#musicdiary2012 - Day 1

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Fact: I am a sucker for excellent music hashtags on Twitter. Things like #tourstories and #2011musictaughtme have inspired past posts, and the #replaceabandnamewithblank trends always make me smirk and appreciate the wittiness of my fellow Twitterites.

This morning when I got on Twitter before starting my work day and saw @NPRMusic's Tweet about #musicdiary2012, I was intrigued - even more so after I read the original post and learned what it was: music fans everywhere spending one week documenting what they listen to on a daily basis and, more importantly, why.

I've been an avid user of last.fm for years. I love that music has the unique ability to transport you back to a specific moment or memory so easily that it's like you're re-living it through song. It's cool to have a little corner of the webosphere to document your music habits through the years because I think it tells a unique story about your journey through life.

So for the next week, follow my daily musical journey and let's see where I end up. Are you participating via blog, Twitter, Tumblr? Share your link in the comments. Click "Read more" to see my #musicdiary2012 for day 1.


Day 1 - Monday, May 7


7:38 a.m. On my drive to work, I cue up The Format's B-side "Janet" on my iPod because the line just something 'bout the Midwest honey, oh it makes me miss you more than a lot has been stuck in my head all morning. I'm headed up to Tulsa, Oklahoma - my musical home - later this week and I agree...there's just something about the Midwest, honey. During my time living in Tulsa, local music was always so purely rock & roll and I attribute that to the corn-fed all-American living style of the Midwest.

"Janet" leads to a shuffle play of all The Format songs in my collection - special attention paid to their cover of The Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "The First Single" - which I blare and sing along to like my life depends on it because it makes me feel...everything.

8:34 a.m. After the Format-fest in the car, I settle in at my desk for the morning, open Spotify and listen to "Interventions and Lullabies" front to back. It's one of my defining albums that I return to when I'm in a musical 'back to basics' mode.

10:23 a.m. As inspiration for another writing project, I asked my friends to recommend songs about music for a playlist I wanted to create over the weekend. I add their suggestions and begin my first listen through. I've never been a big Weezer fan, save that month in college I played Pinkerton like crazy, but I'm completely taken with "Heart Songs" which my friend Sharon recommended. Gordon Lightfoot is one of my dad's favorite artists, so I have a soft spot for him - any song that opens Gordon Lightfoot sang a song about a boat that sake / In the lake at the break of morning is gonna win me over instantly. Another new favorite is Michael Jackson's "Music and Me" as suggested by Doriean.

This is one of the things I love about music and why I don't mind that I don't know every song ever - it's fun discovering new tunes.

(And I'm still looking for suggestions - Tweet em to me. You can find me and my playlist on Spotify under the username thegoodgroupie.)

3:47 p.m. I've only recently discovered the beauty of iTunes Genius. (Late to the party, always.) My iPod has been putting together some really great mixes utilizing this lately. I want music while I work, but I can't think of an album I want, so I pull up The Format again on my iPod and click 'start Genius' using "A Mess to be Made." What comes up is a beautiful collection of Limbeck, Steel Train, Ben Kweller, The Hush Sound, Guster and more. It's a perfect mix of upbeat indie tunes to help me focus on figuring out a crazy online PR tracking system for work that has more ins and outs than the state of California. I hate myself for not bothering to use this function sooner.

5:01 p.m. I jump in the car to head to job #2 - the Format Genius mix continues. Copeland pops up several times, and I find myself regretting never listening to them when the band was together.

6:27 p.m. I work in the evenings for one of my friends as her assistant - filing paperwork, filling out Excel spreadsheets...the kind of work that always needs a soundtrack.

"What should we listen to?" Amanda asks.

"Something good since I'm blogging it!" I tell her.

She chooses Matt Nathanson - the perfect background music. Upbeat but melodic enough to fade into the background. Eventually we move on to Matthew Sweet - I assume because he comes up next in her iTunes library. More great tunes for all the filing of invoices I have to do before calling it a night and heading home.