Nicole posted an interesting idea— If your life was a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack? I often think about soundtracks and background music as I edit my home movies… I mean, when your baby is learning to walk, what should the music be? Yeah, the odd time signatures from a King Crimson song come to mind as a toddler doesn’t exactly keep a beat…

But what would my soundtrack include?

Before I get into it, let me just say that there would be two approaches… or maybe three, I forget which. But I could either list my favorite albums, or the music that I listed to throughout my life, or my favorite music that was available throughout my life if I just had the common sense to have listened to it then rather than Abba.

Like most people I suppose, I’m not proud of the music I listened to as a kid (or even young adult for that matter)… however, looking back, there are some surprising things. I had some classical (Beethoven’s 5th symphony performed by the London Symphony), but most of my classical was synthesized versions. Yes, I still cringe, but hey… it gave me a life-long passion for both classical and electronic music.

Somehow, I acquired a cassette tape of Weather Report’s Mr. Gone. That’s not too bad. My best friend in high school, Glenn Webb, lent me lots of jazz on tape, so I did have a copy of the Crusaders and some other jazz acts in the last 70s. I didn’t have any pop or rock music (still don’t have much) because I got my fill of it while pretending to dance at those high school dances.

My Favorite Albums

I’ve decided that along with my other death requests, I would like to present everyone at my funeral with their choice of my favorite tunes… they can either choose the single “Best Of” album, or a collection of all 10. With any luck, I will die far enough into the future that all of the albums will fit on a single media “unit.”

1. Miles Davis— Kind of Blue
2. Charles Ives— Unanswered Question
3. Stevie Ray Vaughn— Couldn’t Stand the Weather
4. Bill Evans— You Must Believe in Spring
5. Cowboy Junkies— Either Trinity Sessions or their new Open
6. Phish— Bootleg from Stowe, VT concert (on 7/25/92) or A Live One
7. Buddy Guy— Damn Right I Have the Blues
8. Igor Stravinsky— Rite of Spring (or should I do something from Claude Debussy like La Mer or maybe even Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune?
9. Steely Dan— Aja
10. Kronos Quartet— Winter was Hard

My Favorite Songs

1. John Coltrane— My Favorite Things
2. Bill Evans— On Green Dolphin Street or Waltz for Debby
3. Jethro Tull— Moths from the album “Heavy Horses”
4. Weather Report— The Pursuit Of The Woman With The Feathered Hat from the album “Mr. Gone”
5. Tracy Chapman— Mountains O’ Things from self-titled album
6. Sting— Mad About You from the album “The Soul Cages”
7. Rusted Root— Drum Trip > Ecstacy from the “When I Woke” album
8. R.L. Burnside— Come On In
9. Ben Webster— Time after Time
10. Eva Cassidy— Ain’t No Sunshine from the album “Time After Time” (or maybe The Letter)

So… do you see a pattern? Me neither.