The Soundtrack of My Life

DSC_0029“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” –Plato

Hello friend,

This morning at my gym class, the instructor’s super-techno dance mix included a mash-up of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ classic “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”. After getting over my initial disgust that they had butchered this all-time rock anthem with a computer-generated dance beat, I was instantly swept back in time to July 19, 1982. I was nine years old, and my parents—in a moment of highly questionable judgment—let me, my siblings, and my cousins go unsupervised to a rock concert at the North Dakota State Fair. It was none other than Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, and “I Love Rock ‘n Roll” had just blown up. I was mesmerized by the whole experience, but especially hearing her sing that song live. It was a night etched in my mind forever.

That is how it so often is with the signature moments in our lives: a song is attached. So, when we think back on our history, the telling of our lives emerges from our minds like a movie, complete with a soundtrack. The music playing while we hung out with our friends, stayed up late, kissed the girl, got dumped by the girl, won the game, rebelled, danced, roadtripped, celebrated, contemplated, got married, rocked the baby, and on and on. For most of us, the music tells the story for us. Play the soundtrack, and we could “set adrift on memory bliss.”

My life is no different. When I look through my piles of CDs or through my iPod, it is like my life is flashing in front of my eyes. So, in roughly chronological order, here is the Soundtrack of My Life:

  1. “Another One Bites The Dust”—Queen. This one starts the album, because I remember listening to the 45—yes, a record—of this in my room over and over with my brothers and neighbors. The other Queen anthems—“We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You”—absolutely belong on this playlist as well, but I will lump them into this one slot so I can sneak other songs in (IT IS SO HARD TO KEEP THIS ALBUM SHORT!!!)
  2. “Take It On The Run”—REO Speedwagon. This is another vinyl memory. I didn’t own it, but I remember staying up late at my (older) cousins’ cabin when I was a kid listening to this over and over, dancing around on the beds and feeling way older than my 8 years.
  3. “You May Be Right”—Billy Joel. This is my transition to 8-track. I could not get enough of the sound of that shattering glass followed immediately by the revved-up opening bars of this song to start the “Glass Houses” album. Instant adrenaline!
  4. “Greased Lightning”—Danny Zuko (John Travolta) & the T-Birds. I have seen “Grease” a thousand times and know all the songs, but this one sticks out so vividly because I remember my brothers and neighbor boys and I standing on our basement sofas performing this song—with all the dance moves, of course—like we were the T-Birds as we watched it repeatedly. (I wish that my parents had recorded more of our nonsense, because I would die to see this stuff now.) Go greased lightning!
  5. “Roll On”—Alabama. This was the signature roadtrip song for the crosscountry family misadventures (see my post “Roadtrip Down Memory Lane”), since my dear mother only ever brought one cassette for the entire trip. I didn’t know any better. Roll on!
  6. “I Love Rock ‘n Roll”—Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. Enough said.
  7. “Cum On Feel The Noize”—Quiet Riot. I have to include this not just because it is one of those quintessential 1980’s rock anthems that got played at every school dance—and still charges me up to hear it—but because of how it fits with my Joan Jett story. You see, at that first concert for 9-year-old me, the warm-up band for Joan Jett was a totally unknown band named Quiet Riot, and they blew us away with all of the material from the “Metal Health” album that would become popular a year or so later. At nine years old, I reached the peak of my interest in metal—ha!
  8. “Beat It”—Michael Jackson. I am such a child of the early days of MTV, and I could easily produce a 50-song soundtrack of songs that influenced me from those early years of the network (you don’t know how it pains me to leave off this list The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold”, which threw our whole house into a frenzy every time it got played). Michael Jackson’s brilliance as a performer was perfect for the music video medium, and I was totally captivated. Much like some of the others on this list, “Beat It” is my representative for all of the amazing stuff that Michael put out in those early years, including “Thriller”. When I hear the song now, the dance-off video leaps onto the screen of my mind.
