Name that Tune

We’re getting a new shower. Thanks to mushrooms and black mold growing in our bathroom…I love basement living. So Al, a very Mario looking plumber, has been working away in the bathroom over the long weekend. Poor Al. That’s no way to spend a long weekend.

To try to jive up the working day and really, drown out the drilling, hammering, etc. I’ve spent my days off playing my entire iTunes playlist.

So many of those songs take me right back to a feeling, or a fleeting moment. Sometimes even not so fleeting moments. I love how music can do that. Catches an instant and holds it for you. The emotions coming right back with each line, each lyric. Like magic.

After the past two days of music-induced memories, I started thinking about the soundtrack of my life. And naturally, decided to write about it. As you know, I tend to be long winded. So rather than make this a novel, I figured I’d break down the significant songs from certain years. Maybe all 28 years? We’ll see where this goes.

1) Gold in them Hills by Ron Sexsmith ft Chris Martin. Best. Song. Ever. I somehow found this song while I was away at university. I really believe this message. The hills can seem tough at times and an impossible climb but there’s gold in ‘em! There’s no telling how the day might end. My life song, for sure.

2) Brazzle Dazzle Day—from Pete’s Dragon. One of my favourite movies as a kid. I think my granddad recorded it off TV, probably the Disney Channel, onto a VHS. I loved the movie and love the message of this song. Live life, loving every minute.

3)  Colors of the Wind. Again, thank you Disney. I was 10 when this movie came out. I remember my mom got the sheet music for this song and would play it on the piano. We’d all gather around and sing. One of my favourite family memories—gathering around the piano. I remember pretending to be Pocahontas as I ran barefoot through the field by our house. And would pretend I was John Smith on the beaches of Parksville on family trips with the Arnotts. Great memories.

4) Wonderwall by Oasis. Me and my best friend Jess Calder used to make our own radio stations. We were awesome, let me tell you. We’d even make our own commercials. I wonder where those tapes ever got to. I remember we’d take her piggy bank for one of the ads. I don’t remember if it was for ICBC (car insurance company) or what but we slammed the piggy bank down during the ad, pretending it was a car wreck. Oasis was one of our favourite bands and takes me right back to all those days and nights we hung out.

5) N’Sync’s I Want you Back and Jann Arden’s Insensitive tie for my middle school days. My neighbor, Will, would come over every day and blare my N’Sync album. I remember waking up to him sneaking into my bedroom one morning just to play it. Then Jann Arden’s Insensitive reminds me of my first love, Jason Boyes. He was my sister’s best friend’s younger brother in Kamloops. Phew, that’s a mouthful. We met, I fell in love, basically the end. My dad also lived in Kamloops so I’d see Jason when I visited him. I remember listening to this song on the radio as we left the city limits of Kamloops. Even though the song’s not exactly romantic, it really reminded me of Jason.

6) Show Me Love by Robyn. Also takes me back to middle school. I forgot about this until just now. My friend Danielle Lachmanec and I used to talk on the phone a lot. I have no idea what we’d talk about but I seem to recall we’d both watch Much Music (while on the phone) and this song was on a lot. I also remember Danielle made these awesome double baked potatoes that had all sorts of goodness in them. Good times.

7) Anything by the Dixie Chicks or Eminem will take me back to high school. Especially Cowboy Take me Away and I’m Back. I’ll let you guess who’s responsible for which song. I remember my first Dixie Chicks concert. I wasn’t super close with the “Prevost Girls” yet but we had a great time and still have a blast together over a decade later. Love the Chicks and love the girls I went to my first Dixie Chicks concert with.

8) Heart of Glass by Blondie reminds me of my Grade 12 year. Laura Brandon introduced me to Blondie, and makeup, and growing up. We used to blare this song from her mom’s car. I don’t know if we were listening to Blondie but I do remember this one time we thought it would be a good idea to cruise out the sunroof in Laura’s car. All fun and games until we got pulled over for not wearing seatbelts. Oops.

9) Outkast’s Hey Ya. First year of university at Mount Royal in Calgary. Me, Kristy, Lisa and Mieke had some great times. Most of them revolved around dancing. They even came to a church dance with me once and helped me meet my first boyfriend, Ramsey Jones. I thought he was so cute and couldn’t believe he would be interested in me. Oh Ramsey. We had fun..on the couch..the girls loved it.

10) When Will I be Loved from the soundtrack of 8 Seconds. I remember picking up this movie at the nearest corner store. That song. That movie. Takes me right back to that year in Calgary. Vicariously living through the girls’ adventures at Ranchman's.

11) Beautiful Mess by Diamond Rio. It reminds me of the second guy I ever dated. I never quite felt like myself with him but loved the whirlwind while I was in it.

