What’s On Your Soundtrack?

A few weeks ago I received one of those email friendship surveys. This one wasn’t the same-ol’, same-ol’ that has been circulating for years, but you’ve probably all seen it by now. It’s the one where your friends answer questions about you like “Where did we meet?” and “What color are my eyes?”, to see how well they know you. The last question on the list is “If you and I were stranded on a deserted island, what one item would I bring with me?” Of the four people who responded to this survey about me, they all had the same response, “Your iPod.” Well, my friend Kacie was more accurate in saying, “Alan (if he’s not a choice, I’d say your iPod).” And, of course, they are all correct.

I never go anywhere without my iPod. My obsession with music boomed when I lived in Topeka, Kansas for two reasons. First, I worked with two wonderful ladies who shared more than a small office space with me; besides our faith in God, our music was our bond. Second, I had access to the extraordinary Topeka and Shawnee Public Library and their CD collection. It’s a library unlike any I had seen before or have seen since. The story of the library and learning to tame my CD collecting addiction could take up a whole blog entry by itself, but let me leave it at this: Before the motivation of the TSCPL, I didn’t think I liked Jazz music. Boy was I wrong!

Another question on the friend survey is “What is my favorite type of music?” All four responses from my friends were different and they would be correct because I don’t really claim a favorite. But if you were to look at my collection, Alan’s answer would be the most correct. Among the thousands of songs currently on my iPod, the largest genre is Soundtracks, many of them of the instrumental variety. Part of the reason I’m crazy about movies is because of the music. The soundtrack is as much (or more) of a character to me as any of those portrayed by actors. And when the musical score is more prominent than any vocal songs on the soundtrack, it changes me and I let it because music is the one thing in a movie that always maintains its purity.

The friend survey questions sparked a thought that has frequented my mind often. It’s an outlandish idea, but if my life were a movie, what would be on my soundtrack? What would tell my story? If we’re talking just about vocals, two of the first tracks would be “Mother, I Love You” and “Baby Mine” from Dumbo because I recall my mom singing those to me as she rocked me in that creaky wooden rocker. Track 3 might be Faith Hill’s “Fireflies” which talks about a little girl dreaming of princes and castles. Tracks fitting my life right now might be George Dyer’s “Come to Know” and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. It’s an amusing project. A musical journal, if you will.

In the midst of spending ages searching for the songs that fit my life just right, I’ve discovered a narrowed version. This is a soundtrack for just one aspect of life– my creativity. As I’ve been working on different projects, writing or otherwise, I have let my iTunes shuffle through my entire music library. Whenever a song comes on that really truly stirs something in me, makes me feel inspired or creative, and keeps the thoughts flowing, I move that song to a playlist I call MUSEic. Here are some of my selections of the 24 I have in the list so far: “Pavane” – Paul Schwartz; “Don’t Give Up” – Peter Gabriel; “To Be Apart” – Becoming Jane Sdtrk.; “Corelli: Opus 6″ – Yo-Yo Ma; “Take My Hand” – Shawn McDonald; “Always and Always” – John Williams, Stepmom Sdtrk.; “God Speaking” – Mandisa; “New Years Day” – U2; “Journey’s End/Sonnet CXVI” – Lee Holdridge & Ron Pearlman, Beaty & the Beast TV Series Sdtrk.

Ok, so I’m not breaking any new ground here, but since I’ve tried it for myself, I thought I would encourage others to do the same if you haven’t. It’s a very gratifying project that stimulates more creativity.

I realize we are a rare breed, but if there are any other music geeks out there like me, I would be interested to know: What’s on your soundtrack?