Global Music Excavator – Music Muse

The lady knows her tunes

2010 Music Muse Top 20 Gems (Songs)

I don’t hail from some great musical background. I can’t even describe my musical taste outside of – if I like it, I know it, as soon as I hear it. I’m not one of those people that lets the music marinate – for me, the connection is either immediate or non-existent. If you found a mix tape from my early years, you’d find a compilation of artists stolen from my parent’s collection – Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynard, Elton John , The Eagles, and the Stones. My first tape request was George Michael’s Faith and my first concert was The Bangles at the Hollywood Bowl – both bestowed upon me at the age of 10. Having moved to the Midwest in the early 90s, my mix tapes in high school weighed heavy on the rap, r&b, and hip-hop scale. If I cruised by you in my Honda CRX you’d have heard Snoop Dogg, Coolio, Paperboy, Warren G, SWV, Boys II Men, Jodeci, House of Pain, Beastie Boys, or En Vogue (not kidding). Unless you caught me on a “lake day”, and then I was undoubtedly listening to Dave Matthews Band. My college days at UCLA led me further down the rap and hip-hop trail – with Dre, Snoop, Biggie, LL, Eminem, 2Pac, and Bone Thugs & Harmony providing the soundtrack. My move to Santa Barbara introduced me to the surf sounds of Jack Johnson & Ben Harper. It wasn’t until my career landed me in the alternative newspaper business that my musical tastes truly expanded – especially into Indie. My stint in Cleveland at Scene Magazine introduced me to The Black Keys, Dismemberment Plan, The Vines, Flaming Lips, Wilco, RJD2, and Bright Eyes. South Florida gave me The Strokes, Broken Social Scene, Zero 7, Modest Mouse, Brazilian Girls, Bebel Gilberto, Franz Ferdinand, and Outkast. When I finally moved back to LA and landed at LA Weekly, my mix tapes were predominantly indie rock and indie/folk. That’s when I met the man behind New Band Day – who loaded 2000 new songs onto my ipod and introduced me to some of my favorite bands of all time. I think that’s why I eventually married him. And that’s how I became his “music muse” – although, truth be told, he is the true music excavator in this couple.