MY SOUNDTRACK - WHAT I LISTENED TO...:

My Soundtrack – A Guide to Siria’s Playlists (Future, Past, and Present)

 

A Guide to the Eclecticism of Siria’s Playlists to come…

…I don’t listen to anything because I think it’s cool or because someone else does. As with everything else, I like what I like. .

With that said below is my attempt (in as close to chronological order as possible) to help you understand what for better or worse has led me down basically down every musical path I’ve chosen to explore.

George Strait  ”The Chair” -

The very first tape I bought all by myself was George Strait’s Something Special at the age of four (yes really).  Prior to that I sometimes got to pick stuff out whenever my dad would buy music (which was often – I scored such gems as The Chipmunks Christmas, Fairy Tale Princess Stories, The Story of Rapunzel, etc., etc.) but this one I bought all by myself with the allowance my parents gave me ($5 a week).  I actually at the moment can’t even recall exactly what drew me to it, but every morning for the next two weeks I would make sure to have my George Strait tape with me as I was dropped off at the babysitters house and hand her the tape asking if we could play it. 

Every day for two weeks she would conveniently forget to play it .  That’s okay I played it enough on the way home from the babysitters, on the way to the babysitters, and at home.  It took a little while for this tape to actually grow on me and was starting to think maybe my purchase that had left me without ice cream truck money for a whole week hadn’t been so wise after all.  Thankfully I discovered “The Chair,” which is basically a song about a guy in a bar attempting to pick up on chicks with a lame pickup line that to this day I can listen to over and over.  Yes there were others that should have this spot (see Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Chris LeDeux, Willie Nelson, and of course Buck Owens), but George Strait was my introduction to country music and has been a constant in my life.  I am pretty confident that he stands alone in being the only musical artist that I can sing along with at least 30-40 of his songs and know a majority of the words. 

This man heads my list of those who in my eyes can do no wrong musically which I refer to as  ”Untouchables” (he spends time here with Lou Reed, Roy Orbison, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Strummer, Tom Petty, and Ian Mackye to name a few.).   It’s no wonder he is to be honored with the Artist of the Decade by the Academy of Country Music next week, an honor that only four other acts  (Marty Robbins,  Alabama, Loretta Lynn, and Garth Brooks –no offense but Garth? Really? Before George? WTF?!)have receivedto date.

 

Stacey Q “We Connect” -

This was on the Better Than Heaven tape that I bought when I was five originally for the “Two of Hearts” song that everyone knew.  I would spend much time listening to this song over and over running back to the stereo as it was ending to rewind and play again while twirling my Get In Shape Girl purple ribbons.  I think this was also the year in which I took $5 from my parents without asking  and mailed it off to join the Katy Keene fan club,  mind you I don’t even think I knew who Katy Keene was.  I just wanted the pencil case that you got for joining which I never received …damn that karma. Anyhow in the music video to this song Miss Q wears a poofy tutu like skirt that I still want to this day.  Also, her guest appearance on Full House was easily one of my favorite episodes and I was recently reminded of her guest appearance on The Facts of Life where she gets George Clooney (in all honesty I don’t remember this).  It was because of this tape that my tolerance for pop-py acts to follow like Paula Abdul, Cathy Dennis, Taylor Dayne, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera, probably new wave, and all the stuff (Of Montreal, MIA, HelloGoodbye, etc., etc.) that’s out now is so high.

 

The Essex  ”Easier Said Than Done” -

I have never been one for giving shout outs/dedications/making requests on the radio, with the exception of the summer when I was 7 or 8.  

This was the summer I really discovered and embraced oldies.  Courtesy of my love for staying up until the wee hours of the night (which I was not allowed to do, but would find ways to do all the time). 

Anyhow, summer time meant no school, and no school meant I could stay up late. This was my logic and my parents couldn’t argue with it.   Why did I need to go to sleep early if I didn’t have to get up for school?  As a 7 or 8 year old there isn’t much you can do between the hours of midnight and 2 or 3 am, but I used to love to stay up late reading, writing, and drawing dresses that I would soon be making for my dolls out of my mom’s curtains (see not too much has changed only now I just shop for the dresses that I dream up in my head) sometimes having the TV on in the background. 

Well another area that hasn’t changed much would be the fact that after about 1am there is a dead zone of infomercials on TV.  It was thanks to these infomercials that I discovered the behemoth that are Time Life Music Collections, in particular the Malt Shop Memories/Golden Memories (the actual name now escapes me) and decided I had to have this.  

Now I had been exposed to Oldies before but always thought yuck that was old people stuff, nothing like the cool Martika, New Kids on the Block, Poison, Milli Vanilli, Madonna, Young MC, etc. that my babysitter’s teenage kids had me listening to.  

However, those damn Time Life people painted such a picture of the wonderful days gone by sitting in their Johnny Rockets looking malt shop.  

