I love your brain

Music defines nearly every memory I can conjure. I’ve always loved it and have always been exposed to it. Even early childhood memories are informed by a song or specific music. Driving in the car with my dad singing Gordon Lightfoot’s Sundown, while I sat in the backseat belting it out along with him, albeit very poorly (my family is not known for our songbird qualities…We all love to sing but are all terrible!). Creating dances to Helen Redy’s Big Old Ruby Red Dress and Boz Skaggs Lido Shuffle so I could entertain my parent’s friends during dinner parties (my clever idea, not theirs!). Sitting in a box at the Hollywood Bowl with my parents listening to Miles Davis under the stars, dangling my feet over the edge of the bench desperate to twirl…

So many songs bring me right back to a specific time and place in my life to the point where I can almost feel the moment again. On a basic level, music informs my moods. Perfect driving music can make the long drive to or from work almost enjoyable. Nothing blows a bad day out of my thoughts like loud, old school punk rock…

I struggle with Cole to find music that pleases him. I often wonder if music has the same influence on his life as it does mine. It’s not a conversation we can easily have with or without his voice output device. It’s a more nuanced conversation than we can manage right now which makes me kind of sad. I would love to know if certain songs get stuck in his head, for better or worse, where they’re running on a loop in his head all day. This happens to me all the time.

In my continued effort to find music to soothe (or stimulate) his soul, the following songs are new to the rotation:

1. George Ezra – Budapest (my new happy song)
2. Linda Van Dijck – Stengun
3. Duncan Sheik – Barely Breathing
4. Shine – Simple Song
5. Belly – Feed The Tree (he liked)
6. Collective Soul – Gel
7. Magic Man – Paris
8. Peter Bjorn & John – Young Folks
9. Serena Ryder – Stomp
10. Spoon – Do You (we both love)

I’m open to recommendations for new (or old) music to try!