Soundtrack for 2011

It’s a little strange when the iTunes playlist rolls from an Ella Fitzgerld and Louis Armstrong Broadway tune to Wham’s Last Christmas. Despite the awful transitions, anyone who knows me well can easily trace the ups and downs of my life and emotions over the last 12 months, and those who don’t would gain a little insight.

And for me personally, it’s like apparating back in time and reliving everything. I think it’s the best idea ever, and have one Meghan (with an H) to thank for it. I’d advise all of you to make a 2012 playlist by adding songs throughout the year as they occur: songs that keep popping up, songs that just seem to be everywhere and you love, songs that really strike a chord, and songs that have a special meaning.

If for some reason you feel like listening to Rebecca in 2011, I put the whole playlist on 8tracks. It’s a little schizo, but I guess that’s how the year rolled.

Happy New Year! And if you’re reading this when it posts in the United States, know that I’m wishing you the best possible ending to 2011 from … the FUTURE. Where I am drinking champagne lakeside in Les Vosges.

More Music

If circumstances were different, my extended family could have been the next Von Trapp Family Singers. Summer family reunions with my mother’s side of the family always involved at least one night crowded into a lodge hall or outdoor gazebo, armed with guitars and MacDonald Family Reunion songbooks. It turns out that this was good training for travel.

Musical Travel

Gelterkinden, where I forgot to frown. And remembered, again.

As “Stuff White People Like” once harshly reminded me, people who travel really like to talk about it. Those who don’t travel often seem to think this is bragging. I personally love to hear other people’s travel stories, and in particular have warm and fuzzy feelings about songs and movies based on a trip or a city. When faced with a whole world of places I want to see, sometimes the easiest way to choose is based on a song you really like.