As a subscriber to Esquire, I've enjoyed some of their latest features that showcase "star" columnists who donate a few paragraphs monthly - George Foreman and John Mayer are the two that come to mind. John Mayer writes a little article each month called "Music Lessons with John Mayer" and I'm liking this guy more and more each month. I went to a concert in the summer of 2003 with him and The Counting Crows and still count it as one of the best all-time concerts I've been to. Last month, he wrote an article entitled "This Is Your Life, the Mix Tape" and I read it with fascination. The gist of the article is that he was listening to old music on his XM radio and got to thinking about where his dad was in life when he heard certain songs for the first time. So he got in touch with his dad and asked for a list of songs that he remembered most from his youth.

After reading the article a few times I knew I had to do this with my dad so when our next regularly scheduled phone call was up (our Thursday night call) I asked him to think about it and get back to me the next week. He did and I went to work pulling as much as I could from iTunes and the rest from various other unnamed sources, which as you can guess shall remain nameless. I put it together and burned it to CD and sent him a copy in the mail. I burned myself a CD as well and have been listening to it in the car to and from work. It really is incredible to hear the music that shaped his life growing up and knowing from him not only what songs he liked, but why that song affected his life in a certain way. It introduced me not only to new music (well, new to me) but also to the depths of my dad in ways that words just can't. I recommend you talk to your parents and do this with them. It will open your eyes to who they are as people and you'll be able to capture the soundtrack of their life and share it with them in a very cool gesture of giving. They did give you life and put up with your bullshit for 20 years - it's the least you can do!

Side Note: The Schoolhouse Rock Archive. Some of their crazy music would have to be in my life's soundtrack, as well as many other Gen-Xers. I'm thinking specifically of "Conjunction Junction, what's your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses..." (Full Conjunction Lyrics)