  9. “Mony Mony”—Billy Idol. I can’t even really claim to like this song, but when I think of high school dances, this song is the first thing that comes to my mind. It was like we all had permission to shout the F-word, and what more does a teenager want? So we shouted!
  10. “You’re The Inspiration”—Chicago. Roadtripping with my best friend to tennis tournaments, to Chicago (where we actually saw the band Chicago play), and across the American Rockies. The “Greatest Hits 1982-1989” album logged a lot of miles. Lots of sappy love songs—right up my alley.
  11. “U Can’t Touch This”—MC Hammer. I remember riding in a school bus with a high school girls’ tennis team with this song blaring, and each time it would come to the right parts, we would all shout, “STOP! HAMMER TIME!!!” Pure, unadulterated fun.
  12. “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”—Michael Bolton. I am probably supposed to be embarrassed that I was a huge Bolton fan in my late high school-early college years. I remember when my mom first got this cassette before we left for a long roadtrip to a tennis tournament. By the time we returned, I was sold. This song made it on many a mix tape.
  13. “Summertime”—DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. This was the Summer song for 1991, the year I graduated high school. I hear this and think of my buddies. That was our time together, and we soaked it up. After all of these years, I would still lay down in traffic for those guys.
  14. “Walking In Memphis”—Marc Cohn. My favorite. I also found this song in the Summer of ’91, and I include it not so much from one memory at that time but for how deeply it moved me—and moves me to this day. Though he is widely considered a one-hit wonder for this song, Cohn sunk deep into my soul with this entire album, and he has remained foremost in my heart ever since. Like some of the others, this spot on my list really represents a lot of songs, including “True Companion”, which played in my wedding. I have sung Marc’s songs to soothe my crying kids on their tough nights, and to soothe myself in the best and worst times of my life. This song, which is about a spiritual experience for him, has become a spiritual experience for me.
  15. “I Go To Work”—Kool Moe Dee. This was my “pump-up song” to get ready for intramural basketball games in college. I love this whole album, but this song completely brings it. This is good rap. Old school like the old school!
  16. “Jessie”—Joshua Kadison. This song–and all of the others from his “Painted Desert Serenade” album–is so much about singing my lungs out on solo roadtrips across the land. I love Kadison’s storytelling, and despite a short career, he has always been on my short list of favorites. A wonderful memory is seeing him play live at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
  17. Round Here”—Counting Crows. Their debut song “Mr. Jones” was so overplayed that I didn’t want to get the “August and Everything After” album, but someone dear to me insisted. This is the first song, and I was completely shaken by it. I bought it in Washington, DC September of 1994, and it played in my Discman the entire Autumn and Winter I spent there and New York City. It has played on every roadtrip since, and never fails to move me. I love this song, this album, this band.
  18. “Mystery”—Indigo Girls. Someone randomly gave me this CD, “Swamp Ophelia”, in L.A.; she didn’t know why she had it and didn’t want it. This is the epitome of “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” I had never heard Indigo Girls before that, but they didn’t leave my CD player for months afterward. This song in particular captured my soul from the beginning, and it has become another roadtrip staple for me. This band is on my short list, and the song is amazing live.
  19. “The Promise”—Tracy Chapman. I walked down the aisle of my wedding to this song. Though she had put out a number of albums before “New Beginning”, this album is where I discovered Tracy on a camping trip to Montana. I played it nonstop, and this song always hit me right in the heart. It led to a huge collection of her music and eventually hearing the song live in concert while holding hands with my wife. A pretty cool relationship moment.
  20. “No One”—Alicia Keys. This one is for my daughter. When she was an infant and having a crying fit that could not be settled, this song always came to my rescue. I would put the iPod dock on REPEAT mode with “No One” and sway through the kitchen with her in my arms. It did the trick every time. I love the song anyway, but knowing that my little angel loved it, too, gave it an extra special place in my heart.

There you have it: the soundtrack of my life. As I said, I can think of dozens of songs that are deserving of a spot on the playlist, and it pains me to leave them off. But this list seems right for my journey.

