Soundtrack of My Life

I had this idea MONTHS ago (see #12), but since the Bert Show did this last week, I was reminded of my original idea!!

Here are songs I would put on the "iPod of My Life" and why:

When I started driving: I have 2 for this one. My best friend Jenny got her license first, and that very day, she came and picked me up in her sister's car and we just cruised around Marietta listening to "What it's Like" by Everlast. We thought we were soooo cool. My second song is when I actually got my license 3 months later and was driving my mom's big red Expedition around town. I constantly had "Rosa Parks" by Outkast on repeat and honestly thought I was so cool, yet again. That vehicle had some extreme bass...

My first love: I met my first boyfriend Ian in the summer of '98 at the beach. I tell you, it was love at first sight, and we inseparable from that point until we broke up for good in '01. I remember the moment I knew I loved him, when he took me out on a date while at the beach that week, and put on "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith in the car. We were holding hands and he could hardly keep his eyes on the road b/c we were just staring into each others eyes... Wow, I'm embarrassed just writing that! Anyways, it was a sweet moment for a 15 year old, and I'll never forget that song or that moment.

My first heartbreak: Ok, this is sad. So why am I laughing?! I dated this boy off and on for maybe 6 months in '01, and looking back, it wasn't love, even though I thought it was at the time. Just infatuation, I guess. His name was Brian, and I'm going to leave it at that :) Anyways, we "broke up" over the summer for awhile (if you can even call it that). I remember being at the beach with my family and listening to "It's Been Awhile" by Staind, crumpled up in a ball on the bedroom floor of the condo just wailing about my heartbreak. I'd been much more heartbroken before, but I specifically remember that feeling and song, and honestly though it was the end of the world. I was so naive...

*Side note: Typing this has made me think about a bunch of past boyfriends / significant boys in my life, and all of their names listed together kinda freak me out:

Peyton
Ian
Brian
Jason
Ryan
Shawn

There are a few names over time that don't fit the pattern, but what's up with all the N's?!?! Freaky...

First album I ever owned: I'm going to cheat a little on this one. The first cd I ever owned was 10,000 Maniacs, and it was a gift from a childhood friend of mine. I had never heard of them and subsequently, never once listened to it. So, that being said, the first song I remember absolutely loving off the first cd I ever bought for myself was "Refried Dreams" by Tim McGraw. I was 11. I'm sorry, but 15 years later, I still love that song!

Reminds me of my parents: Even though my parents are divorced, I still hear "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers and think of them. Specifically, one night in our living room. My dad used to come home from work on Fridays, always in a good mood, and play music on our stereo and my parents (and I) would dance. This is a nice memory that I'm glad I have.

Car accident: I hate that I have this memory, but "Bye, Bye" by Jo Dee Messina was playing when I got into my first car accident, and now every single time I hear that song, I remember the exact moment the car rolled down the hill. It's such a good song, too, and it still freaks me out to listen to it.

Song that makes me feel like a stripper: Ok, I have 3 for this one. I don't care, it's my blog and I can do what I want! There's the typical "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard (which I think is everyone's song for this category). Funnily enough, that song also reminds me of my freshman year at UGA when we always hung out at this "freshman" bar called Uptown Lounge. I think they just lured us young girls in with that song, b/c every time I hear it, I think of Uptown (and being a stripper, LOL). There's also "I Wanna Be Bad" by Willa Ford (such a one-hit wonder, bless her heart) and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Joe Cocker.

When I want to blow off steam: I feel like this song is so random for this category, but whenever I hear it, it makes me bounce around and really releases my stress / tension / unhappiness. "All the Small Things" by Blink-182. So random, right?! You should see me in my car when this song comes on - volume on full blast and I pretty much scream the lyrics. Ah, so good!

First day of school: Ok, so I don't think this was my actual first day of school, b/c I remember that day clearly (seriously, I have the memory of an elephant), but I distinctly remember "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys playing while in the carpool line at Murdock Elementary when I was in Kindergarten. I remember being so excited that I got to hear the song, so I could run inside and tell all my friends, b/c that song was all the rage back then. Seriously...I was 5.

Reminds me of my best friends: Don't even have to rack my brain for this one. "All For You" by Sister Hazel. They are my all-time favorite band, and that will never change, and I love how the band and all of their music means so much to me and my best friends. This song is like a religious experience for us every time we hear it while together, and we make a point of playing it at each other's weddings and being in this circle scream-singing it to each other. So awesome. Hmmm, scream-singing...I think I just invented a new concept.

Song I absolutely hate: "That's Not My Name" by the Ting Ting's. And I'm not even going to spend time discussing why I hate it. It's just a terrible, stupid song. Period.

Reminds me of high school: This is so random, and I have no idea why I have such a strong memory of this song and how much it reminds me of high school. "Back That Ass Up" by Juvenile is such a random song to sum up my high school experience, but for some reason it does. More specifically, cramming 7 of my best friends in my 2-door Cavalier and driving around Marietta trying to find something to do on a weekend night, just blaring this song and singing every word. I still smile and laugh, remembering such fun rides in the Cavvie.

Reminds me of college: Ok, so I pretty much discovered Corey Smith. I've been rockin' out to his original music long before anyone had ever heard of him. He's a country / Southern rock singer-songwriter out of Athens, GA (where I went to college) and writes a lot of his stuff about that amazing place. When I hear "Every Dawg," I don't necessarily think of my college experience as a whole, or relate specific memories to the song. The song's about UGA football and it makes me teary every time I hear it b/c I have our school colors running through my veins and have so much pride for my alma mater and our incredible football program. I feel lucky to have gone to such a great school, and this song always invokes those strong emotions.

Sums up my life: My senior year in high school, I took Psychology, and we all had to find a song that we felt described ourselves. You would think that after 8 years, it would have changed, but I still hear this song and think of how it really is about me. "That's Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews fits me to a T. Still, to this day. Guess I haven't really changed that much at all.

So, I just got to thinking about how much better this post would be if I actually had clips of these songs, but I'm not that blog savvy. Hopefully, you get the idea! Soooo, what are the songs on YOUR life playlist?!