Music Listening

I've discovered over the years that the music I prefer to listen to is generally music that means something to me in some ways. I don't usually choose music just for itself. It has to have a purpose or some greater meaning to my life. This could be music that reminds me of something I've done in the past (a trip I went on, a band piece I played, a dance, marching band show, or color guard show I performed or saw, an emotion I felt or am currently feeling, a movie, TV show, or play I've seen, a book I've read, etc.). The music I listen to crosses many different genres. Here's some example of some of the types of music I end up listening to:

• Movie or TV soundtracks- I've have tons of these, both instrumental scores and compilations of pop songs included in movies. I love listening to the music played in a movie or TV I enjoy because it's fun to think about how the words of each song or tone of instrumental pieces convey the mood and emotions of the story so well. Some of my favorites:
• Angels and Demons
• Center Stage
• The Chronicles of Narnia
• Downton Abbey
• Ella Enchanted
• Finding Neverland
• Glee
• Invictus
• The Lord of the Rings
• Merlin (BBC)
• Moulin Rouge
• Once Upon a Time (ABC)
• Peter Pan (2003)
• The Princess Diaries
• Titanic
• 13 Going on 30
• Broadway/Movie musical soundtracks- Whenever I see a musical play or movie I enjoy I love listening to it's songs again afterwards. I've always loved musicals and listening to their music is a way to relive the scenes I enjoyed in the play. This kind of music does a great job telling a clear story through song and the lyrics are often very witty or emotional. Favorites:
• Beauty and the Beast
• Cinderella (Rodgers' and Hammerstein)
• Hairspray
• Into the Woods
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid
• Little Women
• Mamma Mia!
• Mary Poppins
• Peter Pan
• Rent
• The Slipper and the Rose
• The Sound of Music
• West Side Story
• Wicked
• Classical- After several years in instrumental music (and in ballet as well) I developed a taste for classical music. I enjoy listening to various classical pieces that I have a connection to in some way through band, winterguard, or dance. Favorites:
• Recordings of concert band pieces I played in high school, particularly ones by composer Frank Ticheli
• "1812 Overture"- Tchaikovsky
• "Overture to 'Candide'"- Leonard Bernstein
• "Pictures at an Exhibition"- Mussorgsky
• "Carnival of the Animals"- Saint-Saens
• "Spring Concerto"- Vivaldi
• "The Moldau"- Bedrich Smetana
• Prokofiev's "Cinderella" ballet
• Tchaikovsky's ballets: "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake," and "Sleeping Beauty"
• Christian- My Catholic Christian faith has always been an important part of my life and during college I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ which introduced me to many powerful worship songs. I started to develop a taste for listening to Christian rock and more traditional Catholic hymns as well. In many ways music is the best way I learn about and connect to my faith. Favorite artists:
• Casting Crowns
• Chris Tomlin
• Hillsong
• John Michael Talbot (Catholic hymns)
• Steven Curtis Chapman
• New Age- Unusual sounding New Age music, especially the soundtracks of Cirque du Soleil shows was an acquired taste. The first time I heard it for a ballet routine in 5th grade I thought it was completely weird. But after listening to a song hundreds of times (as happens in dance) it grew on me. The sounds and repetitive melodies are actually very intriguing. (This kind of music makes for good winterguard shows by the way.) Other New Age artisst I enjoy are Imogen Heap and Enya.
• Miscellaneous- I do listen to quite a bit of mainstream popular music but I tend to buy this music as individual songs, something I heard on the radio, in a movie, on TV, at a social event, or a variety of other places that I connected to emotionally in some way. I do have a few full albums, usually given to me as a gift, but mostly individual songs. Here's some examples:
• Leeann Womack- "I Hope You Dance"
• Queen- "Bohemian Rhapsody"
• Chantal Kreviazuk- "Feels Like Home"
• Creed- "Higher"
• R.E.M.- "Everybody Hurts"
• My Chemical Romance- "Welcome to the Black Parade"
• Bon Jovi- "Livin' on a Prayer," "Wanted Dead or Alive"
• The Goo Goo Dolls- "Iris"
• Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova- "Falling Slowly" (from the movie "Once")
• Lady GaGa- "Just Dance," "The Edge of Glory"
• Belinda Carlisle- "Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
• Taylor Swift- "Love Story," "You Belong with Me," "A Place in This World," "Enchanted," "Long Live," "Today Was a Fairytale"
• Madonna- "Ray of Light," "Dear Jessie"
• K'naan- "Waving Flag"
• Journey- "Don't Stop Believing," "Any Way You Want It"
• Black Eyed Peas- "I Gotta Feeling"
• Coldplay- "Clocks," "Viva la Vida," "Fix You"
• Michael Tolcher- "Kings in Castles"
• Katy Perry- "Firework"
• OneRepublic- "Marchin On"
• Mumford & Sons- "After the Storm"
• Natasha Bedingfield- "Unwritten," "Wild Horses"
• Dixie Chicks- "Landslide," "Cowboy Take Me Away"
• Beyonce- "Single Ladies," "Halo"
• Earth, Wind & Fire- "September"
• Shakira- "Waka Waka"
• Other songs from the 2010 Official World Cup album