Your life, the soundtrack.

You are making a feature film about your life. What songs do you select for the soundtrack? You'll want at least one song for each major stage of your life, the highs and lows, significant relationships, educational and career milestones, etc.

It starts with Mickey Mouse Disco, 1979. That's the first record I remember listening to over and over. The theme songs from Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider would come next, followed by - I know you had a copy of this, too - The Thriller album. We can wrap up the eighties with Axel F - the theme from Beverly Hills Cop - the first song I learned by ear and showed me playing the piano can actually be fun (which it still is).

Fast forward to high school so I can embarrass myself with titles such as Keep on Movin, It Takes 2, and Bust a Move. By the time I was out of high school, U2's Joshua Tree was constantly in the Discman. From then on (and still today) it became transitional/travelling music. Whenever I was on a long road trip or going somewhere new, U2 was along for the ride. Still the best album ever.

College was grunge: Pearl Jam's Ten album - the whole thing ought to do it. Late nineties would be a few songs from the ska band I was in, the Jinkies. I was 24, had a "real job" and I was in a band outside of school. At that moment I felt like I had made it. Funny what silly things you think when you're 24.

The soundtrack of my life for the past 5 years or so would be an odd mix between chilled out funk from the Meters, chilled out ska from the Skatalites, and chilled out electronica from Groove Armada and St. Germain, among others.

Last week I picked up 3 new titles in the funk and soul category: Budos Band II, Stanton Moore III, and Greyboy Allstars' What Happened to Television? I highly recommend all 3.

Aaron, Lee, Jodi, it's your turn. And pass it on.