"Underneath that August sky wondering what went wrong, counting all the ways that I have grown"

The first musical album I ever bought was The Bodyguard Soundtrack. I couldn't get enough of I will Always Love You sung by Whitney Houston. It was a cassette tape and I bought it at a music store in Chicago. I must have been eight or nine at the time. The A side had a few Whitney Houston Songs while the B side had some other stuff, Aaron Neville, I remember specifically. And another song called What's so Funny About (peace, love, and understanding). I still have the cassette under my bed at my childhood home or "Home Home" as I refer to it these days. When I'm at Home Home I call The Lounge home. The subject of homes is for another day.

At the beginning of the Free Willy videotape Michael Jackson sings You are Not Alone. The song is on the soundtrack and when I put in the VHS, I was hooked. The first cassette single I ever bought was that song. I'm not sure, which came first the single or The Bodyguard Soundtrack, but growing up I usually bought singles: Take That, Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls, the Gin Blossoms - a lot of the songs I would buy and eventually end up getting the whole album.

I wasn't given a lot of music as a child. I remember liking the Beach Boys and being given a tape of Hermans Hermits. Instead of The Beatles, my parents gave me Herman's Hermits. I still prefer the music of the Hermits today.

It wasn't until Christmas 1995 that I bought my first CD after getting a CD player for Christmas: Blessid Union of Souls - Home. A good album with a few great songs. It wasn't long before I was hooked. I bought a few more albums over the next few months that I specifically recall: Elton John - Believe, Natalie Merchant - Tigerlilly, then in the summer at Myrtle Beach, Deep Blue Something - Home. I could probably still sing the entire Deep Blue Something album by memory although I've only listened to it twice probably in the past five years. There were undoubtedly a few more sprinkled into the mix in the first six months.

Ten years later I have over 200 albums. I never got into downloading music, so I've continued buying albums all along. It averages out to an ablum every 2.5 weeks or so, I suppose. I love music. Anyone who spends anytime with me, could tell you that I rarely do not have music on, when it's available. I love listening to it, reading the lyrics, supporting my favorite groups, sharing it and going to concerts. Live music is like a drug to me. After a good night of live music, whether it's Dave Matthews Band with 17,000 other fans, or JEM at Birdy's bar with 100 other people, a good show leaves me feeling wonderful, waiting for the next.

Perhaps its the untold story behind songs, the application I make with a song, the ability of the song to put me to sleep in an instant or wake me up feeling happy. Perhaps it's the feel of opening up an anticipated album and playing it for the first time, not wanting to be interrupted. Just wanting to enjoy the music. Perhaps its the feeling I get when I play a song that instantly brings me back to a place and time. In my dreamlife, I would tour the country playing music for a living.

I would rather be blind than deaf. I can't imagine life without music. From the first (The Bodyguard Soundtrack) to the last (Dave Matthews Band's latest: Stand Up) and 200+ albums inbetween, I'm 21 years old with a lifetime of music ahead of me.

Song of the Day: November - Mike Garrigan