How about your journey? What is on the playlist of your life? Get out your journal and your CDs/cassettes/albums/iPod. Let yourself be swept away. What images come up with the songs? Do you remember the good and the bad times equally? How many images are about love? Who do the songs make you miss the most? Which is your favorite? Do you have, like me, such clear images of the songs of childhood, but fewer standouts from more recent years? I hope you have as much fun dancing through your memories as I did in making my list. Leave me a reply and let me know: what’s on the soundtrack of your life?

Sing out loud & dance like nobody’s watching,

William

7 thoughts on “The Soundtrack of My Life

  1. Brent Billehus

    I was raised on Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Elvis, and The Beatles.
    My soundtrack would have to be: Queen-Under Pressure, U2–Where the Streets Have No Name, The Replacements–Left of the Dial, Can’t Hardly Wait, Foo Fighters–Walk, Beatles-We Can Work It Out, Tommy Stinson–Destroy Me, Alanis Morrisette-Thank U, Oasis-Don’t Go Away, Stand By Me, Beastie Boys–Professor Booty Johnny Cash-Cocaine Blues, Man In Black, Ring of Fire, Rock Island Line, Til Tuesday–Voices Carry, Wings–Maybe I’m Amazed, Lenny Kravitz–Can’t get You Off My Mind, Everclear-Santa Monica, Pavarotti–Too Much Love

  2. Monique

    Thanks for the list, William! I too remember most of those songs, and it is fun to think about the soundtrack of my life. Whitney Houston’s early albums were very influential for me, as was Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. In my college years, Tracy Chapman was also a favorite. I’m excited to start thinking about my latest soundtrack!

  3. Kathy Schliesman

    Hi William,
    I have really been enjoying reading your posts. They are interesting and inspiring! I have been busy working at my practicum and writing my final paper so I have not taken time to respond, but I just sent 26 pages to my advisor for review and feel like I can breathe a bit better now. This particular blog post grabbed my attention, as I have always thought of music in this way (providing a soundtrack to my life). For me, music is very personal and full of meaning. Thank you for inspiring me to reflect on this. It was very fun to work on something today that did not have to do with school! So…here is the soundtrack of my life:

    Early 70’s: Dancing in my best friend’s basement to “Little Willy” by The Sweet and “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John. Leann was my first best friend, and we were inseparable from age 5 until age 12 when I had to move to another state. Heartbreaking, but I have such wonderful memories of our time together.

    Mid 70’s: At slumber parties listening for the scream of someone being murdered (Urban Legend?) in “Love Rollercoaster” by Ohio Player. It was so scary and seemed so real!

    Late 70’s: “Da Doo Run Run” by Shaun Cassidy (Awww…my first crush…) and “September” by Earth, Wind, & Fire. A classic I still love.

    My middle school, high school and college all took place from 1980-1989. I couldn’t be more of an 80’s girl! It is hard to narrow down, so I will be leaving out a ton of songs that are probably worthy of making my list. Here are the ones that come immediately to mind.

    “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick (My first rock song heard at the first new friend’s house I went to after we moved.)

    “Just Between You and Me” by April Wine (The ultimate slow dance song…that I always seemed to be watching others dance to, as I had my back pressed up against the gym wall…)

    “Hurt So Good” by John Cougar/John Cougar Mellencamp/John Mellencamp (I’m really glad he finally found himself!): This one seemed to be a staple of all the dances we went to (following around a band made up of cute and talented high school boys!).

    I got the “Thriller” album by Michael Jackson for my 17th Birthday, so anything off of that is a perfect representation of my teen years.

    “Take a Look at Me Now” by Phil Collins. It became my break up song when my heart was broken the first time.

    “Dancing in the Dark” and the whole Born in the USA album by Bruce Springsteen. That particular song was the antidote to the Phil Collins song mentioned above, and I still love it. Also, “I’m Goin’ Down” became my basketball team’s theme song when we made it to the State Tournament (goin’ down to the Twin Cities to play in the tournament at the old Met Center– a really big deal for me and our small town!)

    “Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol – One of my all-time favorite dance songs. Still. I request this any time there is a DJ.