The next day I informed my parents of this discovery and told them that I wanted this, actually no… forget wanted I HAD to have this!!!  I presented them with the phone number, the address where they could send the payment to, and look they could even pay in 4 monthly installments.    

They looked at me like I was crazy and asked if I realized that when added up the four monthly payments totalled almost $200?

Of course I knew this but I thought they’d be thrilled that I had discovered such a complete collection of music that they listened to when they were younger.  If they listened to it why didn’t they want me to listen to this music as well?  They then informed me that even they weren’t alive when most of these songs were hits…it was a lost cause. 

So I was left with no other option than to spend all summer listening to the local oldies station waiting for them to get to the songs from the Time Life commercial.   After having to sit through too much of the Doors, that god awful Age of Aquarius song, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin and other nonesense (remember I was 7 and had no older brothers or sisters my opinions have since changed…well except for that Age of Aquarius song, I still hate it) I decided to take matters into my own hands I would call and request the songs I wanted to hear.  Now what songs do you ask did I request? Maybe a little Martha and the Vandellas some Elvis or Beatles, maybe Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, or how about Diana Ross and the Supremes or the Temptations (although this was the summer I discovered them all).  Nope, it was Neil Sedaka’s “Calendar Girl” and the Essex “Easier Said than Done.”  I am not even sure I heard those songs on the Time Life commercial but those were the songs I wanted to hear over and over and over again. 

To this day I still listen to those songs and they are included as part of my “cleaning” playlist. 

On a side note: I can honestly say I don’t believe I ever knew what Neil Sedaka looked like until I just went and checked YouTube for a video:

Elvis Presley “Return To Sender” -

I didn’t own an Elvis cd until college, I never had to since he was on frequently enough.  This song beats out my actual favorites “Little Sister” and “Burning Love” only because I spent about the first 10 to 12 years of my life thinking the lyrics were “Return Lucinda” not “Return to Sender.“   I had made up a whole story in my head about the cruel Lucinda that wouldn’t tell Elvis where she lived (address unknown) so that he could find her and they could live happily ever after.  I never had a crush on Elvis but the performance in this film gave me an early appreciation for entertaining performers and strong frontmen/women such as Freddie Mercury, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Prince, Debbie Harry, Ric Ocasek, Shirley Manson, Dave Grohl, Scott Weiland, Brandon Flowers, Scott Russo, and Adam Lazzarra (well many may disagree on the last two but watching them live they entertain me).   

 

Tom Petty “Running Down a Dream” -

Let me start off by saying I love, love, love Tom Petty (also an Untouchable) but I hated hated hated this song mainly because I hated hated hated (I mean really hated like I hate Chuck Norris, Ice T, and bananas) this music video which featured animation.  I still hate the video but am ok with the song. 

I can still recall the incredulous look on my teacher’s (Mr. Richard Crawford) face when I told him on an occasion of discussing music (not sure why we were discussing music to be honest, but I remember he liked to play guitar and let me just say that people have almost always treated me as an adult long before I was one – it’s a catch 22 for sure) “Do you know Tom Petty?” to which he replied something along the lines of “Of course, he’s great” to which I replied with conviction, “I hate him” and proceeded to tell him why.  It took “Last Dance With Mary Jane” for me to give Mr. Petty a chance again. I have since forgiven him for that video (although I still refuse to watch it) and he is now a staple on all my mix cd’s I make for myself.  Perhaps because of him you’ll find some Fogerty, Clapton, Steve Miller Band, Lynrd Skynrd, etc. in my playlists fairly frequently.

 

Salt ‘n’ Peppa “Shoop” -

This was kind of the first real rap/hip hop I paid attention to, as it just wasn’t around me enough for me to seek it out.

When this song came out my best friend at the time and I learned all the lyrics and used to sing this song every chance we got.  

One thing you will notice in my monthly playlists, besides the fact that I’m really a dork, is basically no reggae (it’s really never been my thing) and a serious deficiency in the genres of r&b, hip-hop, and rap.  I listen to a lot of country when I write, a lot of oldies when I clean, I’ll take good old garage rock, powerpop,  and punk rock anytime, metal when I need to drown stuff out or when I need something hard and fast (get your minds out of the gutter), but rap and hip hop I have to be in the mood for. 

I like it ok and typically prefer more old school stuff like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, Def Squad, Public Enemy, The Wu-Tangers, (It’s not quite Sugarhill Gang Old School but if KLOS can call Def Leppard and Pearl Jam Classic Rock  and K-EARTH can call Hall & Oates Oldies then I can call this Old School) and almost anything any of the members of these groups went on to do, but as with anything else I prefer stuff that tells a story, although most of it I don’t really relate to as it’s never been my life, but can appreciate this as a form of art.   

