However, I know that there have been times in my life where music was my lifeline. I have had days where it felt as though the only thing that could get me through that tough time was that one song, that one album, that one chord, that one beat.
And the intensity of my love is not reserved only for those bad days. Some of my best of times have been accompanied by extraordinary soundtracks as well. One of which I will talk about in this entry.
I breathe music, feed on music, I live on music. It has been a lifeline of mine since as long as I can remember. I believe that this part of me comes from both the nature and nurture of my family, which is full of musicians and geeks like me.
If there was ever anything that I can get really "geeked" out about, it's the latest and the greatest of the indie, alt-country, bluegrass, or folk scene. (Although I do use these genre terms to describe different bands, I will be the first to tell you that I don't like to "categorize" or "label" an artist. Mostly because their styles can change and surprise overnight.)
That being said, it was no surprise to my husband when I began to compile a list of songs to accompany us over the tiny speakers of our iPod player during one of the biggest days of our lives; the birth of our son, Dylan.
Oh, and while I'm talking about Dylan, have I ever mentioned that he is named after one of the greatest? Yes, that Dylan. Bob.
Neither Dave, nor I can remember what song was playing when our sweet baby came into this world but we do recall really enjoying having the music in the background while I labored and he coached. For me, it was soothing and comforting in the way a warm bath can be. For him, it was relaxing and a good distraction during some of the more intense parts of a contraction when he couldn't (even though he wanted to) take the pain away.
While I was pushing, I listened to the music and tried to list the name of each song and artist in my head, along with some random trivia that I knew about that particular artist. This was my own form of "visualization" and it began to trickle out of my mouth and into some of the funnier conversations that were being whispered in the delivery room.
After pushing for nearly two hours, I was exhausted and began to either fall asleep or go into a crazy state of delirium in between contractions. During one impending contraction, my eyes popped open after a three second state of unconsciousness and I blurted out, "Whoa. I just had a dream that Nick Drake and Thom Yorke were friends." The room was quiet. Dave chuckled and shook his head. And everyone else looked at me inquisitively, as though I had worms crawling out of my skull.
For any other music geeks out there you know that it is nearly impossible that Thom Yorke and Nick Drake would have ever even crossed paths as Drake had given all the music he could to this world before tragically passing away in 1974, when Thom Yorke (lead singer of Radiohead) was only six.
This random fact helped me push my way through that contraction, getting us one step closer to seeing our baby boy. All the while, Nick Drake's beautiful and haunting "Pink Moon" hummed in the background.
And now that we are expecting our second baby, I, of course, updated and added to our birth playlist. It is now a list of 92 songs that I have personally selected because it evokes some sort of emotion in me that I believe will help me survive the labor. And it will help Dave stay relaxed enough so that he can be my rock, just like he was last time.
I am sharing all of this with you because, just as I know many of you are also avid music fans, I have also received the heartwarming news this month that four of my loved ones are pregnant. And while this playlist can serve as a simple guide to some good artists and relaxing background tunes, I also wanted to share it with fellow expectant mothers who may be looking for some tracks to help them through their own deliveries. So here it is, a list for all of those who could use some relaxing playlist ideas, be they for a good day, a hard day, a chill day, a work day, or for the beautiful day you finally get to meet your new tiny human.... I hope you enjoy.
- "January Wedding"-The Avett Brothers
- "Momsong"-The Be Good Tanyas
- "Here Comes the Sun"- The Beatles
- "Beautiful World"- Colin Hay
- "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You"- Colin Hay
- "Landslide"- Fleetwood Mac
- "Horsey"- Hem
- "Half Acre"- Hem
- "Great High Mountain"- Jack White
- "Wayfaring Stranger"- Jack White
- "Sitting on Top of the World"- Jack White
- "Never Far Away"- Jack White
- "Hallelujah"- Jeff Buckley
- "Going California"- Led Zeppelin
- "Pink Moon"- Nick Drake
- "Time has Told Me"- Nick Drake
- "I Will"- Alison Krauss
- "This Place is Haunted"- DeVotchka
- "Sweet Pea"- Bearfoot Bluegrass
- "The Blackest Crow"- Bearfoot Bluegrass
- "Roslyn"- Bon Iver & St. Vincent
- "Skinny Love"- Bon Iver
- "Blindsided"- Bon Iver
- "Flume"- Bon Iver
- "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades"- Sufjan Stevens
- "Troubled Mind"- Yonder Mountain String Band
- "Wind's On Fire"- Yonder Mountain String Band
- "Solitaire"- Wilco
- "Please Be Patient With Me"- Wilco
- "Radio Cure"- Wilco
- "Georgia On My Mind"- Ray Charles
- "Stolen Car"- Patty Griffin
- "Place to Be"- Nick Drake
- "Horn"- Nick Drake
- "Saturday Sun"- Nick Drake
- "When they Ring the Golden Bells"- Natalie Merchant
- "New Hampshire"- Matt Pond PA
- "Godspeed (sweet dreams)"- Dixie Chicks
- "Dogsong AKA Sleep Dog Lullaby"- The Be Good Tanyas
- "Oh Susanna"- The Be Good Tanyas
- "Angel Standing By"- Jewel
- "Playing Dead"- Breathe Owl Breathe
- "Boat"- Breathe Owl Breathe
- "Sea of Love"- Cat Power
- "Down in the Willow Garden"- Bon Iver (Tribute to the Chieftains)
- "My Father's Father"- The Civil Wars
- "Northward Bound"- Cold Country
- "Om Nashi Me"- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
- "Simplest Love"- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
- "Hard Times"- Gillian Welch
- "Black Star"- Gillian Welch
- "Canned Goods"- Greg Brown
- "Calling All Angels"- Jane Siberry
- "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)- John Lennon
- "Hideaway"- Karen O and the Kids
- "Worried Shoes"- Karen O and the Kids
- "Clean Getaway"- Maria Taylor
- "Ruth Marie"- Mark Kozelek
- "Dreaming"- Melody Walker
- "Harvest Moon"- Neil Young
- "Across the Universe"- Fiona Apple
- "I Wish My Baby Was Born"- Riley Baugus/Tim Erickson/Tim O'Brien
- "Bookends"- Simon and Garfunkel
- "Pancho & Lefty"- Townes Van Zandt
- "All my days"- Alexi Murdoch
- "Song for You"- Alexi Murdoch
- "Orange Sky"- Alexi Murdoch
- "The Long Road"- Eddie Vedder
- "One Sunday Morning"- Wilco
- "Comptine d'un autre été- l'après-midi"- Yann Tiersen
- "La valse d'Amelie (piano version)- Yann Tiersen
- "Ohio"- Patty Griffin
- "Holocene"- Bon Iver
- "Perth"- Bon Iver
- "Selah"- Lauryn Hill
- "The Face of Love"- Eddie Vedder
- "Everest"- Ani DiFranco
- "All my Mistakes"- The Avett Brothers
- "Let it Be"- The Beatles
- "Within you Without You"- the Beatles
- "May this Be Love"- Jimi Hendrix
- "32 Flavors"- Ani DiFranco
- "Redemption Song"- Bob Marley
- "Fake Plastic Trees"- Radiohead
- "This Years Love"- David Gray
- "Ice Cream"- Sarah McLachlan
- "Rainy Night in Georgia"- Hem
- "Betting on Trains"- Hem
- "First Day of My Life"- Bright Eyes
- "Pretty Fair Maid"- Emma Beaton & Celtic Chaos
- "Calling Cards"- Neko Case
- "Section 8 City"- Andrew Bird