The Baton stops here

Well, the baton has been passed to me, but, unfortunately, I only have two blogs that I frequent, and both friends have already been handed the baton. Well, here I go:

Amount of music on your computer?

I'm an embarrassment to my "love of music" claim. I have no music on my computer. I once had about 25 songs and then my computer crashed and I couldn't deal with running from the law any more and I stopped downloading free music, haven't downloaded since.

Currently listening to?

Something's Gotta Give - Sammy Davis, Jr. Off the What Women Want Motion picture soundtrack - very good CD if you like Frank and the Rat Pack music.

Five songs that mean a lot to you?

1. My Girl by The Temptations - My parents brought me up on Motown. This song is one of my Dad's favorites and he loves to sing along and sing to his "girls". It was also my sisters Father-Daughter dance at her wedding. awwwwww, besides, I think it's one of the best songs ever written and sung.

2. The very Thought of You - Billie Holliday. Ever since I saw the movie "Forever Young" I absolutely love this song. It's beautiful, romantic, and it's got that Billie Holliday sound that is so amazing. It makes me think of lying in the grass on a spring day and staring at clouds passing by. It just makes me happy.

3. Carolina on My Mind - John Taylor. For obvious reasons. Davidson will always be my home. I have the most amazing memories of my time in North Carolina, I even teared up the other day when I was thinking of the beautiful time I spent walking around campus by myself, taking it all in. I was leaving my last CPA exam in Charlotte and knew it would be my last opportunity to see that gorgeous campus for a long time. This song played in my head the entire time.

4. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews Sisters. I love this song, it's an all-time great song from one of my favorite cultural time periods. I also sang this song in my Chamber Singers class in high school, a selective all-female choral group.

5. Closing Time - Semisonic. This one is pretty random, but so many songs hold so much meaning for me, that I just randomly chose this one. It's kind of an odd story, but it all goes back to Freshman year at Davidson. It was November and Davidson was playing Duke at the Charlotte coliseum. I drove three of my friends from my freshman hall to the game and we were on our way home. (At this time, I was just starting to see my first ever boyfriend -beside the point). We were stuck in traffic in the parking lot and this song game on the radio. My two friends, Hannah and Ann, were sitting in the back seat and started screaming out the words to this song. In the down beat between "I know who I want to take me home" the two of them started screaming "GRETCHEN". It may sound odd, but I felt like I belonged. Like I fit in. They were being silly and I loved it. Davidson was a good fit for me. I met a lot of people there who "got" me. They weren't all just like me, but they understood me and liked me. I could be myself and have tons of friends. In high school I was myself and had a few friends, in college I was myself and had tons and tons of friends. I knew it from my first week at Davidson when I won the hool-a-hoop face off and secured first place for my freshman hall in the freshman Olympics. But at that moment in the car, I didn't feel like they were using me for my car (such as it was) or just singing a silly song. I knew I belonged.

Top five albums?

1. Sleepless in Seattle Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - the most beautiful, relaxing, and romantic album out there (in my-oh so humble opinion)

2. Remember the Titans Original Motion Picture counteract - Classic 60s music (motown and such)

3. The Beatles One - Needs no explanation. It's THE BEATLES at their best!

4. The Andrew Sisters All Time Favorites - Such a happy album!

5. Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt. A great pump up album. However, I have left my favorite band off this list so I will add a number 6. Rock Spectacle - Barenaked Ladies

Last album bought?

Sad to say, I can't even remember the last time I actually bought a CD. For Christmas I got all the CD's I wanted from my wish list (My dad doesn't understand moderation sometimes). I guess my favorite of those is Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years, an excellent album with the best of his songs, makes you want to go dancing under the stars (my mom got this CD about 6 years ago and it still hasn't left her car, then my sister bought the CD and now I have it as well).
Oh, oh, I just remembered the last CD I bought was Evereything to Everyone - BareNaked Ladies. Love it, bought it a little over a year ago ( 1 year and 2 weeks) as a present to my self after completing my last CPA exam (for the first go-round) and was on my way to the airport to pick up my dad, who was driving with me as I moved from North Carolina to Dallas, Texas.

Recent discoveries?

As I said before, I am embaressed to admit I haven't been buying much music lately. However, recently, my new interests are The Killers - I really like their sound, and Joss Stone, I know she's been around for a while, but I found myself singing this one song of hers a little while ago an I couldn't get it out of my head: Super Duper Love. Oh and I've been obsessive over certain songs by Mr. John Mayer over the past year as well.

And the baton goes to:

:( :( - No one. As I said before, my only frequented blogs are Susan and Brenna, and both have already taken the baton and passed it on. :) Thanks Susan, this was quite fun and a great change of pace for my bolg.

Peace and love to all....
P.S. Susan......you go girl