I’ve been spending a good chunk of time riding to and fro on the public transport. And, you know I have social anxiety about speaking to people I don’t know, so I turn my iPod up as high as it will go to drown out anyone who insists on speaking to a person who CLEARLY is listening to music. I’m sure it makes me look like a bitch, but it keeps me from hyperventilating. So, it must be done.

Sometimes, a song will come on shuffle that completely brings me back to a certain time or place, sometimes with fond memories. Sometimes with not so fond memories. But, I think my taste in music over the years is pretty damn entertaining. So, for you, I am documenting it. You can thank me later.

Childhood

• Gloria, by Laura Branigan (my mom had the record!)
• The Farmer in the Dell (so says my baby book!)
• Meet Me in Montana by Marie Osmond (it’s a good song and you know it!)

The Ugly Stage (Note: I had the worlds longest ugliest stage, I’d say from about 7-13)

• Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson (I also had the perfume, I meant business!)
• I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany (like you didn’t love this song)
• Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul (my cousin Lisa and I had a dance that I will totally perform if I’ve had the right amount of wine)
• Hold On by Wilson Phillips (you know you wanted your hair to look JUST like Chynna Phillips’)
• Cover Girl by New Kids on the Block (I just LOVED listening to this song on my pink tape deck first think in the morning. I was a strange child.)

Jr. High (let’s all remember where I grew up for this portion of the exercise)

• Words by Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus (I downloaded this from iTunes and now want my 99 cents back.)
• He Thinks He’ll Keep Her by Mary Chapin Carpenter (according to this song, I should be delivering #3 at my age. Oops!)
• Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton (I fell deeply in love with Eric Clapton after seeing him on The Grammy’s, until I listened to one of my dad’s tapes of his and realizing that all his other music sucked. I’m guessing is target audience isn’t 12 year old girls from Canby?)

High School

• Set U Free by Planet Soul (My BFF Emily and I could not function without hearing this song at LEAST 14 times per day)
• Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men (I went to this concert and was pretty sure that Juanya was singing to ME)
• Stay by Lisa Loeb (I sounded SO good singing this in my purple Chevrolet Cavalier)
• How Can I Help You by Patty Loveless (BFF Emily and I sounded SO good singing this in my bedroom, it was meant to be a duet, didn’t you know?)
• Creep by TLC (here’s where you should feel SO bad for Emily’s parents – they let us listen to the Crazy.Sexy.Cool CD all the way from Portland to Tacoma. And, we sang along. I owe them an apology for that.)
• I’m Sensitive by Jewel (we learned about the Cynics in Western Civ and the song brought on a WHOLE new meaning for me. HA!)
• Anything ever put on an MTV Party to Go CD (oh dear, I was a sad, sad teenager)

Freshman Year at University of Oregon

Note: This is when I became very melancholy. I don’t know how anybody put up with me. I preferred to listen to really mellow music, because if I listened to anything else, that might have put me in a better mood. Also, I had a boyfriend on a mission all the way in New York, and I liked to listen to music that made me think of how beautiful and deep our relationship was (HA!). Also, this was the era of the sleeping tape (right, Krissy?!) in which I’d spend many an hour making the perfect mix of music to fall asleep to.

• My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion (how many times did YOU see Titanic? I saw it more than once, I know, but can’t remember how many actual times P.S. My brother SOBBED during it. I like to bring that up on occasion).
• The Promise by Tracy Chapman (perfect for when your boyfriend is on his LDS mission)
• Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden (saw them in concert with my MOM!)
• Falling in Love by Lisa Loeb (saw her in concert with my MOM!)
• Anything that would make me cry

The Clubbing Years

These are the years when we’d go out BOTH Friday and Saturday nights. Mainly to The Ram in Lake Oswego. Nights were spent dancing with random boys and drinking Raspberry Iced Teas (um, with much alcohol) served in carafes. Also, I wore extremely expensive clothing during the clubbing years. Like $80 for a top. That covered nothing. I’d like to have that body back, thank you.

• Blue by Eiffel 65 (MAKE IT STOP)
• Crazy by Britney Spears (I remember dancing away to this song after many a Duck Fart on Hollie’s and my 21st Birthday)
• Jumpin Jumpin by Destiny’s Child
• Wanna Be a Baller by Lil’ Troy (oh my freaking heck, many a memory in a bikini floating down the Willamette River on a boat listening to this song. I want those abs back. But, I’ll keep the boobs I have now, thanks)
• Also, anything that I could shake my non-existent ass to.

From The Clubbing Years on? I’ve been listening to GOOD music. My list?

• Pink Martini
• Lisa Loeb
• Emiliana Torrini
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Howie Day
• The Postal Service
• Morrissey (okay, again with the melancholy)
• and, maybe a little tiny bit of Britney

What’s the most embarrassing in the soundtrack of your youth? I think I’ll send a Rhiannon Mix CD to the MOST embarrassing song.