More personal soundtrack stuff

Yes, I realize that all this would be a lot more useful if I could figure out how to upload MP3s so you could actually hear all this music, but what can I say - I'm a quasi-Luddite.

So back to musical influences....

Those who know me know that I'm a singer first, and a not-very-good- piano player second. Although I've been playing piano for what seems like forever, I came to singing relatively late - didn't join a choir until grade ten, and then only because I'd decided I wanted to be an opera singer. Why opera?

EMBARASSING CONFESSION TIME: in grade nine, I got a little obsessed with Phantom of the Opera. Like, really obsessed. I played it incessantly. Sang along. Got yelled at by my Mom for singing too loud in the basement. I actually think Phantom formed the basis of most of my romantic fantasies around that time. Yup. I'm embarrassed now.

Fortunately, I also joined the Ontario Youth Choir, then the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir, then I went to university and discovered church music, and the rest is better-taste history. I did go through an insufferably snobby time when I wouldn't listen to anything but classical music, and derided anyone who listened otherwise. Sorry.

So thank you to Chris for introducing me to the Eagles, and Cliff for Billie Holiday (she's like beer - an acquired taste) and Ella Fitzgerald. When I think of university, I think of ABBA (their second-time-around being popular, I should point out) and October Project (excellent, melancholy break-up music).

(Too many parenthetical asides - I have to break this habit.)

And I should add, that although I'm writing about music, my dear husband introduced me to the wonder of talking books. I never would have gotten through Bill Clinton's autobiography if I'd had to read it, but listening to it was cool, especially since Bill read it himself. We spend many long car trips listening to books on CD.

I urge everyone to listen to Mason Jennings! He's like a cross between Neil Young and John Lennon, kind of.

Quick continuation of the last post (trumpet players out there, note the joke).

Lest people think that my entire musical repertoire is due only to boyfriends (and Dad), I must give credit to my oldest friend, Allison, queen of the mixed tape. She introduced me to the joys of playing hoppity-boppity-pop while driving around in a car. Before we were legally able to drink, many of our weekends were taken up playing late-night bingo in Scarborough - and, because no-one was particularly comfortable driving on the highway, we spent many long hours beetling back and forth on city roads, which necessitated a generous amount of driving music.

So, if you need a dose of high school nostalgia, consider playing a hearty mix of "Red Red Wine," "Take On Me," (well, A-Ha is pre-high school, but the love of the song lives on), "Little Birdhouse in your Soul," (that's by They Might Be Giants, if you're wondering), "Shiny Happy People," "Right Here Right Now," (Jesus Jones.....ewwwww) and the extended mix of "Always on my mind" by the Pet Shop Boys.

Gotta go - class is starting.

The "Apologies-to-Nick-Hornby" post

Last week, one of my teachers - with whom I've bonded over a mutual interest in obscure English composers like Edward Rubbra - asked what I'd been listening to over the weekend

To my horror, I couldn't think of anything. All I listen to these days is CBC 1, and then I only really pay attention to the news. (I abandon the enterprise completely if there's even a slight risk that Jian Ghomeshi will come on the air).
This got me thinking about how the soundtrack to my existence is almost completely dependent on the influences of other people - not sure whether this is a good thing, but it's certainly garnered a fairly eclectic library of songs.

And no, I don't have an I-Pod. I think maybe I'd like one someday, but I enjoy the randomness of listening to the radio - the happy surprise of a good song is a lot more piquant if it hasn't been pre-programmed. Anyway, here's my "Apologies-to-Nick-Hornby/High Fidelity" soundtrack to life - songs and artists catalogued not in chronological, or alphabetical, order, but rather related to the people who introduced me to them in the first place. This is evidence that a degree in classical music by no means restricts you to listening to Beethoven 24/7.

This is certainly not complete, but it's a start.

Why should you care? Why not?

Childhood: the "Dad Music" period. Much music played around the house, in the car, in the backyard - pretty well everywhere.
Wings - Band on the Run
Gordon Lightfoot - Gord's Gold (I especially liked "Daylight Katy," which I thought was named after our neighbour's cat.)
The Kinks - "Come Dancing"
The Band - everything. We even had a picture of them on the wall.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - So Far, especially "Suite Judy Blue Eyes"
The Beatles - later psychedelic-ish stuff, especially Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine. We watched the movie on a fairly regular basis, too.
Jimmy Cliff - The Harder They Come soundtrack. I've never seen the movie, but I love the soundtrack.
A whole lotta oldies, to which I now know all the words AND backup doo-wops.

First slow dance ever: Lady in Red by Chris DeBurgh. When DeBurgh whispers "I love you" at the end of the song, I just about wet myself.

First song I remember dancing to and enjoying myself: Dancing in the Dark, by Bruce Springsteen.

Sam Stone, my boyfriend in middle school, became a guitar nut while we were dating. For him, I pretended to like Joe Satriani, but also gained a real appreciation for that opening lick in Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine." What grade eight boy with a guitar didn't know how to play that one, badly?

Sam Horodezky, high school boyfriend who to this day is known as "Schmoo," got me hooked on cello music, particularly Bach's first unaccompanied cello suite. He was also the first person to play me a recording of Barber's Adagio for Strings - hey, some people make out to Iron Butterfly. We were nerds. What can I say?

More next post - it's late, and hubby is lonely.

It's a blog!

For days, I've had nothing but pithy phrases running through my mind that I've been dying to share - and now that I'm actually writing, I find I can't come up with anything more original than "Wow, my first post (hyuk hyuk)."

(Insert Clitus the Slack-Jawed Yokel theme song here.)

What can you expect to find at "Eschew Obfuscation"?

• Musings about the vagaries of being a "mature" journalism student, surrounded by sweet young things who are all far cooler than me.
• The odd poem - NOT written by me, thank you very much. No self indulgent crap here! (Well, no self-indulgent poetry, anyway.) And I promise not to inflict all of "The Waste Land" on you.
• Whatever the hell else is supposed to go on a blog: Rants. Raves. Vague notions of coolness.

For now, let me recommend a couple of things: Boneclouds by Mason Jennings (er - that's a CD. I believe he's got a MySpace page.) If you're in the mood for kiddy fun, any of the I Spy computer games. And www.aldaily.com - a great site for interesting articles and links to the world's major news organizations.