An Intro To A to Z 2014: The Songs

I came up with the idea for this last July while I was doing The Ultimate Blog Challenge. I was walking my dog with my iPod on shuffle mode when Today by The Smashing Pumpkins came on. I was instantly transported to the first time I ever heard it, when I was a teenager, and  I was struck by how awesome it still is every single time I hear it all these years later. Then I got to thinking about other songs that have the same effect on me and realized there are a lot of them. Music has always been a tremendous force in my life and a part of my personal support system but I haven't written about it much. I thought it would be cool to write about these songs that move me, because there are a lot of great stories there too, but at that point I was already into the current blogging challenge. The idea rolled around in my head for a while, then in October it occurred to me that the A to Z Challenge was six months away and that would be an awesome opportunity to highlight the songs I'd been wanting to write about!

As I listened to music and had ideas over the next few months, I'd jot song titles down and eventually narrowed it down to one song per letter of the alphabet. It took time; some letters had lots of contenders while some had one obvious choice, a couple drew a blank for me initially and one came down to a tie so close I simply couldn't choose. I made a playlist of my choices and spent a lot of time listening to the songs and taking notes. It was fun to spend time with the songs in a way that I hadn't before, absorbing all the lyrics and processing any memories I have associated with the song, really taking a look at what makes it so special to me. I know that when you read my essays, these particular songs may not reach out to you, but if you are a music lover you will be able to appreciate what I'm talking about. You will have your own play list of songs that have spoken to you and helped you through life. That's what I want to acknowledge here, that music has the ability to do this for so many of us.

Whenever possible, I've put the official video for a song at the end of its post. Because I grew up in the hey day of MTV some of the videos play a role in the song's significance in my life. If the video wasn't available on YouTube, I chose whatever was there that I found most appropriate. I had a ton of fun doing this! I hope you enjoy my month of tribute to the songs that have moved me and that it inspires you to think about the music that moves you as well, and maybe it will even introduce you to some new music!