My Soundtrack

I love music. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m a reasonably good singer, by ear especially but also by sight. I also know how to play the piano and clarinet, but I’m rather out of practice and find they require more work. (As an aside, this means my main protagonist of the current story – as well as others within that story – has musical talent too!)

Music, to me, is therapeutic – in songs I find a resonance to life. Music is good for the soul that way; especially church hymns that I know of, but also others. They’re so pure and strong. I also feel that music shows life – I’m the sort of person that has a soundtrack of sound in my head through the day. Music gives us a way to express ourselves.

Anyway. At the end of high school a few years ago, I realised that I can track with reasonable accuracy a set of songs which correspond to my school years. I’ve since expanded that to go beyond the school years, now I’m out in the “big wide world”. These songs were either songs that I sort of remember singing around that time; were a part of some form of performance I was involved in; or I found to have a resonance in some other way – usually because of events happening during that year, personally or otherwise.

I use songs as a representation of the year. I can give a roll-call of what was going on in my life then, just by looking at the song titles. For instance, the first three of last year’s songs all came on the radio shortly after we’d heard about MH17; given the tone of the rest of the year, they stuck, along with the fourth song. Also, every two years in primary school we had a school concert, with each class doing something – so that’s at least one from Prep, Two, Four & Six. Then in high school, I was involved in musical theatre productions in Seven, Nine and Eleven. Since then, last year (and now this year!) I’ve been involved with other performances. Can you guess what the productions were?

My favourite bands/ artists include The Beatles, Queen, Coldplay, Powderfinger, Green Day….Graeme Connors, Paul Kelly, Enya, Avril Lavigne, Yothu Yindi, Hunters and Collectors, Shane Howard, Archie Roach, The Yolngu trio and others. As I’ve grown older and grown to understand some things more my tastes have changed slightly – some songs I just don’t touch now and some songs I like playing more than I used to, simply because I understand the lyrics a bit better.

I have a few “music goals”, in seriousness and in fun:
* To be aware of what I’m listening to, most of the time – asking, what message is my ‘playlist’ sending?
* To listen to and eventually acquire more Australian music, especially songs from Indigenous artists. I’ve heard of some (including Graeme Connors, Archie Roach, Paul Kelly, Yothu Yindi, etc.) but I want more.
* To do the same with some “wrock”. That’s Wizard Rock, to the uninitiated – fan music. What can I say, I’m a geek. 😉 It comes in many flavours – a personal favourite is “The Bravest Man I Ever Knew”.
* To investigate some of the bands and songs on the list I’ve collected. Like my “To Read” list, I have a habit of adding a band or song to the “To Listen” list after hearing, say, one song or something. Then I don’t seem to actually get around to following them up. 😛 Once I do, some will probably be added to the “favourite artists” list above.

So, this is my soundtrack. What’s yours?

Prep: Thank You for the Music (re-imagined as, “…the Stories”), Who Put the Bop, You’re the Voice

Year One: Chicken Dance, Hello World (Saddle Club!)

Year Two: The Bear Necessities, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (most songs from the musical), Go West

Year Three: Strawberry Kissin’, Macarena

Year Four: Monster Mash, Barbie Girl, I’m A Believer

Year Five: When You Believe, Wake Me Up When September Ends

Year Six: Help!, Stop Right Now, Time of Your Life

Year Seven: Bugsy Malone, Fat Sam’s Grand Slam, You Give A Little Love, Get Right Back

Year Eight: Trying to Get to Sleep (Poem, by me), I Believe

Year Nine: A Very Merry Unbirthday To You, Painting the Roses Red, Never Too Old To Be Loved

Year Ten: Disturbia, Quarter After One, Rhinestone Cowboy, Christmas Shoes

Year Eleven: FAME!, Bring On Tomorrow, I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker, I Am 16 Going On 17, Fix You, This is Africa, I Will Remember You, Landslide

Year Twelve: Keep Holding On, Let It Be, Lean On Me, If I Were A Bell, Time of Our Lives, Friends Forever, Lanterns

2014: Stand By Me, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Lean On Me, What A Wonderful World, Leaps and Bounds, Anderson’s Coast, Solid Rock, etc.

2015: Singing the Spirit Home (for a number of reasons), We’re Better Than This, dunno what else yet!

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I’ll keep updating this as the years go on. 🙂