By no means a music snob, I’m totally ok with some of the early catchy party anthem type songs (think 2 Live Crew, Digital Underground, Sir Mix-A-Lot) and the  Nas, Jay Z/Rocafella, Neptunes, Bad Boy,Cash Money Millionaire Crew, Ruff Ryder, Aftermath, No Limit stuff that came around later and like some poppy r&b like Joe, Tamia, R. Kelly, and Mya but for the most part if I want to hear cheesy pickup lines or comments about my T&A set to beats and thumping bass I’ll go out to any random club on a Friday or Saturday night.  

This song was kinda giving it back to the guys, which was something I came to respect after I stopped trying to memorize the lyrics long enough to actually pay attention to what they actually said.  This song also made me go back and listen to some of their other songs like “Expression” and “Do You Want Me” which are probably my favorite Salt ‘n’ Pepa songs.

Roy Orbison “Cryin’” -

I love Roy Orbison and I love this song.  He makes me happy, then sad, then happy, then sad again in every song.  His life story is a remarkable one marked with tragedy (you should read it), his live music special “Black and White Night” is perfection, and his songs for me define true emotion.  Because of Roy Orbison bands like The Mavericks and the Gin Blossoms (and possibly even though not same genre The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Modern English etc.) as well as the Buddy Hollys, Radney Fosters, Vince Gills, Elvis Costellos, Rivers Quomos (Weezer), and Chris Isaaks of this world stood a chance with me.

 

The Clash “Guns of Brixton” -

Ahhh…The Clash… anything Joe Strummer has been a part of I am down with and anything written and sung by Paul Simonon I will listen to.  This song just does so many things right for me.  From the lyrics – to the tone of Paul’s voice – to the bassline.  I can listen to it anytime, anywhere, really loud, or really low.  

I’ve seen a lot of bands try to emulate The Clash,and whether it’s done purposely or not it surprisingly doesn’t bother me even when it’s done badly.  Punk rock and more specifically politically aware punk rock for me begins and almost ends with Joe Strummer (I know those are fighting words but see key words “for me”).  I am making myself pick just one song of what opened up a world where Sex Pistols, Fear, Minutemen, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, X, The Adolescents, Buzzcocks, The Adicts, The Runaways, Nikki Corvette, Youth Brigade,Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Ramones, Minor Threat, Bikini Kill, The Replacements, and Fugazi (the list goes on and on) all co-existed for me and yes thank you I am well aware that they are not all created equal nor all the same exact genre of music, but unless you all want chapters I need to generalize to spare you further ramblings. 

For my musician friends it is thanks to this song and what came after it sonically for me, that I can listen to most of your bands with an open mind.

Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train” - 

When I was ten going on thirty years old I decided I was going to start watching baseball, not sure why as no one around me really watched it regularly. 

First order of business was to adopt a team. Bring in the Atlanta Braves… check.  Again no one I knew directly was a fan of theirs so don’t ask me why I picked them.  I am still a fan today but not like I was from the time I was ten ’til I was about 20 when I could recite a majority of their rosters batting averages, bases stolen, RBIs, pitching speeds, etc.  Bobby Cox will always hold a special place in my heart and I found the late Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren endearing as announcers. 

I picked a great time to become a fan as they were in the process of becoming one of baseballs superteams of the 90’s with Glavine, Smoltz, and later Maddux in the bullpen and strong players like Andruw Jones, Dave Justice, Andres Galaraga, Terry Pendleton, Francisco Cabrera, Ryan Klesko, and Javy Lopez among many others on deck.  Although I never had a crush on him (that honor belonged to his teammate the hitting catcher Javy Lopez), it was starting third baseman (I think he played shortstop at some point too) Chipper Jones that is responsible for my discovery of the sped up hard hitting, heavy everything rock that can only be called METAL.  Ozzy’s “Crazy Train,” used to come on when Chipper headed up to bat.   I instantly loved this song and although I had heard it before, I now associated it with my favorite baseball team which made it even better.  Now at this time there were a few contenders for this spot (Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell,” Metallica’s “Damage Inc.,” Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” or “2 Minutes to Midnight”) since these all came around the same time for me, but “Crazy Train” probably signified more to me than the rest.  Anyhow, this prepared me for what would later threaten to bust out my eardrums as I have no choice but to play the likes of Slayer, Pantera, Sepultura, Metallica (the Metallica pre-Napster trials where Lars turned into a whiney girl and I lost all respect for him), Megadeth, Anthrax, Alice Cooper, Dio, Iron Maiden, White Zombie/Rob Zombie, Slipknot, Poison the Well, and even some Mudvayne, At The Drive In, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Fear Factory, and the rarely listened to by me Avenged Sevenfold loud or not at all. 

*again I’m generalizing and keeping the heavy together

 

Social Distortion “Ball and Chain,” Offspring “Come Out and Play,” Green Day “Basket Case,” and Live “Lightning Crashes” - 

As you can tell a lot of music was coming at me at this time.  I also often refer to this as the time in music that never went away…more on that to come.

