Walking into my room here at Tufts or at home, there's one thing that's immediately noticeable. There are CDs everywhere. For as long as I can remember, music has been an incredibly important part of my life. I don't know what I would do without music.
I remember as a little girl listening to my favorite records on the family stereo. It was always fun getting the records out and looking at all the pictures on the covers. One of my favorites was the Muppets' Christmas record - it didn't matter if it was December or June, I thought that the music was always in season. When it was actually Christmas time, the record was put into heavy rotation in the house because of me, and if I wasn't begging my parents to put the Muppets on, it was our Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas eight track.
My love for music has grown and refined over the years. I have a very eclectic taste in music, and I have acquired a broad knowledge of different genres. Leafing through my music collection, there's some techno, alternative rock, classical, jazz, swing, '70s disco and funk, and '80s music. I love it all. For me, music can brighten my mood, helpme relax, or pump me up for a night out.
One of my absolute favorite things is going to concerts. I can't even count how many I have been to. There's nothing like the rush a person feels when she is in the front row at a concert, listening intently to the performers, with a huge grin on her face. I've woken up early to wait in line to get the best concert tickets as soon as they go on sale so many times. I've even gone so far as having my mom get up early to get Phish tickets for me since I couldn't get them for myself because I was at school.
Concerts are great, especially when you are with your friends because of the memories they create. It can be a truly meaningful experience when you are so immersed in the music that it has taken you and your friends over. To be able to look around and see thousands of smiling, dancing people can have a strong impact on a person.
Even though I've loved most of the concerts I've been to, I have been to a couple bad shows. Sometimes, however, bad music can create good memories. A few years ago, a friend dragged me to a hard rock show at this small club at home. I hated the music, but somehow I managed to have an okay evening.
It is always good to give new things a shot - the experience may reinforce your preconceived notions, or you might find something new that you like. Thinking back on the night, I'm glad that I went because the club, which was an Albany landmark, closed this summer. Now I can say that I've been to a legendary club, and share my experience.
After thinking about it for a long time, I have found that music is an integral part of my life. I have this ability to associate practically any song I've heard with some sort of event that happened to me. It has even become a joke between my friends and me. Plus, if a song comes on and the memory associated with it is happy, I usually can't help myself from retelling the story to my friends for the thousandth time.
A perfect example of this goes along with the song "Boombastic" by Shaggy. I know, it's a totally random song, so of course, I have a fun memory to go with it.
A few years ago, I went on a class trip to Europe, and one of our stops was in Belgium. We went to this medieval town that had basically been turned into a tourist attraction, but was still very picturesque. As I walked through the cobblestone streets with my best friend and browsed through the shops, we thought we heard something coming from around the corner. As we got closer, we found a small square within the village that had been completely modernized. And the song "Boombastic" was blasting from the speakers. This was a totally unexpected scene, and to top it off, "Boombastic" isn't exactly a song you would expect to hear in Belgium. Now, whenever I hear that song, especially in the car with my friends, we play it loudly and sing along.
I have also decided that I can't function without music. There is no possible way that I can accomplish work without listening to music in the background. Just as I have been writing this Featuring, I've listened to so many different songs. Music just helps me concentrate. It's even better when I listen to a CD that I know practically by heart because the music blends into my thought process. Being able to listen to music that fits my stressed-out work moods helps me take things one at a time, relax, and just go with the flow.
I don't know what I would do without music. I love my stereo and my CD collection. Whenever I go shopping, something mysteriously pulls me to the record store. I have even been known to drag people to three different record stores just so I could find the one special CD from an unknown band that I had just heard and loved.
Although I'm not a huge fan of the band KISS, I think Gene Simmons was onto something when he wrote, "I want to rock and roll all night, and party every day."
