What's Your Music Timeline?

Ever notice how music can take you back to a specific moment in time? I was in the car with my favorite sidekick cranking my ipod. I have a great Party Mix playlist that has everything from Sublime to the Ohio Players to Justin Timberlake to Snoop Dogg to.... you get the picture. To be in my Party Mix, you have to be a song that you either want to hear while you're on your way to a party, or at the party itself. As you know, no self-respecting Party Mix would go without Flashlight by Parliament. My Party Mix has self-respect. So on this specific day, when my sidekick heard the guitar at the beginning of Flashlight, he said (as he's said every single time he hears said guitar riff), "did I ever tell you about the time I performed this when I was in junior high....". And he proceeded to tell me the story yet again.

Later, when Give It Away by the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on, I told him (probably for the gazillionth time) how it reminds me of my friend Keith. Keith died last year and so that song takes me back to a particular Happy Hour when a few of us got in someone's car and that song came on the radio. We all started bobbing to the music and when we realized what we were all doing, we collectively started laughing.

I loved spending time with Keith and Ken, my two sales buddies. Ken and I still are friends. He and I both like the Rolling Stones. We agree that they're much cooler than the Beatles. I told him about how my dad used to play their High Tide and Green Grass 8-track in his Chevy Van back in the early 70's. Whenever we were on a long road trip, my dad would crank that puppy up. To this day, I love that music. It takes me back to the roots of my life. The fact that he liked the Rolling Stones (and still does) automatically makes my dad cool to Ken, who has never met him.

My daughter used to do ethnic dancing. I say ethnic because some of it was Arab, some Spanish, but most was Mexican. She performed in shows at the L.A. County Fair, charity events, weddings, etc. Every year she performed in a big show that included all the children that the instructor taught. This was the only show for which you had to buy a ticket. They had it at a large auditorium and a live Mariachi band would play during a few songs while the girls danced. One particular song was called "La Negra" and every time I'd hear it, I'd get goosebumps, teary-eyed and I'd be filled with pride for my ethnicity. While they danced to this song, the girls wore the traditional Mexican dresses and made them flow to the music while they stomped their feet to the beat. I was so proud that this little white daughter of mine had pride in her ethnicity. Nowadays, whenever I hear La Negra, it takes me back to that box seat at the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium.

About 18 years ago, I mecca'd from Los Angeles. back to Lansing, Michigan (where I was born). I spent the summer there hanging out with the friends I'd left just a year before when my family moved across the country. While I was there, we spent a whole lot of time partying. We were young, restless, and literally had no cares in the world. There was an older lady (probably my age now) who used to let us come over and hang out with her son and his friend. Aside from the partying, it was all very innocent. We'd put on records (yup, full blown long playing records) and play Eucher. I could never play Eucher now, I'd have to relearn the game. But I'm pretty sure I still remember all the words to Van Halen II, and REO Speedwagon's You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish". We would go down to her basement, someone would put those two albums on the turntable and turn it on. We knew every song from both sides. Sometimes we'd mix it up with some Styx or maybe Bob Seger, but that was rare.

When I was a kid, I loved Lady Marmalade by Labelle. To this day, I can't figure out why my parents let me play that record over and over and over again. If you know my parents, you'll understand why I say that. If you don't know my parents, suffice it to say they are religeously conservative. When I hear the words, I just shake my head now. Either they never listened to them, or they figured I had no idea what they meant (I didn't).

The things I've mentioned in this blog aren't necessarily important, life-changing moments. But whenever I hear any song that reminds me of a certain person or time frame, well, it makes that person or time significant. What does your life music timeline look like? Whether it's rock, hip-hop, ska, country, alternative, reggae, or even ethnic, it's full of moments in your life that are waiting their turn to come to your memory.