What's in a Song

I've become obsessed with this idea. I was driving with a friend in the car last week and we were listening to a mixed CD she had in. I commented on what a great mix it was and she informed me that it was given to her by a girl she was in a wedding party for. It was all of the bride's favorite songs.  What a fantastic idea!  I immediately decided I'd need to convince all my family members and close friends to make a CD of their favorite songs. All time. And they'd have to fit on a single CD. Then you could share them all and have a CD of all your loved ones favorites to remind you of them at any time. Then I started to get palpitations at the prospect of having to narrow down my favorites all into one small CD.  I'm still in the process. I started with a list of 42 songs that had to be on there. Paring the list down is SO hard. SO hard. I'm currently at somewhere around 23... See, I had 23 at one point, then I'd think of a reason I could cut one off the list, but I'd need to add one or two more on.  So I'm at 23 ish.

The thing you realize is that when you have to choose so few songs to represent your all time favorites is that every song on the list has a deep back story. Tells a story about who you are, where you've been, and about what's important to you. It's unbelievably personal in a vulnerable and intimate way. 23 songs that are at the core of the person that I am. Music has always played a large role in my life. I've danced in the middle of my living room while no one was watching, I've danced in celebration with friends, and I've danced in professional sports arenas. I've sang in the shower and in my car, I've sang in church, and I've sang with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. I've played my parent's hand-me-down organ while teaching myself one finger at a time. I've taken piano lessons from a classically trained Italian pianist.  I've been in love with Broadway for years. I love all genres, I have weeks worth of music on my ipod and I truly believe that where words fail, music speaks. This process of choosing 74 minutes of my favorite songs is turning into quite the painful process, and it's really looking like the finished product will be pretty awesome :)  And I can't wait to have a collection of my friends and family!!!  Stay tuned for my final playlist!!  What would you put on yours?!