On Music

Someone asked me the other day what kind of music I listen to. Wow that's hard for me to nail down. I have a fondness for so many kinds of music because there are styles of music and certain songs that remind me of past events.

When I was a kid I hung out with my older sister who was really into bubble-gum rock like the Bay City Rollers and the Hudson Brothers. From my older brother I was introduced to Genesis, Klaatu, Godley and Creme, Styx, and Supertramp.  I pretended not to care about my father's music  preferences as he was so "uncool"- Frank Sinatra, Waylon Jennings and old school country and western. He was a good sport though and actually got a chuckle out of a copy of "My Way" by the Sex Pistols given to me by my boyfriend who would later become my husband. And that leads to a whole different genera of music. In 1983 I was into techno pop, new wave- even went with a friend who won an MTV contest to meet Men at Work in Winnepeg.  I liked the Talking Heads as well and actually met them by chance. I was sitting on a plane on my way to my sister's wedding. I was reading a Rolling Stone article about them and looked up to see them coming down the aisle! 

Then I met my husband- it was a blind date and we were to meet at  what was at the time, a small ski lodge (it's now a bunch of condos.) As I stood outside waiting, I heard this loud,fast punk music coming towards me. I thought, "Oh no, what am I in for?" I thought I'd see a guy with a mohawk and a bored look, cig dangling from snarling lips and beer in the car.... but here was this baby faced, polite young man holding a coke. I was intrigued!  He soon introduced me to bands like Black Flag, Misfits, Jerry's Kids, MDC, The Circle Jerks, The Bad Brains and the Ramones...then he took me to shows to see many of them at CBGBs, Gildersleeves and The Rock Hotel. While I never tried to get into the mosh pits, I had a blast! He also got me into Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers.

At a bookstore where I worked, as soon as the boss was gone, one of my co-workers would turn off Windham Hills music and pop on some Bob Marley! Great stuff.

The next change in music I remember was getting into "new country".  As I was living in a place where country wasn't as big as Rap, I actually managed to get tickets at the last minute to go see Garth Brooks who normally would sell out big arenas. It was a great show. When we moved to California for a year to help my mom out while she was fighting cancer, I listened to a lot more country.

With access to the internet, I discovered Emil Chau. My fave memory of his music is how I would play "My Darling Baby" while I was pregnant. At the hospital, once the baby was born, I played it again and her eyes opened big as she turned her head right away toward the cd player.

Those are the highlights that come to mind and while I listened to different bands at different parts of my life, apart from my sister's bubble gum rock and dads old country and western, I still listen to almost everything else. I've recently discovered Drop Kick Murphy... hoping to catch a concert with them someday as well!