I like this song

Since the last post has been hovering around for a few weeks now, I thought I would keep with the theme and update with another music-related post.

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I am completely useless when it comes to remembering song titles. It's not for lack of trying; many a time I have made a deliberately conscious note to remember the title/artist/album for a particular song that I like, but for whatever reason, I just don't retain this kind of knowledge. Without fail, a few days after initially hearing a song, I will undoubtedly say, "I like this song, who is this?".

I find this insanely frustrating.

I love music, but haven't always loved it. My first tape ever owned was by the California Raisins, and I shudder to think that I was once a NKOTB fan. Not just a NKOTB fan. I wrote them letters. I had t-shirts. It was more than a crush. This pattern repeated itself for the majority of my youth, with purchases of increasingly humiliating albums such as several by Jon Secada.

It wasn't until I met my wonderful friend Jason that I was properly introduced to the world of music beyond the California Raisins. While he did shake his head at my cd collection, the highlights of which were an under-appreciated Peal Jam album, the Joshua Tree and the Forest Gump Soundtrack, he still remained my friend, and so much more.

It was through Jason that I learned the beauty of going beyond the top 10 at 10 to discover that there was an entire universe of music I'd not been exposed to. I discovered the Cure, John Lennon, the Pixies, the Smiths, Miles Davis, Radiohead, Rufus Wainwright, the Velvet Underground. Who new that music created pre-1997 could be so good?

He made cd after cd for me, filled with music that inspired me, made me crave more. Before this, music had always been filler. It was something you put on before having sex alongside lighting candles. It was something to keep you awake on the highway. It was a way to block out the noise of living in a dormitory.

Simply put, Jason gave my life a soundtrack.

I can never go back to the days of copulating to Jon Secada, and I don't think I really want to. Once you get it, once you really get it, you can't give it up. I still have an appreciation for cheesy pop and have been known to bop around my flat to Abba, but my perception of music has changed dramatically. It has changed me dramatically.

There have been others who have entered my life and tweaked my musical tastes, taught me about "lo-fi acoustic" music and how the lyrics of a song are sometimes the best part, but never to the dramatic extent that Jason did. He breathes music.

Music can shape your life.
And that's worth remembering.