This last year was one of travel. I was in New York from January to April; back in Waterloo from May to August; then Sydney from September to Christmas. Each time with its own music: unrelated songs but that I’d been listening to them at that time. That’s how I am with music… obsessive. A short list of songs over and over, with high turnover. The result is music that becomes burned into my consciousness, tied to the people and places of a particular time period.

### From New York

* Frank Sinatra – [Fly Me To The Moon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_Me_To_The_Moon)
* The Foundations – [Build Me Up Buttercup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_Me_Up_Buttercup)
* [Kingsbury Manx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsbury_Manx) – 900 Years
* [Norah Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norah_Jones) – Creepin’ In
* Aerosmith – [Blind Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Man)

I bought that Sinatra compilation at the Times Square Virgin the first day I arrived in New York, and eventually gave it away as a gift. The Aerosmith best-of album made great listening on the clangy NYC subway. I think I picked up that Norah Jones CD to prep a bit for when I heard her playing live at a bar in Gramercy. I wouldn’t turn twenty-one until June, but they weren’t carding that night, and a kind stranger even bought me a drink.

### From Waterloo

* [Susan Cagle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Cagle) – Manhattan Cowboy
* Matthew Sweet – [Girlfriend](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girlfriend_%28Matthew_Sweet_song%29)
* Kansas – [Carry On Wayward Son](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_Wayward_Son)
* [The Seatbelts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seatbelts) – Ask DNA
* ZZ Top – [Sharp Dressed Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharp_Dressed_Man)

The summer was dominated by tracks featured in the Guitar Hero games, which saw fairly consistent usage at the house I was in. I had seen Susan Cagle performing in the Union Square station my very last morning in New York, on the way to the airport. I ended up being early for my flight home and regretted not staying longer to hear, but tried to compensate by listening to her CD all summer.

### From Sydney

* [Little Birdy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Birdy) – Come On, Come On
* [Blind Faith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Faith) – Can’t Find My Way Home
* Rolling Stones – [She's A Rainbow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27s_a_Rainbow)
* [4hero](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4hero) – Les Fleurs
* The Andrews Sisters – [Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie_Woogie_Bugle_Boy)

A mixed bag here. I had a handful of Stones songs in my library previously, but somehow missed out on *She’s a Rainbow* until recently; I encountered it through the gorgeous [Sony Bravia ad campaign](http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=P9aALd3wVT0) that was playing on Australian television. The Little Birdy song was covered by a contestant on *Australian Idol*, and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy I heard played at a dance, and makes for terrific Balboa.

Being in the co-op programme at Waterloo has meant that my life for the past few years has been neatly divisible into wildly varying four-month chunks. It’s an interesting experience to sort my MP3 library by date added, scroll to some random point, and see what memories a particular set of songs can evoke.

Mike

← Earlier Later → Posted at 2:27 am to Culture, Music.