my life: the soundtrack

last night, i was listening to my ipod when damien rice's "blower's daughter" came through the speakers. suddenly, i was in monroe, michigan with jesse. the opening menu of "closer" - with damien rice in the background - was playing but jesse and i were too engrossed in an intimate conversation to notice. at that point, we had only been dating for about four months, but we had fallen in love quickly. for some reason, the movie had put us in a sentimental mood (ironic, since the movie is all about deception) and we'd sat there, with the music playing over and over, having one of the most honest conversations ever. and now, when i hear that movie, i'm sent back there. it makes me realize how much music plays a role in our lives... if my life had a soundtrack, the songs (at least, on the first disc) would be:
"supersonic" by j.j. fad = my sister and i used to dance and sing to her collection of records and this was among our favorites. we memorized the verses (I was baby dee) and had dance moves for the record scratch.
"right here waiting" by richard marx = this song will forever inspire air piano in me. it became a favorite in middle school and it's still hard to top.
"i do" by lisa loeb = the first time i brought friends home from college, this song came on right at one of my favorite spots on the drive home. driving down that hill when it's full of colors represents everything i love about my hometown. we played this song over and over, singing over and over with lisa loeb.
"unchained melody" by the righteous brothers = i got my first kiss to this song to a boy who would become my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years. A sophomore in high school, at our football homecoming dance... i was a nervous wreck. This had to make the list.
"naked as we came" by irone and wine = i heart iron and wine more than any other music group. one of my students gave me a cd before graduating and this song was on it. i fell in love immediately. when jesse and i started dating, i played it when he was in my car, hoping i'd impress him with my taste in music. later, we saw them together in concert.
"this love" by maroon 5 = my first summer in europe, we went 2 weeks without pop culture (that was before everyone had white headphones constantly coming out of their ears). this was one song that stuck in our heads, and we - a group of 24 - would walk the streets of paris, london and rome singing, "this love has taken it's toll on me..."
"hypnotize" by the notorious b.i.g. = my friendship with my best friend, Emily, revolves around dancing. we met, and bonded, through dancing at local bars (although totally sober, we'd be the first and last on the dance floor). when b.i.g. says, "who us? yea poppa and puff," we'd say, "who us? yea coury and em." sounds geeky now, but this song takes me back to those fun-loving dance floor days.
"the luckiest" by ben folds = after receiving almost 150 burnt cds from someone, jesse was driving home to bowling green when he calls me and tells me to listen to this song. he said it reminded him of me. out of 100s of songs, he chose this one... and it is the most beautiful love song ever written.
"happy halloween" by the george cousins = this song is completely original. it's something my cousins and i made up one random halloween. but i can still see us - we stood in a circle, in the middle of my street, holding hands, screaming, "Happy halloween, haha, happy halloween, haha...," giggling and singing at the top of our lungs. my cousins were my childhood friends and are still some of my best adult friends.
"you oughta know" by alanis morissette = in college, alanis morissette was my therapy. when dealing with a serious breakup and a dying grandparent, one of my friends and i would get in her car, go to baskin robbins for ice cream, then speed down the waterson blaring alanis morissette out the windows.

there are so, so many more i could include but this post is already so long. i'll save the rest for disc 2...