    “One Night Love Affair” by Bryan Adams -This song will always remind me of the first boy I fell head over heels for about a month before we were heading off to different colleges. Very bad timing.

    “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears. This is still a favorite of mine and it reminds me of my first taste of independence as an 18-year old spending 3 weeks in Hawaii. So young and innocent and the world just beginning to open up for me.

    “What You Need” by INXS – This came out when I was in college. It was fresh and brilliant.

    “The Joshua Tree” album by U2 – Although I was somewhat familiar with U2 (a few boys I met in college were already into them), I didn’t fall in love with them until this album. It has been a 28 year love affair, with the highpoint being seeing them in concert at TCF Stadium (in the beautiful rain!) a few summers ago. There are so many great songs off any number of albums that move me to my core, both musically and lyrically, but “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” all have deep personal meaning for me.

    The 90’s were about getting married and having babies (again totally encapsulated from 1990-1999). However, there are some standout artists that are still my favorites today.

    Dave Matthews Band – I think Dave Matthews is brilliant. His music is so complex and interesting, and I never get sick of hearing it. Some favorite songs are “Two Step” (it’s a killer to try to keep up on the bike to that!), “Satellite,” and for deeply personal reasons “Say Goodbye” and “Grey Street.”

    Sarah MacLachlan – Her music is so beautiful and powerful, and I swear she is writing about my life, thoughts, and feelings. All of it. Seriously. Again it is too hard to pick a favorite because so many of them mark times and circumstances in my life which she seemed to capture lyrically, but here goes: “I Love You,” “Angel,” “Do What You Have to Do,” “Full of Grace,” “Fallen,” “Dirty Little Secret,” and “Answer”

    Counting Crows – I never get sick of listening to their greatest hits, but “Anna Begins” is one of my favorites that is lesser known.

    The 2000’s and beyond. Again this is so hard because I really like a lot of music. Here are some favorite artists that I seem to listen to a lot.

    David Gray –I like his lyrics because they tell good stories. I have several albums of his, but my top songs are all from “White Ladder”: “Babylon,” “Please Forgive Me,” and “Say Hello Wave Goodbye” (He steals a bit from Van Morrison on this one, so that’s pretty cool).

    Ed Sheeran and Adele – They are so young and talented. Anything by them is awesome. Two of my favorite Ed Sheeran songs are “Give Me Love” and “Kiss Me.” They are both really passionate in very different ways.

    And here are some songs I like for personal reasons:

    “Bring It On Home” by Little Big Town – This song has dual meaning for me because it makes me think of my two homes where I feel most loved and secure – with God in my heavenly home and with my husband in my earthly home.

    “Let Her Go” by Passenger – I saw him sing this live before he was known by anyone in the US when he opened for Ed Sheeran. This song brings a lump to my throat every time I hear it because it reminds me that I have to let my (middle) daughter go off to college this Fall. My time with her has gone in a blink of an eye and for a number of reasons I am really struggling with letting her go.

    “Top of the World” by the Dixie Chicks – This song makes me think of my mom and dad’s relationship. It is sad and makes me cry.

    “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke – I can’t help myself. This song is dang catchy and always makes me smile and want to dance.

    “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac – This is my dream song to play the drums on. Because in my dreams I can play the drums (and the bass too – think the “Addicted to Love” video by Robert Palmer).

    Finally, any song with Pitbull in it is awesome. Seriously. He makes every song better with his surprise entrance 🙂

    1. William Rutten Post author

      Wow!!! That took a ton of thought and effort, Kathy, and I so appreciate both. It is an absolutely brilliant list. I found myself smiling the entire way through it, as so many of your favorites are mine as well (I could list many, but “Anna Begins” in particular, stands out—LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!). Thank you so much for sharing that. I am glad to be the beneficiary of your escape from schoolwork! Be well.

      1. Kathy Schliesman

        Thanks, William. I appreciate the positive feedback. Music is a great connector 🙂 By the way, both the Indigo Girls and Marc Cohn are part of the Music at the Zoo concert series this summer. It is a great venue for live music!

        Kathy

Comments are closed.