I totally used Google on this title. I wanted something
different and I think I may have found a new favorite word. I thought I would
write a blog on music. Most people describe my music as eclectic or just all
over the place so I wanted a title that said that.
We have all read that a lot of authors listen to music when
they write. I am not sure how they do this because I find myself singing and
not writing. Music used to be a passion of mine that I am finding I am
reverting too. As a few of you know I am
child number ten out of eleven. That’s
right I have nine older siblings. What
can I say my Momma was slow to figure out where babies came from. But back to the subject at hand, growing up
with all those older siblings I was exposed to a lot of music. My oldest sister
who was in charge of babysitting was sixteen when I was born so music was
something that was always around. I grew up with the music of the sixties and
seventies. My sisters loved everything from rockabilly to surf music. My
parents were hard core country fans but my Momma’s secret passion was the music
of Big Bands. As I got older my brother’s influence kicked in, mostly in the
seventies and then it was all about Kiss and other hard rock bands.
I never really got into music till I was a teen that meant
the eighties, yep I was a hair metal junkie. I loved all the bands. We didn’t
have the money for a lot of purchases so it was all about the radio. Yes, we
did tape our favorite songs from the radio to cassettes (yes you can Google
cassette and see what I am talking about).
My very first concert was The Bay City Rollers, I do still
love a Scottish accent. I was maybe seven and my sister Marina was going to get
to go see them at the Illinois State Fair. I was devastated because I couldn’t
go but my sister Sharon who was taking Marina couldn’t stand the crying so she
gave me her ticket. She made me a little
plaid outfit (thank Gods there are no pictures of that) and off I went. I can
remember standing in my seat just singing along with all the songs. It was the best time ever for a seven year
old!!!
I never had the opportunity to go to another concert till I
was a teen. One of my friends from school was able to get tickets to see Duran
Duran in St. Louis. I had never been to St. Louis at that point. OMG it was a
shock coming from nowhere Illinois to a city. I couldn’t stop looking at all
the buildings and more people than I have ever seen in my life. Back to the music, I had so much fun it was
insane. When we got back to school on Monday we were the popular girls for
about five minutes. One of my favorite classes was choir. I probably can’t
carry a tune in a bucket but loved to sing. I hated the song choices but
whatever. The best part of choir was every Friday, the choir director did his
own thing during that hour so he put on a mix tape of classical music. This was
my first exposure to the classics and I fell in love with them.
As I became a young adult my music taste shifted to country.
I became obsessed with Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Reba McEntire, and all the
country artists of the nineties. I am not sure why the shift happened but I
loved it. I was on my own somewhat (I shared an apartment with my sister) and I
had my own money to spend. One of the happiest days of my life was when I found
out that a small little town about 20 minutes south of Springfield was opening
an old movie theatre and putting in a stage for country concerts. I saw lots of
the big name artists there. In a five year span I probably went to 300
concerts. When the owners retired the
place closed down and my music seemed to fall by the wayside. I started to read
even more. Television became my addiction. I seemed to lose interest in most
music. There were no bands that inspired me to become a rabid fan. I am not
saying that I didn’t listen to it; it just wasn’t a big part of my life any
longer.
Then one day I was at work and at the time Target had tv’s
playing video’s and music above the entertainment section. I heard something
different and yet intriguing to me. It was a pop song that I had never heard. I
asked my music man; Andy and he told me it was a new band called Maroon 5. I
thought it was just one song that caught my attention but as the weeks went on
Target added more songs by Maroon 5. I became addicted to singing them. I ended up buying the cd. I became a huge
fan. I then started to get back into music. I started to buy more cd’s and
ended up with a huge collection. I started becoming a pop music girl again till
I heard Nickelback. Then I moved on to hard rock again. Lately I have been
hearing a lot of country being played so now I am back to being eclectic in my
music choices. One of my boys at work, Zach made fun of my music choices and
decided I needed to broaden my horizons. He loaded a thumbdrive with tons of alternative/rock
songs for me. I am happy to say he has some good taste. One of my other boys,
Lance cannot be out done so he is now loading more music for me to try out. I
love that these boys feel the need to search out music for me because it is
something I probably would not have done on my own. I now know who some of
these new artists are before they really have any hits.
I think music says a lot about a person. Mine says I am all
over the place and that I am open to all types of music. If I looked through
your music collection what would I find and what do you think it would say
about you?
Sinfully Sarcastic,
Shmuttmeister
