The Power of Song

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My parents strumming of guitar strings and pressing the ivory keys of the upright piano in the living room was just part of rolling over, learning to walk, and uttering my first words. The power of music is that it follows us where we go, where we’re going, and everywhere we’ve been, woven into the fabric that is each day.

As children, my sister and I listened to the same record, “Ports Of Call,” over and over on Saturday mornings, taking turns flipping the record to the other side. Or we’d sit in the basement huddled around the portable turntable in the green plastic case mom had brought home from the elementary school she worked at and listen to Debby Boone‘s “You Light Up My Life” on 45. Even today I still remember the way the needle crackled over the ridges of the vinyl.

I clearly remember the day I bought my very own 45 from then Montgomery Wards. Right there next to rows of appliances I found Prince, “When Doves Cry”, just begging for me to buy and spin. And then soon after that was Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” record with the sleeve opening like a magazine and Madonna splayed out like a centerfold in sequins. I prominently displayed the album artwork in my bedroom window so that every time I entered my bedroom she’d be right there to greet me.

Subsequently I purchased the “We Are The World” record, having been so wildly attracted to the title track thanks to Casey Kasem and his top 40 count. I recorded, weekly, the Sunday Countdown on Memorex tapes while attending mass, anxious to rush home to hear who made the top 10.

Then right before my 7th grade year I found that The Cure’s “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” and a Walkman truly embodied what life was all about. The ride on the school bus, listening to Cure songs, made taking name calling and bullying so much more tolerable, especially the opening track, “The Kiss”. I remember feeling empowered.

There is something to be said for flipping through records, choosing what to listen to, and building my personal soundtrack. Even greater is realizing that there wasn’t anyone in the world who liked the exact songs as me – and if there were they probably would arrange them in a completely different order, telling their own story.

Here are some songs that stick to my story for one reason or another:
Debby Boone – “You Light Up My Life”
The Kingston Trio – “Tom Dooley”
Elvis Presley – “Tomorrow Never Comes”
Prince – “When Doves Cry”
Madonna – “Dress You Up”
Tori Amos – “Pretty Good Year”
The Smiths – “Girlfriend in a Coma”
Nitzer Ebb – “One Man’s Burden”
CandyFlip – “Strawberry Fields Forever”
Modern English – “Pillow Lips”
Echo and the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon”
Siouxsie and the Banshees – “Peek-A-Boo”
Erasure – “Blue Savannah”
Depeche Mode – “Somebody”
The Cure – “Hot Hot Hot!!!”
Björk – “Human Behavior”
Björk – “Big Time Sensuality”
Love and Rockets – “No Words No More”