Music and Family

 All Things 80s...And Then Some 

My mom was born in 1970, so she experienced the movie-like teenage years in the 80s. You know those movies about high schoolers in the 80s where everyone’s hair is curly, colors are a little bit brighter, and everyone seems to get along? My mom lived that. I inherited my live music-loving personality from her. She has seen countless bands that many would kill to have seen, like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, U2, R.E.M., Yes, They Might Be Giants,  B.B. King, Dave Matthews Band, Van Halen, and Mt. Joy. No wonder I’m a music major. 

I asked her about her earliest memory of music, and she recalled a family cassette tape of a tiny Sara Samosky singing a song with the lyrics “everybody come and get me!”. I’ve actually heard her sing that a lot growing up, so it’s cute to know that it’s her earliest musical memory. 

I then asked about her favorite artists growing up. Naturally, she “always liked David Bowie. Specifically old David Bowie”. The cure, Depeche Mode, Indigo Girls! Numerous times.” The Indigo Girls being one of her favorite groups struck my heart strings because during Covid I saw them live with her, and it was an unforgettable experience. Everyone had been homebound for quite some time, so it was just so exciting to get to go out and see one of her favorite artists of all time live, right in front of us. Of course every family had their own little six foot block to stay socially distanced, but that makes the memory all the more special for me. 

My mom, lil sister, me, and our next door neighbor at the Indigo Girls concert

She couldn't pick just one favorite Bowie song, but here is one of her top choices.

I then asked a more meaningful question, “How did music impact your childhood and upbringing?”. She reminisced about singing country music, gospel music, bluegrass, The Statler Brothers, and all sorts of music in the car with her mom. This made me smile because some of my fondest memories are of her driving us to West Virginia to see our family, waving around my favorite stuffies as they danced to “Mercy” by Duffy, lots of Adele, Walk Off The Earth, and some of my other favorite bands from my childhood. My mom also mentions how much she loved to sing in church, despite never being in the choir. Another thing we both have in common here is girl scout camp! She has happy memories of singing camp sounds around the campfire at girl scout camp, and I hold the same memories too. One other way music impacted her growing up was in college, spending a lot of time at a bar called Bogarts in Cincinnati with her friends. She saw countless musicians live there. Thinking about all these experiences led her to say, “I really love live music. I just like to go.”

My mom's favorite Indigo Girls song

Something I admire about my mom is her openness to new experiences, culture, and music. She is always very receptive when I show her the music I’ve been listening to, and she loves to pick up new music from NPR, movies, TV shows, and the likes. One of her (and my) all time favorite songs is “Reboot The Mission” by The Wallflowers. Where did she hear it? NPR!

Test Song

Growing up, when I had a big test coming up, my mom (who is a pretty well-known geneticist) told me about her “test song”, “Superman” by R.E.M. She said she listened to it before big tests and it got her through multiple degrees and board certifications. I’ve carried this with me my whole life, and when I get super stressed out, feeling like I’m stretched too thin, I like to listen to her test song too. 

My mom is the coolest person ever 

For my sixteenth birthday, all I wanted was to see Post Malone live in Columbia. I was probably his number one fan at the time. My mom didn’t even bat an eye, and we were on our way. I mean, whose mom takes them to see Post Malone? This was on February 29th, 2020. It ended up being his last live concert before Covid hit the US and shut everything down. I am so lucky to have had this experience. My mom is so cool, and I’m really glad I got to talk to her about all things music.

My family and a couple of my friends on the way to the concert 

One of my many videos from the Post Malone concert