From my dad taking me to see my uncle play as a baby, to listening to my dad’s record collection and eventually starting my own as a kid…music has always lived within me and been a major part of my being. I’ve never had the talent to play an instrument or carry a tune, but listening to it and seeing it performed live is what I am about. Music can transform your mood and take you places in just a few notes. It can be magical in that sense. I think everyone has a song that takes them back to a moment in time. A song that makes them think of a certain someone. Or even one that expresses exactly how you’re feeling in that very moment.

For me, I cannot hear Unchained Melody without thinking of my mom blaring it in the car when we were kids. We knew when she was home from work, because you could hear her coming from a block or so away. Or hear Play That Funky Music, and not see my dad in the kitchen with his awful attempt at dancing and us laughing at him. Then there’s my own past obsession with Karma Chameleon. I cannot hear that song without going back to the memory of me at about six or seven years old, in the living room with MTV on, and crushing on Boy George. Yes, this was obviously way before I was taught anything about sexual orientation. No matter how many bad moments there are, something as simple as a song like these, can take you back to the good times and make you forget the sour points in life. Just as the aforementioned songs take me to positive places though, songs like H.O.L.Y. or Hard to Say I’m Sorry take me right to sadness. These songs relate to past relationships and breakups. What could’ve and should’ve been thoughts frequent my mind when these types of songs play.

As I’ve gotten older, nothing has changed. I am still totally obsessed with music. So far, as an adult, I’ve been to 104 concerts and to see countless local bands play. I’ve even raised my kids up to love it, just as my parents did me. My kids have been going to see local bands play and going to big name concerts since they were babies. We even have a wall in our house dedicated to amazing concerts we’ve been to and artists we’ve met. I tell them to clean up and the first thing they do is turn Spotify on the living room TV and blare it while they do chores. Since my youngest daughter was two, she has sworn she was going to marry a local harmonica player (and friend) that she loves seeing/hearing perform with his bands. It is an awesome privilege to get to watch them all grow into their own personalities and find their own preferences on music. Yet, we all have some common ground and occasionally manage to find something that we all sing along to in the car.

Since I cannot type out my favorite lyrics without paying massive royalties, I will just leave you with this list of songs/artists that I encourage you to take a listen to and see how they strike you. You can also check out my Spotify for playlists that I listen to almost daily. Link to my Spotify is on my Contact page.

When I’m just over it, I go for Rock. Songs like Disturbed’s Down with the Sickness or Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff. When I’m feeling depressed or need a general pick me up, I listen to things like Shinedown’s Get Up, Seether’s Fake It, or Christian artists like Lauren Daigle. Breakups are usually succeeded by the playing of anything sentimental from the relationship, and played on repeat. But when I’m past that moment, I play things like Papa Roach’s Scars, Gayle’s abcdefu, and Lizzo’s Good as Hell. It doesn’t really fit into any one particular category, but anything from The Lumineers seems to hit home with me currently as well. Just about every one of their songs speaks to me in some way.

Just as books can be an escape for some people, music is my own tele-porter. No matter what the mood is or what genre is playing, somehow it just speaks to me. Sets me free. What does music do for you? What song will stick with you forever?