“Ball and Chain” was off the Social D self titled cd that also had “Story of My Life” and their cover of “Ring of Fire.”  I’ve seen Social Distortion play a trillion times and they get played often enough on the radio when I actually listen to it, that I probably haven’t pulled this cd out in at least five or six years and am probably good for another five to six before I need to pull it out of hibernation (same would apply to No Doubts Tragic Kingdom and anything by Sublime)

Offspring’s Smash was where “Come Out and Play,” “Killboy Powerhead,” “Gotta Get Away,” “Self Esteem,” “Genocide,” etc. all came from.  I still love these songs and and a couple of their cd’s that came later, but also rarely pull them out as they still get pretty frequent airplay.

I came across both of these cd’s at about the same time, and were probably some of the first cd’s I purchased on my own. 

A visit to my best friend’s house in Petaluma, CA, (where she was originally from and had moved back to – yep same best friend I sang “Shoop” with) brought me to Dookie from Green Day which had “Basket Case” and Live’s Throwing Copper that included “Lightning Crashes.“ This visit was right after the Polly Klaas murder that happened out there which made my parents super-apprehensive about letting me go out for a visit. 

I remember thinking how much I loved it out there after going for a walk to see where Winona Ryder’s parents lived (pretty near my then best friend’s house), and stopping at a mom ‘n’ pop music store where I picked up Dookie and she picked up Throwing Copper.  Those two cd’s became the soundtrack to my time out there spent discussing life and trying to come up with a plan on how to convince my parents to let me move out there before we started high school (and later not speaking to them for days after their answer was NO).  Now that I think of it, I haven’t pulled these cd’s out in forever either.       

Live led me to Collective Soul, Alice In Chains, The Toadies, Faith No More, STP, Fuel, Everclear (the first cd), Blind Melon, The Lemonheads, Radiohead, REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, NIN, etc, etc.

The other three artists more than likely prepared me for the opening of the floodgates which brought in almost every Warped Tour type band who’s cd’s I ever purchased.  An eclectic list which includes bands that I still enjoy from time to time (like Bad Religion, Pennywise, NOFX, Pulley, The Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, Bad Astronaut, Fenix TX, MxPx, No Doubt, Taking Back Sunday, Unwritten Law, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish - sorry I’ve gotta lump Ska in here, Blink 182, The Casualties, Dropkick Murphys, Suicide Machines, Swingin Utters, and Rise Against) to those I pull out rarely but would probably still find at least one song I like on their cds (Save Ferris, Tsunami Bomb, The Eyeliners,  Mad Caddies, Catch 22, The Starting Line, The Ataris, The Get-Up Kids, Motion City Soundtrack, No Use For a Name,  Gogol Bordello, Suicidal Tendencies, Misfits, etc.)

This trip down memory lane has proven to be exhausting so I’m stopping. I think in some way or another this pretty much covers all the paths that led me to the various genres music (with the exception of Classical, Jazz, and the standards which will have to wait to have to have their stories told another day) I have listened to in the past, currently listen to, or will someday listen to.  In case those weren’t enough here are some honorable mentions, but I won’t go into detailed stories of my associations with them.

The Beatles “Something in the Way” – The Beatles changed history. George Harrison was my favorite Beatle. He wrote this, plus I like the Patty Boyd backstory.

The Rolling Stones “Shattered” (this would cover my love for gritty dirty garage rock) and “Waiting on a Friend” which I just like.

Mindy McCready “Guys Do It All the Time” – Although this song was out when I was in high school and a relatable experience didn’t happen until later (courtesy of an overly jealous guy and my love of staying out late/girls nights/beer) and despite the fact that she turned into a drug addict who can’t get it together her two cd’s have some of my all time favorite country songs

Talking Heads – “Psycho Killers” – Just plain amazing

The Beach Boys “Don’t Worry Baby” – I loved it when I was little and then loved it again in college when The Beach Boys became the soundtrack for the crew of the midnight surfers

Beastie Boys “Hey Ladies” – Well any Beastie Boys song really but I like this video and although I have to be in the mood for them they allowed me to listen to stuff  like Kottonmouth Kings, Cypress Hill, and to learn to tolerate ICP

The Replacements “Can’t Hardly Wait” – One of my favorite songs ever.  This was the first Replacements song I fell in love with and the reason you’ll probably see at least one Replacements song on each of my playlists. 

Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” and Fuel’s “Shimmer” – I used to play these songs over and over (many can attest to this) and at some point developed short crushes on Brett Scallions’ and Scott Weiland’s voices.  I don’t get crushes on guys in bands ever but voices are a whole separate thing.

The Pretenders “Tattooed Love Boys” – Plain and simple Chrissie Hynde is bad-ass