So awhile back, NPR Music had put out an article about how some musicologists from the Guardian had put together a project called Six Songs Of Me. It’s purpose was to collect user-generated playlists based off of six questions that would help reveal the music that matters most to people. I’d figure I go through this exercise here first so that I can re-ignite that writing jones that I have deprived over the last few months.

Here are the six questions that will ultimately your music appreciation:

  • What was the first song you ever bought?
  • What song always gets you dancing?
  • What song takes you back to your childhood?
  • What is your perfect love song?
  • What song would you want at your funeral?
  • Time for an encore. One last song that makes you, you.

You can choose to comment along or go to the project site to provide your own answers if you get bored enough to weather through some self-analysis.

As for my answers…

1) What was the first song you ever bought?

To me, the first question is a trick question. At first, I would have said Michael Jackson’s Thriller on casette but then I come to realize that I weasled one of my parents to buy the tape for me (even though we already had a copy of the LP), so by technicality, it shouldn’t count. So the first song I bought (and didn’t ask anyone to buy for me) was a cassette single of Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step”. The reason for this $2.49 must buy with arcade money was that the music video version of this song (with the rap) wasn’t on the album. And yes, I would successfully put my Filipino hair in a Gumby because the calick in the back of my head allowed such physics to occur.

2) What song always gets you dancing?

The answer to this is pretty obvious to me and it’s The Emotions’ “Best of My Love”. It’s the best song ever written by the EWF music machine.

The irony is that I remember first hearing this song during long drives coming back from AC on those three-day weekends where you hear radio stations play their all-time or top 70s lists. This song would always be there. If I could dance in my back seat, I would.

3) What song takes you back to your childhood?

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me

At my young age, television ruled my world, and one of the standards in my rotation (which involved GI Joe, Transformers, Square One, Different Strokes, Gilligan’s Island Taxi, Arsenio Hall, et al.) was MTV’s Remote Control. Usually Dial MTV (the orginal TRL) would be rapping up and I could’ve swore this was always #1 for eternity.

4) What is your perfect love song?

Always and Forever - Heatwave

The perfect love song MUST be a quiet storm classic. And this song is the most perfect of them all.

5) What song would you want at your funeral?

Live Forever - Oasis

Honest truth, for the many times I’ve played this song and heard on the radio, I don’t ever remember watching this full video til now. Maybe once I caught the end of it, but that’s it.

6) Time for an encore. One last song that makes you, you.

Cult Of Personality - Living Colour

Yea, CM Punk has decided to make this song his own, but this song was mine whenever I needed a reason to get up and go to school. As the math wiz throughout my school days, I took the simple line “I tell you one and one makes three” to deep thought. It was here I learned one important psychological lesson: the moment your expertise/reputation garners respect/authority, at any time, the ones that have blindly submitted to that notion will believe ANYTHING you say.

http://www.sixsongsof.me/Playlist/SixSongs/buddha.christ,30048,29972