Married In Ohio

I was tagged by Melanie to create the soundtrack that represents my life. These songs don’t necessarily represent my taste in music so much as they symbolize where I was at a point in time. I though about linking to the lyrics but though that it would be better if you could hear them for yourselves. I re-encoded all the songs at 96Kbps so the quality is only so-so but it should give you an idea. I don’t usually use Castpost but this was too many MP3s to host. And yes, it took forever to upload all of the songs.

Circa 1970: Yellow Submarine by the Beatles
I was a HUGE Beatles fan when I was young. I remember saving all of my loose change so I could buy their albums. And for some reason, even though they were a (relatively) recent rock group at the time having only been broke up for a few years, “Yellow Submarine” was in the music books at school. So, whenever I hear that song, I think back to the days when I was 7 or 8 years old.

1972: Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
As I got a little older I began to take an interest in contemporary music. This was the hot song that played at all of the parties. It was a long song but was instantly recognizable. Whenever I hear the song, I think back to the days when I used to hang out with my friends in grade school.

1979: Flash Light by Parliament
This song is pure funk. We use to play it on our boom boxes as we walked to and from football/wrestling/track practice when I was in high school. Yes, this was the day when we all walked around with big boom boxes on our shoulders. I used to have a big afro but cut it off after I got tired of stuffing it into a football helmet. Whenever I hear this song, I think back to my high school days when I was a jock.

1982: You Dropped a Bomb on Me by The Gap Band
My girlfriend at the time really liked this song. She always turned it up on the radio no matter what we were doing. (Use your imagination to fill in the blanks.) We broke up and I lost track of her over twenty years ago but this song reminds me of some of the fun times that we had.

1984: When Doves Cry by Prince
You know there had to be at least one song by Prince on the list. Purple Rain was a smash album. It and Michael Jackson’s Thriller were the albums that year. I was a big Prince fan and introduced California Girl to his royal badness. She had never been to a rock concert before I took her to see Prince at what was then Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. (The building is now called USBank Arena; thanks Narcissus.) I had seen him in much smaller venues (before he made it big) but it was California Girl’s first concert.

1986: C’Est la Vie by Robbie Nevil
California Girl and I were living together in our first apartment. One of the other residents used to drive (too fast) through the parking lot with this song blaring from his windows. Whenever I hear this song, I think back to the time that California Girl and I had the first place of our own together (other than sleeping over in dorm rooms.)

1988: Just Got Paid by Jonny Kemp
Every Friday at 5:00, a local radio station used to play this song. I always tried to be in my car and on my way home by the time it came on. Whenever I hear this song, I think back to the time when I just had my first job out of college and used to race home and gather up California Girl for a Friday night out.

1992: Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang by Dr. Dre
By the summer of 1992 we had two small children (0 and 2) and life was busy but good. I don’t like a lot of rap music; but, on the rare occasions that I went out, for the evening this song was playing. I remember a high school basketball team that I used to follow played the clean version of this song while they were warming up. In those days, a Friday night out was going over to a nearby high school for 90-minutes to watch a ball game.

1999: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith
With small kids, we didn’t listen to music or do much of anything but by1999 we were back to life. I remember we got a new big screen television and our first DVD player. One of the first DVDs that we watched was Armageddon with Bruce Willis. Whenever I hear this song, I think of California Girl and how we (barely) survived having two rambunctious toddlers.

2000: Ride Wit Me by Nelly
By 2000 we had resumed being husband and wife after years of being Mom and Dad. I had a new better paying job and we started going to concerts again. We saw Nelly in concert at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati. Destiny’s Child was the main group but Nelly stole the show. We had lawn seats but “upgraded” to seats in the fourth row. Whenever I hear an old Nelly song I think back to that night and the magical time we had.

2002: Pussy Control by Prince
Shortly after our new house was completed in we had a large outdoor party. It’s a tradition that we continue to this day. This song is one of my favorites and was my first request after we moved the party inside. It’s not from 2002 but it will always remind me of the big blast we had when we moved into our dream home. California Girl thinks it sounds strange outside of a night club, but I think it sounds fine if you turn it up.

2005: Don’t Phunk With My Heart by Black Eyed Peas
The summer of 2005 was the best summer ever. We spent the entire summer enjoying the best that life had to offer. The kids had good grades the final grading period before summer. I didn’t have as much work to do so I came home at 5:30 or so every day. And there were plenty of days of burning sun to enjoy the swimming pool. Whenever I hear this song, I think back fondly of the best summer ever.

2006: Always by Atlantic Starr
This song was released in 1987, the same year that California Girl and I got married. If we had played music at our wedding this would have been our first dance. Whenever I hear it, I always think of my wife and all of the wonderful year that we have had together.

Thanks for reading this far. I’m not tagging anybody but I may try and get California Girl to do it.