Roadmap to my Youth :: The Sugarcubes

I have a guilty pleasure and that is a blog called Style Rookie.
The author is a 14 year old girl named Tavi

who is way cooler than I ever was at the ripe age of 14 years old.
I love her Blog because she conveys her angst so beautifully.
She has style for days and is pretty much
a little badass in granny glasses.

There is a love affair unfolding at Style Rookie
with alternative pop culture of the early nineties.
Guess what?
I was a teenager then.
She is discovering and finding herself
in the same things that I did as a teenager.
It makes for a dreamy read.

She recently wrote a post declaring her love
for Courtney Love and the album
Live Through This.
I can just feel teen angst oozing from my computer screen
and can relate to her complete relief
of finding a voice that speaks her thoughts.

It got me thinking about the huge influence
that music has had over me
throughout my life.
How hearing a certain song can take me back
to a night or a feeling.

I suppose the most influential band that came into my
life at the sweet tender age of 14
was The Sugarcubes.

The first time that I heard Bjork's hauntingly beautiful voice
was a hot night in San Antonio, Texas.
It was 1988 and I was an innocent little lamb.
My friend's older sister gave us a ride somewhere
and The Sugarcubes album It's-it was in her tape player.
With the windows rolled down
and humid Texas air blowing my hair in a halo over my head
the song Birthday filled up the car.

My mind exploded and then settled back in
as the music swirled around me.
I could feel potential blooming within me.
If this type of music was out there
then I wanted to hear more.

An inexplicable hunger took over me in that single moment.
This was just the beginning of my love for music.
It was that little chanteuse's shriek that rattled me
and shook my spirit.
I remember sitting in that car
and being moved to tears as the lights
of the highway were blurred by my tiny crying.
I wiped my cheeks and smiled.

Not long after I heard the song Birthday in my friend's sister's car,
I saw the video for the song on Mtv's 120 Minutes.
I saw Bjork for the first time
with her red dress and button nose.
I would never be the same.

This is the first in a series
of memories I would like to take
now and again.
as I trace back my musical past.
The bands,
the albums,
the concerts,
and the lyrics
that are a roadmap to my youth.

I hope that you'll gladly come on
the journey with me from time to time.
My heart beats a little faster
just thinking about it.
Each song is like an old friend
that I haven't seen in years.

Scroll on down to find out the winner of Freakshow Friday!