Sunday, September 17, 2006

These are a few of my favorite things

A few years ago, a good friend of mine from college was in town on business, so of course, we hung out and road-tripped all over the state. At the time, one of my favorite CDs -- Sarah Brightman -- was in my car's CD player. He was very patient and didn't mind that I had it on repeat pretty much the entire time he was here. The same friend returned a few months later and was dismayed! horrified! aghast! to discover the SAME CD in my car's CD player. On our roadtrip down to the Big City to the Southeast, he insisted the CD had to go. "No more," he said, "I can't take any more Sarah Brightman."

So here's the thing. I like music, but there is some music I LOVE and has never, ever gotten tired of. I've had the same CD in my alarm clock for the last... 18 months or so. Yes, that's right, I get up to the same song every single day. I've had the same CD in the stereo in the living room for at least the last few weeks. The car's CD player gets a little more change because I go on some long drives and depending on how long the original CD's been in the player, I may have already heard that CD 80 million times and it's time for a change. The thing is, once I change a CD, chances are, that CD will stay until my next long roadtrip. I'm nothing, if not consistent.

Anyway, here are some of my all-time favorite CDs, the ones I've not yet tired of, despite having them for years. I recommend these whole-heartedly :-)
  • Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos -- A friend lent this to me during my first semester at college, and I made a tape of the CD. Later, I wore the tape out and ended up buying the CD. More than 10 years later, this is still one of my favorite CDs and I never get tired of it because it's just so raw, emotional, and lyrically beautiful.
  • Made in England by Elton John -- Strangely, my favorite songs on the CD are not the ones that made the radio, but rather the more haunting "Belfast", poignant "Latitude", and the sweetly romantic "Please". This is just another CD that the more I hear it, the more I get out of it, and every playing is like I'm hearing it for the first time.
  • Time to Say Good Bye by Sarah Brightman -- I own every one of Sarah Brightman's releases, but this is one of my favorites, and I think it's the richest and soaring of all of the releases. It starts with the absolute gorgeous and romantic "Time to Say Good Bye (Con te se partiro)", her duet with Andrea Bocelli. My favorite, however, would be the passionate "Just Show Me How to Love You", performed with Jose Cura.
  • Cieli di Toscana by Andrea Bocelli -- I have several of Bocelli's CDs, but this one is my favorite, because it's so much more dramatic than the others. I love music that ebs and flows, that rises and falls, and the first few tracks of this CD do exactly that. His duet with Helena on "L'Abitudine" is one of my favorites.

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