Gifts

I did a lot of driving over the holidays and listened to a bunch of music on my ipod. Listening to all that music, I realized that a lot of the music I listen to is the result of a recommendation from a friend. Because I am kind of sentimental, I like to think that that person gave me that music as a gift.

In college, Tom gave me Elvis Costello. Before Tom, the only song I knew by Elvis was "Peace, Love, and Understanding" and, frankly, it just didn't do it for me. One day when I was about to go on a road trip and he handed me a tape of "My Aim Is True." "Just listen to the first song. If you're not hooked, eject the tape and move on." I was hooked by "...why, why, why, why." 

Robert gave me "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking," Pete gave me Dire Straits, Cliff gave me The Who and Dead Milkman, Dave gave me Iggy Pop, Slick gave me Ted Nugent and an appreciation for anything with an awesome drum track. Chuckie gave me early rap music, Jim gave me "Come a Little Bit Closer" and "Stay Awake." It's not just friends; my family got me hooked on all sorts of stuff. One of the first gifts I got was when Pops gave me The Beatles. Lu gave me Kiss, Nana gave me Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, and old country music, Andrea gave me They Might Be Giants, Mom gave me musicals, and Scott gave me PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, and Camper Van Beethoven.

A big part of the joy I get from listening to music is remembering who gave it to me. In fact, most of my music is a gift from someone and I am thankful. But Liz Phair is mine.