A Musical Biography, Part One

I have always loved music. If you know me well, you know I love to dance, and I can usually pick out the song you're trying to think of -- although there are periods of time where I devote myself solely to one CD.

It's hard for me to place what attracts me to a song. If I had to guess, it's probably the song's rhythm or some creative lyrics--perhaps a melody that triggers an emotion--I have always been attracted to the music that makes me feel something, whether it be happy, sad, or ... ahem.

Most of my lifetime memories begin in South Korea, where I lived for two years. We had these cool tapes made especially for the South Korean market--I remember Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston tapes (hey, I have an older sister). All I knew then at age 6 was that I liked music, my brother and sister loved it, and it was unclear exactly what Billie Jean's relationship was with Michael. Apparently, she's just a girl who think that he's the one, but he claims the kid is not his son. I was a little young to understand the scenario, so I took Michael's word for it.

Arriving back in the U.S. wasn't too much of a shellshock for me, and I soon overheard U2, New Order, and LL Cool J from my brother's room--three groups I still appreciate today. From age 7-13, it's a little fuzzy, but I know old-school rap quickly emerged into my tape collection. Who sticks out? ABC (Another Bad Company), Boyz II Men, Arrested Development (who just thought 'T-Tennessee..' in their head?), Onyx, Wrecx n Effect (sp.?), Sir Mixalot, Kriss Kross, House Of Pain all come to mind. My friend and I even rapped to Nice N Smooth's ("Sometimes I Rhyme Slow.")

Certainly, at 13, my high-quality music taste had to evolve into something, right? That something was grunge, a style of music I was introduced to somewhere you wouldn't expect...camping with the Boy Scouts. Tomorrow: Part Two of my musical biography.