Music to my ears

For those that know me, there is one thing that is sacred to me.

My music.

I listen to music of all types...and I mean all types...from country to hip-hop to jazz to metal to classical. I am hip to all the new stuff out there, but mainly stick to Top 40 as I like to dance around to it at every chance I get...and it's catchy. Most of it anyways.

So the point of this is that a lot of blogs lately are talking about the music that means something to them, the songs that move them. And it got me thinking about which songs have been the soundtrack to my life.

Bootylicious - Destiny's Child
This song reminds me of my first summer houseboating 4 years ago now. 9 girls all packed up and headed out to Sicamous, BC and wreaked havoc on the fellow boats full of boys. Our boat was called the S.S. Bootylicious, and of course it was our theme song for the weekend. We have been every year since and this year we still had people asking for us on the radio. Apparently we made quite the impression! ;O)

Stella Heart - By Divine Right
A good ol' tune by a good ol' Canadian band. Indie rock at it's best. My X and I saw them by mistake when they filled in for another indie Canuck band, Smoother, as an opener at another show. It was love at first listen for both of us. We became instant BDR followers and never missed an album or show. Got to the point where at the last show Jose, the lead singer, recognized us, and dedicated this song to us. and then pulled us up on stage where we got to play the maracas and the tambourine alongside the band. Way cool. Check them out. They (were) our little secret among our group of friends. And I know the X and I will still go to future shows together.

Wheat Kings - Tragically Hip
Now, I've seen the Hip in concert 9 times now.....yes, 9. This has always been my favorite song by them. By far. It tugs at my heart strings when Gordie starts crooning "sundown in the Paris of the prairies." The best rendition of this song EVER was 3 years ago at Stage 13, a weekend-long outdoor concert out in Camrose. The Hip were the headliners of the even that year, and we had to wait until Sunday evening for them to hit the stage. They came on about 7 pm, and about an hour and a half into their set they struck up WK....just as the sun was starting to set...ACROSS THE PRAIRIES. It was AM-AZ-ING. Nothing will ever beat that.

Hands to Yourself - Georgia Satellite
Brings me back to my youth when we were all a happy family. My dad used to sing this song in the twangiest voice EVER while all of us kids used to sit and giggle at him. When it came on the radio he'd crank it and we'd all sing along, watching him air guitar his way around the living room.
I gotta little change in my pocket, goin' jing-ah-ling-ah-LANG!

Sixteen for Awhile - Celtic Connection
This Newfie song reminds me of one of my great loves. Our time together was cut short as he had to move back to The Rock, and to this day I still think of him. We see each other here and there, and I can't help but think "What if?" Listening to this song brings me back to drunken nights at a friends' apartment, all snuggled into the crook of his arm, hearing everyone sing along at the tops of their lungs. Being with him made me fell just that - 16 for a while, all giddy and nervous with new love. mention of him still makes me feel that way.

Beautiful Mess - Diamond Rio
I once dated this guy who I met at work . We hooked up when we were on hiatus from our current relationships, relationships where we were feeling underappreciated. For a few months at the beginning of summer, we would e-mail back and forth throughout the day, and every lunch hour we would walk down to the river and sit on a park bench. I was ecstatic, as here was someone who was taking notice of me and was giving me what I had been craving for months on end. We would talk for hours on end at night, and I ran on adrenaline alone. Who needed sleep? The song totally encompasses my behavior at the time.

Deuces are Wild - Aerosmith
In junior high, I had a huge crush on my best friend's boyfriend's best friend, Jeff. (Didja follow that?) One night at her house, we were all hanging out drinking while her parents were out of town, and Jeff came over. He was cute, in a very young George Clooney kind of way. I was smitten. We were on an Aerosmith kick then, and we played this song a lot through the course of the evening. Nothing ever happened between us, but the song can bring me back to that night in a flash.

Case of You - Diana Krall
I had gone to see Diana in concert with my grandparents about 4 years ago. She was amazing...my first jazz concert. At the end of the show, her encore was "A Case of You". She sang it so low you had to strain to catch the lyrics. It was so hauntingly romantic. I sat glued to my seat, tears welling up in my eyes. I was heartbroken when the last strains of her piano died out over the hushed crowd. To this day it is the performance that has moved me the most.

