Rock me like a hurricane

My "sister" and I have spoken more in the past week than we have probably in five years. My grandmother passed last Saturday, and J and I were in constant communication regarding services, times, places, clothes, and the other mundane trappings of the rite of death. But as always, our conversations seldom stayed on the intended track, instead running in fifty different directions, each making no sense whatsoever yet being completely logical. That is what over 20 years of friendship can do to people, you see. I can say "The thing in the place? Sophomore year? Sara?" and J will come right back with "Oh, 502. Yeah, T ended up with that." Our own shorthand for the ages.

One of those conversations centered around a project J is doing for a friend at work. The question arose-- what is the soundtrack of your life? J took the question to heart, and with much research is slowly putting together her coworker's own personal soundtrack. I love it. I've seen similar tracks-- Kevin Smith has a similar bit in his book My Boring Ass Life -- but nothing quite like this. It isn't a list of ipod tracks, or that "your movie soundtrack" when you put your mp3 on shuffle. It's actually sitting and THINKING... what songs make up your life's story? When you were born, what was the song your parents loved to listen to? What was the first tape you bought? The song you loved to sing along to on the radio? the song you danced to with your husband/wife? What was the music that earmarked those touchpoints?

So, with J leading the way, I'm doing this. Compiling the soundtrack of my life. And I'm challenging others to do the same. If you're reading this on blogger, post your soundtrack in my comments, or on your blog and let me know. If you're on LJ, make your own post. What songs pave the way for you? Don't take your soundtrack to the end of your life... just to where you are right now.

I'll be waiting... and in the meantime, I'll work on mine and post it :)