Life Soundtrack

This year, just like other recent years, none of us are rolling in the green paper that can be used to pay for goods and services. As such, Al had a great idea to solve the problem of holiday gift giving for the poor: instead of buying each other gifts, we would make a soundtrack for our life and exchange them with each other at one of the holiday parties. It was a sound idea (pun intended), and we started thinking about our life soundtracks. Some of us were a bit quicker than others; it’s the night of my party, and I’m just finishing my list up now.

Here is the soundtrack of my life, as of December 19, 2006. As I remember why I put these songs in my soundtrack, I will add the explanations below. Enjoy!

1. No Doubt – Different People
   I chose this as my theme song because it perfectly summarizes how I feel about life and the world. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by all kinds of different people, from the gear heads to the egg heads, from the extremely shy to the extremely outgoing, and everything in between. There are times when my choice of company is so different that they don’t all get along, but that’s OK. I have learned to live with being half of a two-part hub connecting all sorts of different people. In fact, I like facilitating those connections, reminding everyone how small of a world we live in.
2. Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
   This is a classic. I remember being in elementary school and playing this over and over on my Walkman. This song just reminds me of being a kid, doing kid things. It’s a goofy song, and it’s really quite bad, but I still love it.
3. The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
   This song is on my soundtrack as the inside joke. I mean, I do like the song, but not for the reason most people would guess. I like it because it was the theme song for the Men on Film sketches on In Living Color. That show was hilarious, and it launched the careers of a few of my favorites: Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans (hell, all of the Wayans), and even J-Lo (while not actually good, her earlier stuff was better).
4. Cake – Mahna Mahna
   Besides the fact that everyone loves the Muppets, Cake does a great cover of this song, so I couldn’t leave it out. The song also reminds me of the short-lived NBC series Committed, that starred Josh Cooke (Four Kings and Robot Chicken) and Jennifer Finnigan (Crossing Jordan and Close to Home). Finnigan’s character loved that song, and she inspired me to get it as a ringtone.
5. Michael Jackson – Billy Jean
   As a little kid, I used to dance all over the house (and probably all over the neighborhood) imitating Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, spins and crotch-grabbing kicks. We didn’t have MTV and cable, so every time I saw the music video I would watch it very closely. Besides trying to understand the mechanics of Michael’s dance moves, I always wondered about the glowing sidewalk. I used to think that the city in the background was Chicago, and I’d look out the window to see if Michael was walking down the street. Of course, I had no idea what the song was all about then, but I loved it nonetheless. Again, just remembering about being a kid, doing kid things.
6. Tonic – If You Could Only See
   I have been trying to figure out an eloquent (or at least not meandering) way to write about this song, but I just can’t figure one out. So, I’m just going to summarize (a lot). This song brings to mind three different memories: V-Show my senior year of high school, dating Becky and living with Steve for three years in college. If you want more details, you’ll have to ask.
7. Foo Fighters – Everlong
   I put this on my soundtrack because the Foo Fighters were one of the big names at my first concert: Q101′s Jamboree 1998. I was able to leave school during lunch to get the maximum eight tickets for the show. In addition to six other people, I was originally going to go with Becky, but her parents wouldn’t let her go. Instead, I went with Chris, and I probably had a better time because of it. So, really, I guess this song reminds me a lot about how great of a friendship I had with Chris before we even thought about dating each other. We loved a lot of the same music (she’s always disliked country, rap and disco), had a lot of common friends, and she let me (slowly) corrupt her.
8. 311 – All Mixed Up
   This song makes an appearance on my soundtrack because of its mix of rap and alternative rock. 311 was one of the first bands that I liked that bridged that gap between “white” and “black” music. It also helped that Kathleen loved 311, giving me all the more reason to like it. And yes, the prevailing pattern in my soundtrack is being reminded of other people.
9. Elton John – Tiny Dancer
   Honestly, this is just a good song. It made me realize how great Elton John’s music is. Growing up, I was exposed to his more “pop” hits, and they just didn’t appeal to me as much. Watching Almost Famous, and then finding out who’s song they were singing on the bus made me go out and search for more. Now I have his greatest hits collection, and I have all the Elton I could ever want.
10. Green Day – Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
    This song was the graduation song our senior year of high school. That’s really all I have to say about it. Some people like it, some don’t. What I don’t really understand are the people who dislike it because it really helped to catapult Green Day into the mainstream. I don’t see it as selling out. I just see it as paving the way for more great music from a band I really like.
11. 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?
    I was shocked in junior high when my English teacher told me that she loves 4 Non Blondes. The same English teacher also told our class that she used to be a Dead Head, following them around the country. She turned out to be one of my favorite teachers, despite my not liking English classes until college.
12. Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
    It is a little-known fact that Chris and I went to see her in concert at the *gasp* Illinois State Fair during the summer of 2000. Chris will tell you that it was a horrible experience, but I think it was fun, if only because I spent an entire day with her in unfamiliar surroundings. Besides the memory of going to see her in concert, this song is about being able to find what’s beautiful inside yourself and inside of others. I know, it sounds lame, but bring this back to the different people I surround myself with, and you can see why it fits well with my theme. I try to find what’s good in others, even when I really have to dig deep to find it
13. Michelle Branch – You Get Me
    Simply put, this song and the two that follow are here because of Chris. Chris gets me. In fact, she gets me so well, she went with me to see then-newcomer Michelle Branch at the Canopy Club in Urbana. We went with Jamie, and I appreciate both of them for putting up with some of the idiotic things about me.
14. Frank Sinatra – Fly Me To The Moon
    This song was on our wedding CD. This song is also on Chris’s soundtrack (unknown to me at the time I created my soundtrack). Chris also uses it as her ringtone (which reminds me that I have to make a new one for her).
15. Louis Armstrong – La Vie En Rose
    Sometimes being married is like going through life wearing rose-colored glasses. It’s like nothing bad can happen when I’m with Chris. It really is awesome, and I can’t imagine being without her. Hell, I mope around for days when she’s at Theaterfest and Stronghold. I don’t know, she just makes me feel good about everything.
16. Lee Ann Womack – I Hope You Dance
    While this song is more pop than country, it is nonetheless the first of my two-part country segment on the soundtrack. I decided on this song because it’s just one of those “inspirational-don’t-just-sit-on-your-ass-and-watch-life-pass-you-by” kind of songs. Plus, you can’t really go wrong with a pretty country voice.
17. George Strait – All My Ex’s Live In Texas
    This is the second part of the country segment. It was chosen because of the time Chris came home from drama rehearsal to find me running on the treadmill to this song. The first words out of her mouth were, “We don’t do country!” That day will forever make me laugh when I think of it.
18. Jewel – Good Day
    This is on the soundtrack because it was the song Jewel played for the people helping to build a house on the first or second episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Also, I like the song, and I don’t think Jewel’s latest album is getting enough radio play. It has an optimistic message, that even when everything appears to suck, it’s going to be a good day.
19. Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
    This is on the soundtrack because Third Eye Blind was a favorite band for both Chris and I when we were becoming close friends. This was 3eb’s first big hit, and it kind of blueprints all of the big first singles released off of their albums.
20. No Doubt – End It on This
    I put this on the soundtrack because I thought it was a good way to close it off: No Doubt bookends. No Doubt is the other favorite band that Chris and I share. We’ve seen them at the Aragon Ballroom twice. We can’t wait for them to tour again, although that seems unlikely to happen any time soon because of all of their solo projects

Update: I hope you enjoy my “liner notes” for the soundtrack. I may or may not expand on a few things over time. I might also decide to make the soundtrack a recurring feature, although future soundtracks will be current, rather than being about my entire life.