Music of My Youth

Lately I have been feeling nostalgic for my college years. No, I haven't been thinking fondly of my days of a theater major who wore a uniform of overalls and one "female" sign earring. No, I haven't been missing dating gay men because they love Bernadette Peters as much as I do. And I definitely haven't been waxing rhapsodic for the deepest days of my depression before I was placed on the proper medications. My nostalgia has been all about the music. I have spent days going back through CDs, and downloading songs from iTunes that were on mix tapes from boyfriends. Ryan and I have danced around the house for hours singing along to music we forgot we loved, and have had a glorious time doing it. Oh, and I have had a few musical revelations...

1. Tracy Chapman Dates Jerks Seriously, name one song where she is not singing about a guy she should be getting a restraining order against. "Fast Car"? "For My Lover"? "You're the One"? All of them could be used as theme songs for a domestic violence hot line. Even her one truly romantic song "For You" has overtones of dysfunction. She sings about no longer being the "master" of her emotions. So, then who is? Probably the manipulative jerk who is going to sleep with her sister and then steal her El Camino.

2. Lisa Loeb Is Vastly Underrated If "Stay" is the only song of hers you have ever heard, then I actually kind of pity you a little bit. Loeb is a brilliant singer and songwriter who should have been as famous, if not more so, than Sarah McLaughlin or any of the other Lilith Fair ladies. How can you not love someone who writes the lyric "the time between meeting and finally leaving is sometimes called falling in love."

3. Sarah McLaughlin Is Not As Good As I Remember As I've said before, I was depressed in college. I was also really into being artistic. I remember loving McLaughlin more than anything, and listening to her music at full volume as I drove my 1985 Volvo through the streets of Salt Lake. Of course, these were also the days I wanted nothing more than to play Ophelia and I loved velvet. Those days are gone, and so is my affinity for Sarah McLaughlin.

4. Suzanna Vega Is A Feminist Barry White She might be best known for song about a kid getting the shit kicked out of him, but Vega also wrote some great "I want you now" music. If you don't believe me just listen to "99.9 Fahrenheit" or "Caramel." You and your significant other can thank me later.

5. You Cannot Be Grumpy Listening to the Song "These Are Days" Even if you are in the worst mood ever, put on that classic from 10,000 Maniacs and just try to be grumpy. Not even I can do it, and I am very good at holding onto a bad mood. Go ahead, try it. Put on that song. I'll wait.

I know that many of you are now considering calling Ryan to tell him he married a lesbian. First of all, get bent. Second, this isn't all the music I liked, or like. It is just represents a very specific time of my life, when I was young and not as jaded. Maybe tomorrow I'll be pining for the music I used to listen to when I was in my 20's and living in Washington. After all there's nothing like a little death metal in the morning. Am I right? Yeah, I am.