On soundtracks

There was a thing a while back - I can't remember if it was a blog thing, a Facebook-thing, or maybe some other thing... A thing, anyway. The - thing - (now I'm obsessing about the word "thing". Should I say meme? But would it BE a meme if it was a thing OFF the internet? But then again, what are the odds it was off internet? Everything I know, I know from the internet. Shh... Don't tell anyone!)

This thing. This thing was a thing to do. (Get to the POINT, already!!!) Something (thing!) to make. You had to make this thing.

Thing. Meme. Whatever.

You were supposed to make a "soundtrack of your life". (Isn't that a movie? TV-show? Band? Something like that?)

I can't remember how "well-developed" the thing/meme was, but the general idea it gave me was pretty simple. Make a list of songs you feel represent your life, the same way a soundtrack to a movie would represent the movie. Man. I just killed the definition of "soundtracks", didn't I..?

Aaaaanyway. Short story made much longer than necessary. Here is the soundtrack of my life:

1) Vangelis - "West Across The Ocean Sea" (from the album 1492)
Ironically, this is from another soundtrack, from the movie 1492, about Christopher Columbus' travels to the Americas. I vividly remember how one of my sister's early boyfriends brought this CD into our house, and it never left again. My dad loved - loves, actually- it, and I knew it by heart by the time I was seven. So well, in fact, that when I actually saw the movie a few years ago, much of the plot was spoiled for me, because I could *always* tell from the music when something scary/exciting/romantic/bad would come up.

2) A-ha - "Crying in the Rain" (Everly Brothers cover)
It's difficult to escape a-ha in Norwegian music history (not that this is Norwegian music history, but since I am Norwegian, and this is my music history...). "Take On Me" might be the most famous hit they ever had, but this is the track I remember listening to over and over and over again, rewinding the tape (you know, back when we listened to tapes) until it was worn and forlorn.

3) Vivaldi - "Piccolo Concerto In C Major"
My dad has always been the one controlling the music in our home (and by "controlling" I don't mean that he is the music dictator or anything - that sounded way worse than it really is... But my mom couldn't care less about music, so dad takes the lead). This is another favourite of his. It one of those pieces I've heard so many times, that I know exactly what CD and at what track to find it.

4) ABBA - "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
My parents were ABBA-fans, so their songs have been a natural part of my upbringing. From before I knew English, actually, and I frequently made of lyrics as I thought I heard them... Which leads me to why I picked this particular song - for the longest time I was certain the song went like this: "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I'm bad after midnight!"

5) Backstreet Boys - "As Long As You Love Me"
These guys. Ah. They were my heroes! My friends and I used to know all their songs, make up special dances to them, have big posters with their pictures on our walls. And so did every other girl at my age. I even remember we used to go to the mall, daily, to buy gum which contained stickers of the Backstreet Boys in the wrapping. I had such a collection!

6) Morten Harket - "A Kind of Christmas Card"
This list is giving a disproportionate impression of a-ha's Morten Harket's importance in Norwegian music, perhaps, but this was the very first CD I got, along with my very first CD player (that worked in perfect condition till last year, when it finally started giving up).

7) Céline Dion - "My Heart Will Go On (Theme From Titanic)"
I was a little too young to go see the movie in theaters, but with a little make-up and a lot of self-confidence, I did anyway. Twice. And then I saw it four more times when it came out on VHS. Not DVD. VHS. Leonardo was the cutest guy I'd ever seen (even counting all the Backstreet Boys), and I wanted to be Rose, or Kate or whatever her name was. The music was the cherry on top og the ice berg.

8) Håkan Hellström - "Kom Igen Lena"
Sweden's favourite nerd-meets-powerboy made young girls' hearts beat extra hard all over Scandinavia. There is a change from the previous musical (and otherwise) crushes, though. This one I actually can stand by, even today, musically. Håkan Hellström (and before he went solo, his band Broder Daniel) has a sound I liked and like - and this might be one of the transitions for me, taste-wise. A meagre beginning from liking something because everyone else does, to liking something because I actually think it is good. I may have started liking Håkan because everyone else did, but that is not why I stayed.

9) Broder Daniel - "Luke Skywalker"
Speaking of Broder Daniel... It's impossible to write a "soundtrack of my life" without including this track. It reminds me of those glorious months after my friend got her car, and we no longer had to walk to school (which, in retrospect, I recognize as a bit of a shame, as I could have used the exercise). But the car rides - not just to school and back, but also separate roadtrips, became musical adventures for me. And this song - that we used to put on max volume and sing along at the top of our lungs - is the symbol of everything great about that.

10) Jon Bon Jovi - "Living on a Prayer"
The final year of high school this became a bit an an anthem for me, because it was the finale song for our school show (though with different lyrics). I remember the year thereafter, when I'd started university, I went to a party and this song came on. I couldn't help but sing along with the alternative lyrics - and the funny part is that so did another student - a guy who also went to my school.
11) Simon and Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence"
Another musical hand-me-down from my parents, but one that I've grown to appreciate more and more with time. I rarely listen to the lyrics when there is music on, but I make an exception for Simon and Garfunkel.

12) Kent - "Den Döda Vinkeln"
Sweden, again. If Kent is my favourite band, then this is one of - if not the - favourite song of mine (of mine of theirs? I'm gammatically challenged in this sentence. Or just in general...). I said, "if", though. I still really like Kent, and it would be completely unnatural for me to make a list like this without mentioning them, but maybe we've grown a little bit apart the last few years? I've discovered so much new music, and I've come to a point when I find it's difficult to pick favourites. Recently, when people ask me what sort of music listen to, I reply "Spotify". Because I do - every single day I use this music streaming service, but what I listen to on Spotify is completely random. Whatever strikes my fancy then and there. Kent has become a seasonal thing for me, though. Winter is Kent-time. When the cold sets in and our Nordic light disappears, there are few bands that capture my mood so thoroughly as (particularly early) Kent.


There you go. The list will continue to grow with time, but for now this is a pretty accurate soundtrack of my life, up till now.