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.