Ok, so this week is all about Tini. The first thing I think of when I think of Tini is her passion for animals, hence the cat post yesterday. The next thing I think about is how hooked on music she is. She has what she calls "Music ADD" and having ridden in the car with her, I can attest to this. She has literally THOUSANDS of songs on her iPod. I think that while we managed to listen to 4 or 5 on the ride, she skipped through DOZENS. Some got a 20-30 second listen, others were passed by straight from the moment the title showed up.
So in keeping with the music theme, I have come up with a list of 10 songs. They are not songs I necessarily love or hate, but they are all songs with which I strongly connect a memory. I'll share five today, and five tomorrow.
#10 - Sir Duke, by Stevie Wonder - My earliest memory of music, and possibly my earliest memory period, was when I was about 3. We were visiting my grandmother, and during our visit we went to see her best friend, Polly. Polly had an organ that she let me play around on, and I remember listening to this song. Can't explain it, don't know if it's a real memory or not, but it's stuck with me for over 35 years.
#9 - The Candy Man, by Sammy Davis Jr. - We sang this song in elementary school chorus, maybe when I was in fifth grade. There was a boy in my class and the chorus, John, who deperately needed them to discover the wonders of ritalin. He was constantly being sent to the office from class, and his behavior in chorus was no better. When we would get to the chorus:
The Candy Man makes, everything he bakes,
Satisfying and delicious.
Now you talk about your childhood wishes,
You can even eat the dishes!
John would yell "Chomp!" Nothing the music teacher said or threatened would get him to stop. I think she was ready to have a nervous breakdown! I think he even did it during the performance.
#8 - Bette Davis Eyes, by Kim Carnes - When I was younger I was a Brownie Girl Sout, but once I hit middle school I joined an organization called the campfire girls. Our troop used the money we'd earned all year from our fundraisers to go on an overnight trip to Martha's Vineyard. The three things I remember from that trip in the summer of 1981 was that the motel was icky, I spent all of my money the first half of the first day, and this song seemed to be playing on the radio every single time we got in the van. And all of us sultry sixth graders would try to sound all sexy singing it. Say that 5 times fast.
#7 - Uptown Girl, by Billy Joel - After that year in Camp Fire Girls, I sort of dropped all scouting. My brother was still an active boy scout though, and my Dad was an assistant leader of his troop. From time to time I think my mom would get some peace and quiet in the house by getting my dad to take me along to meetings, Pinewood Derbies, and the like. He even took me along on a camping trip. My brother's troop and a troop from Rhode Island all went to New Hampshire over Veteran's Day weekend. Know when Veteran's Day is? Yup! That's right! November. Know what it does a lot in November in Northern New England? Right again! It snows like hell. We woke to massive snow and had to pack everything up, go into town, and convince them to open up some cabins that were closed for the season. I was moritified to be a middle schooler amidst all of these disgusting boys in various states of dress trying to dry off. There was one boy I kind of liked though, and he sat next to me in the car one time over the weekend and smiled at me, and brushed my hand. This song was playing. I didn't know what was meant by an "Uptown Girl" but I wanted to be his! Ah hormones.
#6 - Highway to the Danger Zone, by Kenny Loggins, from the Top Gun Soundtrack - My high school sweetheart wanted badly to be a pilot. He knew by high school though, that his poor eyesight would prevent him from ever pursuing that career path. In comes Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards and their "need for speed." I believe my boyfriend lived out his fantasy of being a pilot vicariously through them when we watched this movie. And we watched this movie over and over and over and over again. Eventually this became makeout music to me. Oh, and - God willing - I will never have to watch that movie ever again.
Tune in tomorrow for the next 5!
