I love music. I know a lot of music. As a matter of fact, a lot of my friends call me for their musical needs. Oh, no. Not to play or sing. Although, I do love belting out “Proud Mary” and “Bobby McGee” on the karaoke circuit. It’s sad really. It’s where I live out the “what if” factor. What if I had become the Britney Spears of the eighties? Never mind.
Anyway, some of my friends call me when they need some ideas for a song for this or a song for that. And, I bring it. ‘Cause I love music. Although, two kids and age are beginning to interfere with my musical knowledge base. I must overcome.
I’ll never forget my first cassette player. It looked something like this.

I would hold it up to a radio and as soon as a favorite song came on, I simultaneously pressed the “Record” and “Play” buttons. Memba that? Of course, I always missed the first 10 seconds of the song, but that didn’t matter. I still sang and danced to my mix tape like it was 1985.
And, a single mix tape took H.O.U.R.S. to make. You pretty much had to stay cuddled up to your radio for as long as it took. But, once you finished, you had a flawless arrangement of Culture Club, Journey, Rick Springfield, and of course, The Police.
Fast forward a couple of years later. My parents gave me the most darling pink boombox for my thirteenth birthday. Yes. I said boombox. Not only did it have a cassette player, but it had a radio, too. The world of making a mix tape became revolutionized.
I will still make a mix tape. It’s an art. Now, I just select my music from my iTunes library and burn a CD. John Henry, my musical prodigy in the making, requests frequently for a new music CD. And, I don’t hesitate in making him one. Because, he has got the music in him. Yes, he does.
Now, a mix tape is called a playlist. Here are some songs on my most recent playlist:
“Burnin’ Up” – Jonas Brothers (I’d like to claim this one for my children. I said I’d like to.)
“Shake It” – Metro Station
“Viva la Vida” – Coldplay
“Hosanna” – Christy Nockels
“Dead Man’s Rope” – Sting (I know. No surprise here.)
“Hard to Say I’m Sorry” – Chicago (Don’t worry. I have an entirely separate playlist dedicated to Peter Cetera. ‘Cause I’m cool like that.)
“Show Me What You Got” – Jay-Z (The clean version. ‘Cause it’s a regular request from John Henry)
“Lost Without U” – Robin Thicke (It gets me all warm and fuzzy inside.)
“Healer” – Hillsong
“Feelin’ Alright” – Joe Cocker
“Seasons of Love” – Rent (I’m not kidding. I just recently fell in love it.)
Your turn to shake, shake, shake, shake uh shake it. What’s on your playlist?