Pop-Up Playlist

I've always had a variety of musical tastes. My parents loved old country. My friends were into hip-hop and rap. I graduated high school at the height of the Seattle Grunge movement. I have a soft spot for classic rock. And I'm continually surrounded by teenagers so the spectrum widens even more to Top 40. So for tonight's #Write30 topic, I had no idea what to expect when I hit shuffle on my playlist and waited for the first three songs.

Admittedly, the first 7 songs were all Mozart as I use my phone at school, and that's my favorite "quiet time soundtrack" for my students to work to. I'll bypass those. No offense, Wolfgang.

So here are the next three, and my thoughts on them.

Thought #1: this list does not seem very diverse at all, and it makes me look like a total liar. Sigh.

"You're True" -- Eddie Vedder, Ukelele Songs
http://youtu.be/qt65w0TC-tM

I love Eddie Vedder. There. I said it. I love him. There was a time that people tried to make me not love him. They were not successful as evidenced by the insane amount of space he and Pearl Jam take up on my iPhone. My latest obsession is his album Ukulele Songs. I don't know why I love it so much except that my favorite Eddie is Eddie and a guitar. This is just Eddie and a teeny-tiny guitar, I suppose. Maybe this is my grown-up version of Vedder. Simple, stripped down, natural. My go-to "shout at the world" album will always be Ten, but this is my "on the deck, sipping a drink, glad to be alive" music.

"Where Is My Mind" -- The Pixies, Surfer Rosa
http://youtu.be/33ytJpODUUs

I don't have a ton of Pixies on my playlist, but they are there. They'll always remind me of my friend, Carrie Simpson. This one has a haunting quality. It reminds me of late nights on lake roads with the top down, and a black sky-full of stars overhead. There aren't many times I miss being 17, but the Pixies always fill me with a wish to be there just a couple more times.

"Love, Reign O'er Me"-- The Who (as covered by Pearl Jam)
http://youtu.be/taIjCV1edZ4

I love The Who from a totally shallow level. I'm no music connoisseur, and I could never claim to be. So I came to The Who somehow, and I truly have no clue how. What's funny is that this is, yet again, a journey into my fandom of Pearl Jam. They covered this song for a horribly, bone-deep sad movie called "Reign Over Me" starring Adam Sandler. I don't like it as much as the original, of course, but Eddie gives it his best wail, and I always have to appreciate that.

Sadly, the next song was Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance". Sorry y'all missed out on that one. #JuniorHighForever