A Song for Every Memory

Music, in a way, defines one's personality and individuality. For me, it's the perfect remedy to just about anything.

One time, a new-found friend invited me over to come to her birthday party. Since I didn't want to show up empty-handed, I went out to scout a gift for her. Trivia: I'm a lousy gift-giver. So to be on the safe side, my default gifts always have something to do with music and books. For this particular friend of mine, I decided to get her an audio CD. But of who?! I didn't know her music taste. Thanks to Friendster, I learned she prefers pop. Suits her.

[sidebar: There I go again! Sidetracked! Argh! I just had another change-topic attack.]

I thought about some songs that I've baptized as my very own banner themes for memorable events. Here's my list (first of two parts):


Set You Free (SIDE A). Was included in the very first SIDE A album I acquired from begging (my mom).

Friends Are There (Theme from Garfield and Friends). One Anthropology class (folk traditions) in graduate school. My oral report/term paper was about pulutan (i.e., pick-up food). To illustrate the idea that Filipinos love to experiment on food, I posted the pictures of Garfield and his friends up on the board on the day of my report. I recall how Vincent and I mastered the art of silent cackling by cupping our mouths so as not to annoy our seatmates in the library.

Voices that Care (various artists). There was an event during my freshman year in college wherein that cute guy I had a crush on, interpreted this song along with a group of upperclassmen. He did the rapping part...The following semester, we were classmates in Social Dance. I was so close to becoming his dancing partner. But there, just close :-(

Losing My Religion (REM). I don't remember how many times I put off Manuel from squeaking this song.

Love Moves in Mysterious Ways (Julia Fordham). Long before Nina (a local singer) sabotaged this song, I did the sabotaging first. A friend begged me to sing at her wedding, and this was my milestone wedding song. I didn't know how she got me to do it, but I just remember pigging out in the feast right after putting down the microphone. I screwed up the first two stanzas and then blended in with the well-wishers like nothing happened.

Sugar Rush (A*Teens). Vincent. He e-mailed the .mp3 file to me. I danced to it while doing my laundry in Erasmushome.

Pieces of Me (Ashley Simpson). I didn't like the singer, but I remember sprinting to the toilet for a go and then back again to my room in less than a minute, just so I can sing along with my clock radio. I made it just in time for the first chorus! Hahaha!!!

Everybody's Changing (Keane). Orlando and I used to sing this song together during our last days in Belgium. We replace "changing" with "schengen". Our visas were doomed to expire in a week's time by then. Hehehe.

Cold Summer Nights (Francis M.). I was blindfolded when I sang this, LITERALLY. I was a freshman applicant of a college-based org and I made them (the members) sing along with me. They said I was one of the two in my batch who passed the first screening. Half-way through the second week, I quit. A year later, I shifted to another college. And then to another. Now, I'm a librarian. Francis M. could've been instrumental to my professional growth without him knowing it.

Summer Sunshine and Breathless (The Corrs). EuroDisney. On board the train going back to the city center from Marne-la-Valle Chessey. I made sure nobody sat beside me because I was resolved that whoever that may be, s/he’d either transfer to the next coach or get off at the next stop anyway. Go figure.


More songs to come...