Soundtrack of Life

“Variety is the spice of life” was one of my favorite sayings in high school and still is. That’s why it can be so hard for me to answer questions about my favorite anything. I enjoy a wide range of things, and selecting just one is impossible.

This is especially true for me when it comes to music. When pressed, I will offer up “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure as my favorite song. I love the beat and the lyrics, and I think it’s just the right length to leave you satisfied. However, what I feel like listening to at any given moment depends on my mood.

There are many songs I know all the words to, and I would never change the station if they came on the radio. Here’s my list of those songs, in no particular order other than when they came to me while I was making this list:

• Just Like Heaven - The Cure

• Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue

• Don’t Stop Believing - Journey

• Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

• Demons - Guster

• American Girl - Tom Petty

• Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N Roses

• Push - Matchbox Twenty

• Bailando - Enrique Iglesias (okay, so maybe I don’t know all of the words in Spanish, but it’s my goal to one day)

• You Learn - Alanis Morissette

• Imagine - John Lennon

• For What it’s Worth - Buffalo Springfield

• Livin’ on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

• The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

• Betterman - Pearl Jam

• Express Yourself - Madonna

• Drops of Jupiter - Train

• Faith - George Michael

Then, there are those songs that always bring me back to a specific memory of a time and place. Those are:

• Here I Go - Whitesnake

• Get it Together - Beastie Boys

• Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

• Give Me Everything - Pitbull

• Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio

• Live Like You Were Dying - Tim McGraw

• Big Poppa - Notorious B.I.G.

• Can’t Fight This Feeling - Chicago

• The Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti

• This Time of Year - Better than Ezra

• Bust a Move - Young MC

• Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

• Your Love - The Outfield

• Take it Easy - Eagles

• Umbrella - Rihanna

Of course, I have pages and pages of songs that I like, and my Spotify has lots of playlists (primarily for teaching yoga classes), but this list is a good representation of my taste for various types of music.

I’ve had the privilege of experiencing many shows at the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheater, which is only 30 minutes from where I live. One of my all-time favorite bands to see live is Guster, especially when the Colorado Symphony Orchestra joins them. This photo, though, is from the Piano Guys, who were great, but we had to endure rain for almost the entire show.

What’s your top five – or top 10 if, like me, you can’t narrow it down that much?