The Soundtrack of our Lives

So a couple nights ago on my way home from work (commute of about 40 mins) it occurred to me that maybe it was time for a new CD. I've had the same 6 in my changer for months now. Actually...in a strange twist of fate this idea came about because I was listening to a new CD. Allow me to explain.

On Friday night a few of my friends and I went to Hooters. For the food, of course; they make a mean buffalo chicken sandwich. Nah, I'm kidding, we went to see if there were any hot new waitresses because we hadn't been in a while. But we told the girls we went with that we were going because they make a mean buffalo chicken sandwich. Anyway, there was a local radio station doing giveaways at the restaurant. And because I'm a winner, I won. Also...pretty much everyone else at Hooters won too. There was a large assortment of useless items and under a t-shirt I saw a CD. Since I'm not in the habit of wearing sweet one size fits all shirts with radio station logos on them, I grabbed it. Anyway, I was psyched because it was a band I'd actually heard of and I really liked some of their stuff.

I'm going to make a long story short here and say that I put the disc in my player in my car and listened to the entire thing. Perhaps suffered through is a more appropriate way to phrase it. Knowing that a lot of times it takes me a couple of times to really like a new CD, I even listened to the whole thing a second time. After the final song came to an end for the second time I realized why that CD had been on the table to give away. It sucks. A lot. A really, really lot. I'm not going to say who the band was (Silverchair) or what the CD was called (Young Modern), but if you somehow know which one I'm talking about, avoid it like the plague.

After being dismayed at the incredible shitfest that my new CD turned out to be, I thought maybe I should just make one of my own for the first time in a while. So I got online, made a tentative list of songs I'd like to have on my disc, and got to work narrowing it down and putting the songs in order so that it flowed properly. Oh, and then I illegally downloaded every last one of them. Go to hell Lars Ulrich. Pleased with myself, I put the CD in my car the next morning and drove to work. I was completely unprepared for the aural orgasm I was about to experience. And experience it I did. Such was magical, musical journey, that by the time I got to work I was actually excited to be there. Excited to start my day. At this point I feel it pertinent to explain that I am not a morning person and it takes me a good 20 minutes to warm up after showing up at work. After those 20 minutes pass, you are welcome to talk to me. Just don't expect too much, because I'm probably still not in a great mood.

So I got to work excited, but it faded throughout the day and just as I thought I would fall asleep it was lunchtime. So I hopped in my car to go grab a bite and much to my delight, my CD was still raging. So I listened to it on the way to the store and then listened to it on the way back and I'll be damned if I wasn't just as psyched about life getting back to work as I had been in the morning. This was no mere CD, it was a soundtrack crafted by the music gods.

I have since listened to the CD a couple more times and each time I get out of my car looking like I just banged Jessica Alba. Alright, the CD's not THAT good. But maybe...like I'd just banged Ashley Simpson. She's not drop dead gorgeous, and you know you aren't planting a flag, but still, she's famous enough to make it exciting. I'm not sure how long the magic will last, but I'll enjoy it while it does. When it does fade, I'll still have a damn good mixed CD that works equally well for long drives by myself or rocking out with a group of friends. I'm sure a lot of people consider this a trivial matter, one not worth noting. But it's the little things that get us through the days and weeks, small victories. Music is a huge part of my life because it provides me with a soundtrack to live by. Few things can incite fits of nostalgia like a song you haven't heard in a decade. They bring you right back. And if I managed to create a soundtrack out of thin air (so to speak) for this point in my life that also has the power to uplift me, maybe that isn't such a small victory after all.