Peek into my ipod

I think I'm the most musically inclined non-musician you will ever meet. The only instrument I can play is the recorder. And while I'm sure I can still wow the party-goers with my rendition of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" AND "Hot Cross Buns" (oh yeah baby....I know 'em both), that's about as far as my skills go when it comes to creating music.

In my opinion, music is the most powerful medium of art. And here is my proof that it creates the most passion - babies are conceived during good songs and bad movies. It's true isn't it? If you're looking to score, you turn on good music. But all the babies that were conceived at the drive in....how good could that movie have been? Probably not very memorable. I'm just sayin'....

Anyway, I am a deeply passionate music lover. This is how you know I love music even more than I love dance...I was a dancer who never competed. I hate competition. But I LOVED dancing. I loved that if a piece of music was so incredible, I could completely immerse myself in it with dance. I think it was my love for music that manifested into a love of dance. Most dancers will probably confess that for them, it's the other way around. But for me, dance was always about expressing music.

And my musical influences have been pretty far and wide. Both of my Grandfather's were such music lovers that it's music that comes to mind first and foremost when I remember them. My Grandpa Webb always had Big Band or Crooner music playing and my Grandpa Weiss was a talented Cornet player, president of SERM and on the board for the L.A. Jazz Festival.

Neither of my parents played an instrument but I still credit them both for some of my musical tastes. Now most of what my Mom listened to is usually what subjects me to ridicule. But she, my sister and myself do not care. We like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers and The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow and of course...ELVIS! We're proud of it. Even if our husbands all hang their heads in shame (although Erick is a closet Neil Diamond fan, of that I'm sure). My Dad gets credit for introducing me to a love for The Beach Boys, Weird Al Yankovich and just about every band worth noting from the 60's and 70's. One time Erick asked me which era I considered to be the greatest rock era. Hands down, the late 60's, early 70's. I really latched on to the hippy mentality when I was a teenager and I think my Dad liked that part of my teen years (that might be the only part of my teen years he liked! LOL!) It's not that I was a total liberal but that I enjoyed the history of the 60's and 70's. And since that was a time he remembered well, we always had some great conversations about it. I remember when I was 18, my friend Linda and I went to Oregon to visit my Mom. We were going to fly to San Francisco and meet up with my Dad and Uncle later in the week. My Dad mailed me some cash for the trip and he included a note that read "I'll see you in San Francisco, be sure to wear flowers in your hair." (A reference to the song "San Francisco by Scott McKenzie") and I remember thinking how cool my Dad was because he "got" my musical tastes. I believe I still have that note. = D

Side Note: I was actually AT The Haight the day that Jerry Garcia died. That was a trip.

And without a doubt, friends and boyfriends played a big part in my musical tastes as well. In the 8th grade, my friend Rhonda introduced me to Concrete Blonde and that's when I started choosing my music instead of just listening to whatever Rick Dees told me to listen to. My freshman year, I became "a hesher" and ALL we cared about was heavy metal (though I was more of a glam rock girl). And sophomore year I started dating David who introduced me to the glory of KROQ and alternative music. Thanks to Asef, I joined and later became the president of the Music Appreciation Club and we booked local bands for lunch time concerts at the school, finishing off the year with our own version of Lollapalooza (we had a clever name for it....why can't I remember it??) Dan bought me my first Oingo Boingo cd. Ryan got me hooked on Tool. Zach introduced me to Moonwash Symphony. One night, when I was maybe 19, my friend Susan and I sat in her car for HOURS as she introduced me to the world of musical theater. We listened to all of Miss Saigon and Les Mis. Miss Saigon is still to this day my favorite musical theater show (I've seen it twice already and wouldn't mind seeing it again!) And then I met Erick (it's only fitting I should actually MARRY a musician right?) Open up the flood gates of music. You have never seen a music collection like his (and while it was impressive when we started dating, who knew I'd be cursing it as I dusted each cd years later?) Everything from Caedmon's Call to Rent to Plumb to Rich Mullins to Martin Page to Marc Cohn to Collective Soul to Moby....and he's still introducing me to new artists that I love. I've even influenced him a bit as well. For one, I got him to like The Cure. When he saw Robert Smith rip out "The Kiss" on his electric guitar, he had to admit that he's a hell of a musician, even if he does sing like a pansy. And I even got Erick to come to the dark side and listen to a little country. When I showed him the Big & Rich video for "Save a Horse" and they flashed metal AND there were midgets....well he was sold!

But I digress...

What I'm saying is...when you buy an ipod and you load up your favorites, you get to really review your musical tastes and I've decided that I really like my musical history. I like that my ipod is a collection of influences from people I've known in my life. I think that's a cool little detail about this gadget that you don't realize at first. It's almost like your musical yearbook.

So anyway, if you want to see what is currently on my ipod, click on the image below. I do change it up. And since my ipod only fits 500 songs, I had to be VERY selective. Here's what made the original cut for the first few months:


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
{Recent LOs}

Because of You

Credits: "Rainy Day" papers by my talented friend Traci Murphy. Pattern stitch by Fhung Lie. Happy Border stamp by Nancie Rowe Janitz. Fonts are Janelle Script, Susie's Hand.

Discover
This LO was created for the Simple Style Scrap at SBB.

Credits: "Spring Sorbet" papers created by talented artist and up and coming digital designer Christine Haskell. Crystals from Gina Miller's "Weathered & Worn: XOXO" element pack and flower from her Pretty Petals collection. Angel Hair strokes by Fhung Lie. Stitching by C. Smith. Alpha by Robin Carlton. Font is Janelle Script.

Chatting with Lukey

Credits: Everything is from the gorgeous "Soft" kit by Carrie Stephens at Fishscraps. Inked edge action from Atomic Cupcake. Font is SF-JWoodbury created by my super cool friend Jenn.

And speaking of Fishscraps Carrie is having a sale that is only through TOMORROW! So stop on by and load up on her gorgeous kits. My favorite kit of hers (so far) is definitely the "Soft" kit that I used for the previous LO. But I also loved "Love Potion" and "Shine" and I'm anxious to work with "Bellisima" soon! Check 'em out!