12) Daniel Powter’s Bad Day. I’ve been so, so lucky to have some amazing friends and people in my life. Seriously. Nathaniel Watters, Meg Thebo and Sarah Asmundson included. We had some great road trips down to General Conference and Nathaniel had Daniel Powter’s CD on one of them The whole CD takes me back but that song in particular. Even though there weren’t many bad days with Than and the crew around.

13) Spice Girls’ Wannabe. My first year at BYU-I was all I hoped for and more. Early on, Jazz, Amber and I hit it off. So lucky to have such great roommates. Our momma bears Daphne, Camilla and Duka too. I think it must have been Jasmine’s birthday which means we would have known each other for all of two weeks. I decided to serenade her with an acoustic version of Wannabe. It was awful. But awesome. All in one.

14) Voice inside my head by the Dixie Chicks. I hated that guys could get in my head but they could and they did. I don’t like to live with ‘what could have beens’ but that summer I did. Couldn’t help but wonder if I’d let a good guy go. Hindsight’s 20/20 but at that time it was a little blurry.

15) Consider the Lilies by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Love, love, love this song. Love its message. I tend to worry. Just ask Sterling. I’m constantly planning, budgeting, goal-setting. I just want to make sure my ducks are in a row and I’m safe for a rainy day. This song brings me back to reality and reminds me to trust Him. I had the honour of singing it in Sacrament meeting with my friend Matt Stowers my first year at BYU-I.

16) Infidelity by Regina Spektor. I loved it.  Not infidelity itself but the song. I actually didn’t know that’s what it was called until just now. I just loved the whole ‘ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-heart’ part. My poor roommates, as I recall, not so much. Living with Christina, Angie, Tessa and Amber was awesome. Cool, cool people. I have a pretty awesome roommate now but have been lucky over the years.

17) Apple Bottom Jeans by T-Pain will always remind me of BYU-I basketball and my life partner Wendizzle. Unfortunately, Sterling and Brad have gotten in the way of our life pact to live in Hawaii together and surf every day. Alas, we’ll always have Rexburg. The complete opposite of Hawaii.

18) Cupid’s Chokehold by Gym Class Heroes. Playing this with Jacob and Shane at Guitars Unplugged was probably one of my favourite memories from BYU-I (other than the whole meeting my husband part…). I remember the first time I sat by Jacob in the Scroll (newspaper) office I thought he was a total rebel. I was judgmental and thought ‘no chance I become friends with this guy’. Little did I know, he was a super cool guy and would become one of my favourite people I had the pleasure of meeting at BYU-I.

19) Clocks by Coldplay. Another shout out to the Scroll. Thank you Scroll iTunes for introducing me to Clocks. And the soundtrack to Wicked. To this day, Clocks takes me right back to late nights and early mornings in the Scroll office.

20) California by Metrostation. Really any song from that album reminds me of summer with Freeze, Kimbo and Sammi and brings a smile to my face. Probably the most carefree, fun summer I’ve ever had. We consumed a lot of bottled soda and acted like hooligans. Sorry Coach Kyle if you’re reading this. That was us that trashed your car. But I’m pretty sure we filled it with Snickers bars too so that made up for it, right?

21) Use Somebody by Kings of Leon takes me right back to a winter day in Seattle.  I did a lot of driving that fall and winter and I’m pretty sure it was on every other song on the radio at that time. It reminds me of someone I cared a lot about. He was exactly what I needed and hopefully for a bit, I was what he needed too.

22) Coming to Terms by Carolina Liar. Very cool, underrated band. I ran a lot to this song and this album. Good rhythm and great lyrics. Better breakup song.

23) Halo by Beyonce. I thought I’d closed my heart pretty good when I went back to Rexburg for my final semester. Then I met this Sterling guy. So much for that…

24) Only you can love me this way by Keith Urban. It ended up being our wedding song and says it all. Like I said, I’m a planner but I didn’t plan for Sterling. He came when I least expected him. After years of wishing and hoping for the perfect guy, right when I’d resolved to be a career driven woman, he came along. And I’m so glad. He is so, so good to me. Too good sometimes. I got so lucky. Blessed, really.

Bonus Tracks:

Elvis' Teddy Bear. Perhaps I spoke out of turn saying Jason was my first love. I was obsessed with Elvis as a kid. I would strum a tennis racket and play Teddy Bear or Don't be Cruel or any one of his many hits. Classic.

Green Day’s  Basket Case. I have it in my head more than any other song and have no idea why. I do often tell kids ‘no one likes a whiner’.

Hanson’s Save Me. It’s Hanson. Need I say more?

Peaches by the Presidents. Love peaches. Whether they come from a can and were put there by a man or not. Another throwback to Jess and our DJing days.

Bryan Adams’ Summer of ’69. I have so many great memories attached to this song and they all revolve around the D-Town Girls. Another song that brings a smile to my face.