BETTER WHEN SHARED

this was the house where everybody hanged

ask all my friends they'll tell you the same

was it the house or was it the gang

or a phenomenon no one can explain
~ Air Traffic Controller, 'The House'

I've been a music fan of some kind since I was pretty young.  When I was around 5 or 6 years old, I had several 45s; yes, those really small records with an A and B side, that I used to play over and over and over again on my Fischer Price record player.  (SO sorry, Mom).  I might as well go ahead and date myself here as I recall some of my favorites at the time, including, but not limited to, Dirty Laundry by Don Henley and Oh Mickey You're So Fine by the one and only Toni Basil (whatever happened to her??).  My best friend, Frances, and I used to dance around my room with Toni singing at full volume.  There may have been pom poms involved.  Those were good times.

In grade school I continued to explore and sharpen, if you can call it that, my taste in music.  I was the awkward new kid in 5th grade and music was a medium that I used to relate to others.  We were mesmerized, as only tweens could be, by the likes of Genesis' Invisible Touch among so many other quality 80s rockers.  U2, Paul Simon, Janet Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, the list goes on and on.  And we loved them all.  Back then we shared music through our mixtapes, which we would spend countless hours on.  They were a form of communication, if you will.  Each song had a meaning behind it and the tape itself typically had a theme/message that you wanted to get across to the person you were giving it to. (ie. Best Summer Ever or Broken Hearted).  Tragic, I know.  But, also kind of cool.

My taste in music evolved and changed even more so as a teenager.  My friends and I were into everything from Phish to Blues Traveler to Guns N' Roses.  That's right, Laurie (my high school partner in crime) and I went to see Axl Rose in his prime not once but twice in one week in NYC during the Use Your Illusions Tour.  How did we do that??  Oh, right.  We were 16.  Seriously, though, different groups of us went and saw concerts all the time; Ziggy Marley, the Rolling Stones and Peter Gabriel, to name a few.  And, while we might not have realized it then, there is no doubt that each one of those shows brought us closer.  I know this, because I can remember specific details about every one of them and the people I was with when I think back on them today.  I love that.

The point I'm trying to make here is that music has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember.  What I realize now, though, is that the impact music has made on my life has had as much to do with the company in which I've shared it with as it did the music itself.  Still today, 35 years after rocking out to Toni Basil, I am connecting and relating to others through music.  I will hear a song or band on the radio or during a run that will literally stop me in my tracks because it's something I know someone in my life will appreciate.  And then I'll pass it on.  And, regardless of whether that person lives close to me or has moved to the other side of the world, the music brings us together, if only for a brief moment.  And that's pretty powerful stuff.

The playlist below has a few of the songs that have inspired me this week - to run, to dance with my kids, to get out of bed; for whatever reason.  But each time I listen, I find myself wanting to share them.  If they're motivating me, perhaps they'll move you as well.  And while I may not know how or why, I know the connections are there.  I can feel it when I'm listening.  Maybe you will, too.

BETTER WHEN SHARED