A Musical Autobiography

Those of us of a certain age remember the good old mixtape...these days there are playlists. I've certainly created my share....mixes/playlists for parties, to commemorate ex boyfriends, to share stuff with friends I think they might like. I was reading Martha Stewart's latest book, Living The Good Long Life, and she wrote about creating your own autobiographical playlist and a light bulb went off in my head. What a fabulous idea! Think about it--songs that are about YOU, not songs meant for or about someone else (although if you've lived long enough, it's probably unavoidable that songs that mean something to you don't evoke memories of other people in your life.) I started making a list a few months back, and thought I'd share some songs with y'all and why they're such a big deal in my life...



"Come Go With Me", The Del Vikings:  I received a little children's turntable for Christmas when I was about 3 or 4 years old. Back then, children's storybooks came with 45 rpm records that you could play along with the story. I not only used it for that purpose, but I also started going through my parents' record collection and one double album set caught my attention. It was the equivalent of the "WOW" cds we have in the PCPL collection, a compilation of the hot hits. This particular album had The Four Seasons' "Sherry", Joey Dee and The Starliters' "The Peppermint Twist", The Five Satins' "In The Still Of The Night", and my absolute favorite, The Del Vikings' "Come Go With Me". I would play that song over and over, to the point where I literally wore the vinyl out.

"California Dreaming", The Mamas and The Papas:  The Mamas and The Papas were one of my mom's favorite groups. She would check out albums from the Woods branch and we would listen to them. I have a very clear memory of a rainy day and being stuck inside and mom singing along to The Mamas and The Papas. I still sing along to this one whenever I hear it.

"Heart of Glass", Blondie:  I don't have a clear memory of when I first heard this song, but I think it's fair to say that Debbie Harry was the first female singer who really had an influence on me. I just thought she sounded cool, looked cool, and was just cool, period. I remember being fascinated by Marilyn Monroe as a little girl and Debbie Harry seemed to be a tougher, cooler version of her. I still have The Best of Blondie on vinyl and I still love the outfit she's wearing on the cover! Rumor says Blondie are currently recording new material...

"Under The Milky Way", The Church: This seems to be a favorite of many people. I still have the 45 rpm single that I bought in 1988 when it was first released and this song seems to find its way into a lot of events in my life. I always liked the bagpipe sounding break in the song and the melancholy feel. There are also some great cover versions out there, including one by Rick Springfield. Many of you probably heard the version by Sia used in a car commercial several years back. I also heard a great electronica/dance version of it at some point but I've never been able to track the artist down.

"Arms of Night", Jackson Browne:  This one is difficult for me. I first heard it in 2009; I was going through a

rough time, not only romantically but also because an old friend was dying from cancer. I sobbed listening to this song because I felt like the lyrics had been written specifically for me and the melody was so moody and beautiful. To me, it is one of the most haunting songs I've ever heard and I still have a hard time listening to it, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Whenever I need a good cry, this is the song I go to.

"Spanish Eyes", U2:  On a much happier note, this is probably one of the most throwaway songs U2 have ever written. It was a B-side to the "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" single and is barely three minutes long. I was already a U2 fan at that point and was used to them being soooo serious and grand, and whatever....this little thing was fun, with a rolling beat, great guitar riff and rather obvious lyrics about Bono's wife...."I love the way you walk on me....I need you more than you need me...it's those Spanish Eyes that bring me home..." They occasionally do this one live and I pray that one of these days I'll get to hear them do it. When it's spring I love to roll the windows down on the car and crank this one up.

Those are a few of "my" songs. Think about what yours are and put something together!


Until next time-
GingerMusicKid