Lust For Life

Snow happened overnight, and Finland is covered in white for one of the first times this winter. I hope it passes quickly and goes back to being spring. I had the adorable Anu with me to Sebastian's place on Saturday, it was very nice and I was home in good time for a good night's sleep. Swedish aquavit is to prefer if the alternative is Danish aquavit. Today I got a chance to experience some Monkeyhouse cooking, and I am a believer.

Todays' topic is a purely musical one.
My mother mainly dealt with my musical upbringing. My father listened to music as well, but it was mostly Baccara, Cliff Richard or himself playing Beatles tunes on an out-of-tune guitar. Also, you have no idea how often I had to sit through Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel. Always a charmer.

One of the neatest things about learning to love music would be when, on dark, stormy nights, my mother and I would turn off all the lights, light candles and lie on the floor listening to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. There is still, to this day, nothing I can imagine would be more soothing. Favorites like Water Music and Fireworks Music by Händel, Vivaldi's Four Seasons and most of Beethoven's work were intervowen with great artists like Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Nat "King" Cole and his daughter Natalie, The Righteous Brothers, Roy Orbison, Marvin Gaye, Dolly Parton and Chuck Berry.

My first LP was Dollie de Lux' Which Witch album, which was quite good. After that a rather more conspicuous period followed, with Milli Vanilli and Michael Jackson's Dangerous. On cassettes I would have Vikingarna neatly stacked up alongside Prince & the new Power Generation, Paula Abdul, NKOTB and Roxette. I would make mixtapes at every chance I got, often recording tunes from the radio. Wish I had some of those still.

My first ever CD was Crash! Boom! Bang! by Roxette. I got it for my birthday, alongside Carrie by Stephen King, and I still can not listen to that record without reliving the first time I read that book. Celine Dion followed, and I was a true disciple of hers until 1999, when her Christmas record finally poured petrol on my passion for her voice and lit a match. *poof*! it went. She wasn't a bad artist to grow up with, though.

I had quite a few records in my collection before my real fascination with albums started around -98. Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral, Garbage's Version 2.0 and Manson's Mechanical Animals sidetracked me from my hang-ups with ballads, and my love for indie/alternative/industrial was born. I constantly find new records I like and let live with me, but rarely does anything measure up the the first throes of musical glee :)

I really miss making those mix tapes...