my music diary :: personal story

today, i have something very special to share with you. have you ever created your musical diary? this was immensely fun for me. listening to these songs and artists completely transformed me to another time, surrounded by people of the moment, who will always hold a place in my heart. i can literally see friends' faces as the music plays. it's very joyful & surreal to walk down memory lane sometimes!  the list below isn't a complete compilation of all that i have loved over the years, but more so, the songs/artists that stick out as life-shaping.  so with no further adieu...

1986: cydi lauper. i remember playing her cassette tape over and over in my childhood living room while my brother complained.

1986 - 1989: new kids on the block & dirty dancing soundtrack.  new kids is a no brainer, right?  wasn't everybody listening to them at this time?  now, dirty dancing... my cousin and i took this to an entirely different level.  we danced, sang and performed to this soundtrack every minute of every day.  it was seriously out of control.  if i was our parents, i would have 'accidentally' broke the tape.

1989 - 1991: the cure.  i think we can all agree that my musical taste approved drastically during these years.

1992 - 1993: "red, red wine" & "brown eyed girl".  these two songs were played at every junior high pool party that existed.  we would all sing along, flashing our colored-band braces when we smiled.  i can literally smell coppertone sun tan oil when i hear them.

1994: counting crows.  the summer before high school will forever go down as the best summer of my life.

1995: "the dance" by garth brooks. this was the theme song of my first love and first devastating break-up.  i would play it on repeat and just lie in my bedroom and cry for hours.

1996 - 1997: natalie merchant, 10,000 maniacs, rusted root & dmb.  these artists made up my mixed cd's as i drove around in my red little mario-cart of a car conquering the world of a teenage girl.

1998: phish. senior year i surrounded myself with amazing, inspiring people that liked to smoke a lot of pot and go to concerts.  this is what i did and i loved every minute of it.  i put on my hippy skirt and danced on a lot of hills with a lot of fun-loving people.

1998 - 2000: phish, phish and more phish, with a splash of bare naked ladies. i can remember sitting in my best friends dorm room, freshman year of college, thinking how life, really, couldn't get any better.

2000 - 2002: "run" by george strait. another heart-breaking break-up. apparently, when i'm sad, i like to listen to even sadder country music.

2002 - 2004: norah jones & madeleine pereux. these two lovely ladies got me through very late nights of working towards my masters. i would sit for hours in our city sunroom... in front of my computer, drinking coffee and smoking cigs while creating and learning.

2004 - 2006: coldplay.  i still to this day, feel that x&y could be the very best cd of all time. there was a very special person around this time that taught me to enjoy the present and not fret about the future.  i am so grateful for that friend.

2006 - 2008: ryan adams. a true mess of a man with a lovely voice that transports me to the time of equal sadness & happiness as my son was born and i navigated life as a single mother.

2008 - 2009: ingrid michaelson & regina spektor. i will forever by the lileth fair type of girl.

2009 - 2013: too close to tell... i'll let you know if in few years.

xoxo