Lean Back - Terror Squad
The day one of my best friend's got married, driving back from the timeshare about 20 minutes from the Strip. We were in Vegas, had just been to a great reception with BBQ'd steak and free-flowing margaritas that were so strong they could peel the paint from fence posts. My friend and her new husband were driving back to their suite at the Venetian, dropping myself, another good friend and the bride's cousin back at our room at the Luxor. The 3 chicks were headed out to continue ripping it up, and this song came on the radio. We broke into it at 1000 decibels. I can't hear this song drunk without calling to sing it to them. What a great serenade for the newlyweds. Talk about a buzz kill! hehe

Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone
A good friend overseas told me about this song, which was a hit in Europe about 4 months ago. The lyrics aren't English, but I can belt it out, let me tell ya. It's a dance floor type song....Europop if you will. It reminds me of him and no one else. It's just damn good.

I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
My younger brother was addicted to this song. He would sing it and dance around the house. It is still his favorite song of all time. We were out together at a party this New Year's, and the DJ was playing all 80's. This song came on and he and I met eyes across the pool room and broke out into the strut from days gone by. Oh my god did I laugh. So did the other drunks around us, but we didn't care. It was our special brotha/sistah moment.

Crazy in Love - Beyonce
Reminds me of a good friend and the good tiems we had together before she moved away. Her moves to this song never failed to bring me to hysterical tears...the whole uber-exaggerated catwalk prowl. Many drunken nights were spent trying to perfect the motions, but none of us could pull it off with quite the same sassy attitude. Now whenever I hear it, I do the walk myself...complete with head turn, hair swish, and hip wiggle.

Unforgettable - Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
This song epitomizes my grandparents to me...as morbid as that sounds, that song will play at their funerals. I have grown up listening to jazz with them, and my appreciation for this genre grows with each new song I hear. The wonder of technology allows a daughter and her deceased father to croon this wonderful duet...and they fit together just right. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I hear it. Just like I feel every time I see my grandparents.

Somebody Like You - Keith Urban
Houseboating in Sicamous, B.C. on the Shuswap Lake. Good friends, lots of booze...and me, two-stepping around the boat and the beach with my brightblue inflatable dolphin, Rico. It's become a tradition now for me to perform this act every year. I don't think I'll ever tire of it.
Also reminds me of the love that I hope to find one day...that perfect person that compliments you as you are.

Confessions- Usher
Also from the crazy Vegas trip...drunk and stupid, my very close friend and I SCREAMING at the top of our lungs......"These are my CON-FESS-SIONS!!!" over and over and over. One night while getting ready to go out on the Strip...again....the groom-to-be said we sounded like a poor country version of the song. We sang even louder.

Wait & Bleed - Slipknot
Now, not normally the type of music I'd listen to, but when you live with someone who has the exact opposite taste in music as you, sometimes you just have to deal with it. My X used to BLARE this band, among other hard-core metal bands, on his stereo while in the shower. And I have to admit that this song I enjoyed....as well as a few others. I could even sing...er, screetch...along with it. Lyrics and all. But, I don't listen to it anymore. Just in case you thought I was a closet Slipknot junkie.

Michael Buble
No specific song listed for good old Mikey. This young Canadian jazz crooner is sexy. DANG sexy. His voice makes me swoon....hard. He;s like a cross between a young Frank Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr. I have the biggest crush on him. My good friend and I saw him in concert from the 4th row, and I kid you not, we left with wet panties. No lie. His new CD came out on Tuesday, and it has not left my player. Did I mention he's sexy? He's coming back in June...I better get front row seats. And this time he better grab me out of the crowd when I take his picture, not the girl SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME. Never have I been so disappointed. Um....sexy??

Shook Me All Night Long- AC/DC
A good old banger tune. Brings me back to my youth when my parents would have friends over for BBQ's and AC?DC would be playing in the background. To this day it remains as my sdecond favorite song of all time. If this comes on at the bar, all the girls there will run to the dance foor to bust it up with me. Complete with the standard banger hand (pointer, pinky finger & thumb pointing straight in the air). Ah, good times.

Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
The one hit wonder himself. MY FAVORITE SONG OF ALL TIME. Good ol' 80's tune. It gets requested for my birthday every year. Same as the song above, all interested parties know to hightail it to the dance floor to cut a rug with me to this one. It's like an unwritten rule among my friends. And everyone knows it and never lets me down. Every few weekends I even get drunk calls with this song playing in the background, with someone screaming "Hey Pickle! It's Jessie's Girl!!!" That's why I love them all so much.


I could really go on and on with a list of songs, but this is the list that jumped out at me when I started writing this a week ago (I've been very busy at work and only get to write snippets at a time). I'll finish it one day, or keep it as an ongoing series.

Because really...music is my life.