J is at work today and the house is so quiet. Thought I’d fill it with music.

I went through my fair share of music transitions growing up. As a kid, I grew up listening to what my Dad would call ‘The Oldies.’ I love them just as much today as I did back then. Are they still considered ‘the oldies’ or have they been pushed to yet another classification since I grew up?  Though it would be almost impossible to choose a favorite, there is just something about the song Sleep Walk that will always get me to drop what I’m doing and get absolutely lost. I was exposed to all kinds of music and think its awesome that I can remember things as far back as 3 years old. I remember being 4, almost 5 and my Dad got stationed in Okinawa. We lived off base at first and though I can’t picture what the rest of the house looked like, I can remember the living room which is where my dad played his records, 8 tracks, and tapes. Though I’m sure he had the stereo on during the week, I am certain it was on every weekend while he religiously washed the cars and did the yard work. And he liked it up loud so he could hear it from outside. Which reminds me of another fond memory of my Dad-car trips! Whether it was to just fill up the car, go to the store, or take a ride down the street, he always had the windows down and the radio up. We couldn’t turn it up very much if Mom was in the car and with long beautiful hair down to her butt, we didn’t have the windows down often either. But that was ok, it was a me and Dad thing. So anyway 5 years old, moved to Okinawa, remembered the living room…because I would dance my little butt off in that room! The song that sticks out the most? Juice Newton- Playing with the Queen of Hearts! Go click on it, you know you want to. Hell, channel your inner child and dance! Grab your babies and dance with them :)

Soon after, I remember watching TV with my parents after dinner. There was only 1 American channel in Okinawa at the time and I think it was some kind of late night show, only it couldn’t of been too late since I was still up. The musical guest was Madonnaand just like that, I was done. Instant fan. Forever. The song was ‘Like a Virgin’ but I had no clue what the lyrics were or meant. I can’t remember exactly what she was wearing but what stood out to me was her hair. Obviously a wig- it was down to her butt long, straight, and pink!  Most likely one of her first performances since I never saw her in it again and of course she was always reinventing herself- which is one of the things I admire about her. What did I love most? besides her music of course…Her fearlessness. She never cared what anyone thought and was true to herself. I think she has lived a very full life and while there were people who didn’t always agree with some of her performances, she never changed them. For those of you that don’t know the story of J and me, here’s the short short version. We met in Hawaii, knew each other for literally hours when he proposed, and were married 8 days later. Beautiful Stranger came out just after. It seems to fit us perfectly :)
Also on our 1 American channel, The Muppet Show would air once a week. My absolutely favorite jump-up-and-down-on-my-bed episode is the Elton John episode. LOVED the songs he performed! [you know you want to watch them] Warning, Crocodile Rock may cause an unstoppable urge to jump up and dance like a 5 year old. Or is that just me ;)  Crocodile Rock, Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.

Through middle school and my first year of high school, I went through a rock/metal phase. I loved Guns N Roses, Metallica, Danzig, Motley Crew, the list goes way on. The summer before my sophomore year, my mom and I went to visit family in Okinawa and I had forgot to pack my music- I know, what kind of teenager does that? So while my Mom and Aunt’s were shopping, I was hoping to find just 1 store with American music. ‘Very limited America selection’ is an understatement. In Fact there was only 2 in this particular store. So I grabbed this one. Not exactly what I usually listened to but I loved it. And for the rest of the trip it was all I had to listen to and I didn’t mind one bit. When I got home, I started buying more…Young MC, LL Cool J, Janet Jackson-another fave! It was that year my music interest expanded. Thought I’d include a list of top 100 songs in 1989. Loved pretty much all of these. Was a little disappointed when I found out Milli Vanilli didn’t really sing those songs. So are these my ‘oldies’ or are my parents ‘oldies’ still the oldies?

Through all this, my Dad and I had a few music interests. He didn’t care much for the [heavy] metal or any rap. But we both enjoyed listening to I94 while in the car together and the car trips I had grown to love since I was little were there to stay. But after high school, I transitioned again and took very quickly to Techno. Not the super-fast-how-could-anyone-ever-keep-up-to-that techno but similar to the pace you’d hear in a dance club or a little faster. By this time, CD’s were getting big, Napster was free, and I was a music downloading freak. I made a ton of mixed CD’s ranging from old to new and of course, techno CD’s. One afternoon, I played one of those Techno CD’s in the living room. And my Dad liked it :) He even asked if I would burn him a copy. After I moved, I’d send him any new ones I made or if he hadn’t gotten one in awhile, he would ask. It just made me smile. And now that I have seen my own children grow, I realized something. Though I owe a lot of who I am to my parents, I believe that some of who they are is because of me. I had heard it somewhere before but nothing makes you realize it like hearing your [at the time] 4 year old son singing “Right about now, the funk soul brother. Check it out now, the funk soul brother” from Fat Boy Slims’ song Rockafeller Skank while dancing in his car seat on the way to the grocery store. I wonder if he will remember that and if Fat Boy Slim will be his ‘oldie.’ Will my girls love Madonna, P!nk, Gwen Stafani, or The Cure when they grow up? I wonder if in 2030, when they hear one of my favorite songs from today, will they stop what they’re doing and just dance?

So here’s to my Dad who most likely exposed me to music before I could remember. Thank you for rolling the window’s down and turning the music up :)