My Life, Put To Music

I was stocking CDs at work yesterday and as I was doing the Soundtrack section I thought about what the soundtrack to my life would be. Instead of doing the whole span of my life, I'm only going to do a "day in the life" take on it. I think this may be more fun than picking who would play me in a movie, based on my life (although that would be fun too).

So here it is, the tracklisting to my life and the reasons why:

1. Mama Cass "Make Your Own Kind of Music" Ever since I heard it on the Season Two premiere of Lost I instantly fell in love with this song and the lyrics. It's upbeat music, juxtaposed with a strong message of being on your own and having fun with it. Usually this song, or BJ Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" are the first things I listen to when I wake up.

2. Shai Hulud "Being Exemplary" The title says it all. It's a good song about doing what is right to be a model for others to follow, specifically here, for children.

3. Slick Shoes "Last" The music is fast and the lyrics ring so true to how I often feel. The song also takes me back to High School. Perfect track for this moment.

4. Stylez D. "New Shit" If Will Smith can rap on his own movie soundtracks, than I can too.

5. Emery "Walls" The song deals with building up walls around yourself (clever title, huh?). I think I do that a lot to avoid letting people in, which probably explains why I sit home alone most weekend nights. Also, one of the last lyrics rings very true.

6. Ducktales Theme Song (in German) The greatest 30 seconds you will ever hear.

7. Thrice "Ultra Blue" Really I could pick any Thrice song and could relate it to my life, but this one is about pursuing what is true, and I am constantly on the search for truth.

8. Talking Heads "Once In A Lifetime" Awesome song with great lyrics. I would use this song for the same exact reason the Truman Show used it. When that movie came out, I asked my cousin Ryan to tell me if my life was like the Truman Show and he was just an actor, and he swore to me that he would tell me if it was...he never has. Despite that, I still think someone is watching my life and getting enjoyment out of it.

9. Slick Shoes "Feeble" Both these Slick Shoes songs came off of their first full-length, and I think the headspace that the lyricist was in is more similar to where I am at, than in their later albums, hence two song selections from the same album. Good sound byte from the Goonies at the beginning of the track, explaining where the band got their name. Also, again, the song is fast and the lyrics are so accurate it is creepy.

10. Killswitch Engage "A Bid Farewell" I had to throw at least one metal song on here to keep up my cred. This song starts off their lastest album and definitely sets the precedent for the rest of the album. The song deals with getting rid of the bad things in your life. "Severing the ties" as they put it. Best lyric, "This is all I am, this is all that's left. Turn from deceit, the love of self is death." People need to care less about themselves and more about each other. Wolfman approves. This goes back to being exemplary (see what I did there? A "call-back" or to some a "holla-back").

11. Glory Of This "Circle Yes or No" No song on their album, lyrically, fits in perfectly, but a lot come close. The mood of the music throughout the album does fit well though. I decided on this song because it feels like it has the most raw emotion to it and there are certain parts that fit perfectly. Most notably, "Why settle for less, when you could have the best?" Maybe not the most original line, but it is very pithy.

12. Chiodos "Baby, You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek" Fantastic song with great lyrics. I highly recommend this band. They have great song title, such as "No Hardcore Dancing in the Living Room" , "There's No Penguins in Alaska" and "One Day Women Will Become Monsters."

13. Blink 182 "Carousel" My favorite Blink song. I love the bass intro and the lyrics. I was glad to see that they included it on their greatest hits.

14. Kanye West "Jesus Walks" Kanye walks the line of being goofy and extremely serious very well, and I respect that. He'll do songs like "Workout Plan" but then he will do a serious song like "Heard 'Em Say." This song has balls. I particularly appreciate the following lines, "I wanna talk to God, but I'm afraid cuz we ain't spoke in so long" and the facial features line, which is really smart, because any person who isn't mentally retarded should understand that Jesus wasn't white, like the picture we see of him show. I also like how he admits rappers are role models and they don't think about what they say, along with calling out the music industry about not playing this song because it talks about God. Good use in that Jarhead commercial too.

15. Beach Boys "Wouldn't It Be Nice" This or Sloop John B are probably my favorite Beach Boys songs. Just picture the scene in 50 First Dates where Adam Sandler is on the boat singing along, alone...just like the Truman Show, I'm stealing this moment too.

16. Digger "String in My Throat" Fantastic band. One of the best lines in the history of music, "My heart's heavy like sand, you heat it up and then, it just turns into glass, and it's easy for you to smash." The song is about trying to talk to someone and you get that "string in your throat" from being chocked up.

17. Joey Ramone "What A Wonderful World" I couldn't decide between this one or the original, but ultimately I decided on this one because it's Joey Fucking Ramone. I'm happy with my choice. I think this is a good song to end the soundtrack, on an optimistic note, when most of the tracks were not.

I could have kept going, but I think this is enough. Enjoy the list.