1. I nearly crumble whenever I hear "One" by U2 or "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. Brea (Peapod) put those songs on a mixtape that she gave to me before she moved to California.
2. Listening to The Lemonheads is the best way to start the day.
3. When I hear "Rock the Casbah" by The Clash, I remember driving around in my Jeep with my friends Nate, Regina (Shnitzle), Faith, and Kara. We were singing so loud that people on my college campus stopped and stared. Probably one of the best nights of our lives.
4. Weezer's sophomore album, Pinkerton, is like a strange sort of play that Shnitzle and I have to act out.
5. "Long December" by Counting Crows almost breaks my heart. I heard it for the first time when I was in 7th grade on a trip to Toronto. It also reminds me of a friend from that time who always seemed so lost. I often wonder about her.
6. "Stay" by Lisa Loeb got me through my freshman year of college. I was so sick that I had to move home "to live out my last days". That song gave me the strength to live.
7. When I hear "Run-Around" by Blues Traveler, I have to dance. HAVE to.
8. I was getting ready with some friends to see the play Beauty and the Beast in Toronto when Beck's "New Pollution" video came on tv. My friend, Jennifer, and I froze. It was like nothing we had ever seen before.
9. "Start Choppin" was the first song I heard by Dinosaur Jr. I was 10. I've been hooked on the band ever since.
10. I picked up Bjork's album Telegram on a trip to Illinois to visit my nephews. I was about 13 or 14. "Hyperballad" (track 2) woke up every one of my senses.
11. "Crossing Line" by Sea and Cake will always remind me of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Such a beautiful town.
12. My friend, Kati, and I saw She & Him perform at the Barrymore Theater in Madison, Wisconsin. That was probably the greatest live show I've seen. "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" is my ringtone for all of my Wisconsin friends.
13. The Empire Records soundtrack (including songs that only appear in the movie) is my all-time favorite soundtrack. It fits the movie perfectly. "Seems" by Queen Sarah Saturday, "Free" by The Martinis, "How" by the Cranberries, and "Til I Hear It From You" by the Gin Blossoms are my top song picks. The scene that features "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" by AC/DC where Joe plays the drums is so memorable. I always try to dance like Lucas.
14. I swiped Peapod's iPod in Chicago so I could listen to "Divine Hammer" by The Breeders. By the end of the song, I was jumping on the bed.
15. Weekend drives to Calumet City, Illinois/Cedar Lake, Indiana included listening to Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, and The Beatles.
16. I was at a concert where the Jabbawockeez performed a tribute to Michael Jackson. They chose "P.Y.T", which rarely gets any radio play. It's my favorite song. I had tears in my eyes.
17. Peapod made a cassette tape of the band Shallow for me. I think she gave it to me around 1998 or 1999. I listened to it all the time. I tried to find the cd of it, but no one had even heard of the band. I was at a music store in Bloomington, Indiana about 5 years later and found the album. It had been specially ordered by someone but had never been claimed. The guy at the counter said it was all mine. Instant thought: FATE.
18. My mother's favorite memory: My mom (Mama Bear), Shnitzle, and I were at a used music shop called Penny Lane. I had them on the hunt for The Cure album Boys Don't Cry. Mama Bear found it and called out to me. I literally leaped over two racks of cds to grab it from her. I proceeded to rub the cd across my chest. Mama Bear says, "not in front of god and everyone". Shnitzle and I almost died laughing.
And to end with some lovely quotes:
