hockey) means its a warm summer night w/lightening bugs and crickets. The Amerks announcer (do all hockey announcers say "from right to left across your radio dial"?) meant the deep desire for a snow day the next morning.

Well, by the time the kitchen radio went to news talk, I was thinking about my own taste in music. The first radio in my room sometime in elementary school was an ancient one from my grandparents house. Wonder where that is? I was listening to the popular music and weekend countdowns. Some good 80s stuff though, really.

Middle school years exposed me to some sugar pop and some hair bands. Now I didn't have the older brothers w/KISS posters covering their walls, but I do remember my older brothers said something to the effect of 'the music you kids listen to these days is horrible'. I probably made some bratty comment, but luckily I did move past most of that sound. Do still love a little Skid Row once in a while - who doesn't love reminiscing about middle school dances?

Fortunately I was influenced by a range of music from friends and flames (okay, those that know me are probably laughing at the "flames" - I did have crushes though) from high school through college. Without giving credits - Beatles, Jethro Tull, REM, Doors, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Tom Petty, Neil Young, CSN/Y, Motown, Police, and anyone who was done producing music before I attended kindergarten. This is just the music I LOVE hearing. I may not bother with concerts or bar music anymore, but I need good music around me.

Greg worked a couple years in college at a record store and that is pretty much where his paychecks were spent. With our marriage Greg and I merged cd collections of probably 200+ and 50+ respectively. There were only two that overlapped - a Jimi Hendrix and a Grateful Dead.

This recent mental wander through my auditory past brings me to this - what will the kids remember about their early music. Our time of influence is short, but maybe it can be long lived. I still adore anything that would play on a 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s station. Although there's less of the 50s - sad. Not so hot on the big band that crackled through my Dad's AM car radio as we traveled around the country side. I don't think those stations were reaching across the country, but across actual time. But I'd still sit for a song or so to daydream about vacations with the family.

I'm not one to keep a TV on or to even turn one on for that matter, so we listen to news on the radio, Michigan football games, and MSU basketball games sometimes. December we listen to all Christmas all the time. The rest is filled with Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Peter Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel (when its humid Tobias even looks like Art), Jimmy Buffet, Indigo Girls, anyone that tells a story and everyone I listed above. In the car I love the peace granted by having the boys restrained from touching each other and often get lost in classical. The kids dig it too I think. Just can't do the "kids" music - sorry. Don't give me kids groups that "don't sound like kids groups" because news flash - they all do.

Greg does his part by "exposing" the kids to TV concerts of Green Day, Pearl Jam, and Kid Rock. Elijah is impressed w/Billie Joe's ever present eye makeup and Kid Rock's big belt buckle.

Hopefully we're planting some seeds for love of music. They may not pick up the violin or play bass in a rock band. Don't see a rap future for either or opera like their hero Mike Rowe, but if they can sing along w/the tunes that were around long before their births, I'll feel pretty good.

Think we're beyond anyone still actually reading, but this collected my thoughts. And I can do what I'd like on my blog.

Now what will their soundtracks be? What is your soundtrack?