“Music is the soundtrack of our lives.” – Dick Clark

Music has always played an important role in my life. As long as I can remember, there was music in my life… and now I have made a soundtrack of my life…

I do not play any instruments myself… and the neighbours’ cat definitely can learn a thing or two of my singing skills… but I just couldn’t do without music. I like all sorts of music… rock, pop, new wave, disco, jazz, soul, classic, metal,… even some dance!

As I’m nearly 45 now  (two more days!) I wanted to make a soundtrack of my life so far… it was very difficult to chose only 45 songs… and I’m sure that if I had to do it again, I would come up with 45 other songs!

I have chosen these 45 songs because they mean something to me. And to each song summed up here below there is a memory… good or bad… happy or sad… whatever… every song is part of my life.

I hope you’ll have fun browsing this list… I sure had fun making it!

Soundtrack of my life:

• 1971 – John Lennon – Imagine (the day I first heard about John Lennon was actually the day he was murdered… I was only 9, but I can still remember how devastated my dad was with this news!)
• 1972 – Elton John – Rocket man (I admire artists like Elton John who’ve had hits in several decades!)
• 1973 – Golden Earring – Rader love
• 1974 – Lynryd Skynryd – Sweet home Alabama
• 1975 – Diana Ross – Do you know – theme from Mahogany (thinking about this song gives me the chills… I have cried with this song more than I can remember!!)
• 1976 – Thin Lizzy – Boys are back in town
• 1977 – David Bowie – Heroes (I saw the film ‘Christiane F’ years later and I was so impressed by the film and the raw life of these kids… it was also my first encounter with David Bowie. A truly great artist… read this post I wrote about him when he had just died…)
• 1978 – John Travolta and Olivia Newton John – You’re the one that I want (Grease was the first film I saw in the cinema!)
• 1979 – Styx – Babe (The first time I heard this song was on my wedding day in 1994. My brother in law had asked the DJ to play this song and I loved it instantly! Takes me back to a very happy day in my life… 🙂 )
• 1980 – Donna Summer – On the radio (She was such a good singer… I love a lot of her work. Another favourite is ‘I feel love’… the best disco song in my opinion!!)
• 1981 – Nikka Costa – On my own (Nikka Costa is about my age, so in 1981 she was still a very young girl… I guess that’s why I loved this song and clip so much. I still think it’s a beautiful song. I also like the version of Irene Cara in the film Fame. It’s a more adult look on this song!)
• 1982 – Prince – Little red corvette (I like a lot of Prince songs… I only saw him live once, but he was such a fantastic performer… It seriously is one of the best concerts I ever attented. I was really sad when he died earlier this year… my purple heart was bleeding…)
• 1983 – Bryan Adams – Cuts like a knife (I was a biiiiiig fan of Bryan Adams in the 80ies… read this post to know more about it!!)
• 1984 – Band Aid – Do they know it’s Christmas? (a lot of my favourite singers/bands of that time combined into one song! I remember the tribute that was organised in the summer of 1985… I was glued to the television the entire day!)
• 1985 – Simple Minds – Don’t You forget about me (not the best song from Simple Minds in my opinion… but hey… what about that movie?!)
• 1986 – Madonna – Borderline (actually this one is from 1983, but was re-released in 1986… I really wanted to put a Madonna song in this list as I was a big fan of hers in the mid-80ies and I just looooved the videoclip from ‘Borderline’!)
• 1987 – Echo and the Bunnymen – Bring on the dancing horses (there’s nothing like some dark and depressing new wave…)
• 1988 – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – I’ve had the time of my life (yip… loved this film…)
• 1989 – Robin Beck – First love (this song was from a coca cola add… and it also reminds me of my schoolfriend Carol who sadly passed away a couple of years later… we had so much fun together. I still think of her regularly!)
• 1990 – George Michael – Freedom (I listened without prejudice… and I heard it was swell…I found the Wham-songs so happy and cheerful, but I also enjoyed George Michael’s solo work. I went to a concert once, when he sang with a big band, and he definitely can sing opposed to what many of you may think 😀 !)
• 1991 – Pearl Jam – Black (from George Michael to Eddie Vedder… anything’s possible in the soundtrack of my life:-D !)
• 1992 – Buffalo Tom – Taillights fade (I actually rediscovered this song in 2013 and I have played it about 2013 times since then…)
• 1993 – REM – Everybody hurts (they were a great live-band and this is such a heartfelt song)
• 1994 – Nirvana – About a girl (the unplugged version of course!)
• 1995 – Live – Selling the drama (in 2000 I went to Rock Werchter. I especially went for Pearl Jam, but they cancelled at the last minute. They were replaced by Live and they were so great that evening… it had been a very hot day, but during the concert of Live it was pouring down with rain… we just didn’t care and jumped and laughed and sang and had an ab fab time!!)
• 1996 – Deus – Roses (great Belgian rockband!)
• 1997 – Meredith Brooks – Bitch (this song reminds me of my good friend Katelijne… well… this might be a bit strange that a song called ‘bitch’ makes me think of her… but let me tell you why! Katelijne moved to Australia when we were 16, but in 1997 she visited Europe and stayed with us for a couple of weeks. This song was a hit during her visit and we heard it so many times, singing it out loud together of course! Read about our long distance friendship here!)
• 1998 – Natalie Imbruglia – Torn (she used to play ‘Beth’ in Neighbours (my guilty pleasure of which I wrote this post!) so of course I loved this song 🙂 )
• 1999 – Chemical Brothers – Hey boy, hey girl (perfect on the dancefloor!!)
• 2000 – Robbie Williams – Kids (I loved this duet with Kylie Minogue… so funky 🙂 )
• 2001 – Gerri Halliwell – It’s raining men (this takes me back to a fab wedding party…)
• 2002 – Pearl Jam – I am mine (I love the vulnerability of Eddie Vedder’s voice in this song)
• 2003 – Norah Jones – Come away with me (in 2002 my friend Katelijne visited Europe again. This time we went to Paris. When she put on the television in her hotelroom, there was this advertisement of Norah Jones, unknown to us at that time. We liked the little parts of music we heard during the ad and a couple of months later I bought the CD. It is one of the CD’s I listen to when I’m relaxing in my bath!)
• 2004 – The Killers – Mr. Brightside (another song I re-discovered lately… don’t you just love how tormented Brandon Flowers sounds?!)
• 2005 – U2 – Sometimes you can’t make it on your own (U2 is definitely one of my favourite bands. It’s the band that I have followed from the beginning I guess… ever since ‘I will follow’ in the beginning of the 80ies. I have seen them live on several occassions. Bono may not be the best singer, but he certainly is a fantastic performer, accompanied by a fabulous band…)
• 2006 – Arctic Monkeys – I bet you look good on the dancefloor (I just can’t sit still when hearing this 🙂 )
• 2007 – The Fray – How to save a life
• 2008 – Air Traffic – No more running away (it’s such a pity that they only have one CD… I love the sound of this band!!)
• 2009 – Editors – No sound but the wind (I especially like this live version they sang at Rock Werchter!)
• 2010 – Kings of Leon – Radioactive
• 2011 – Foo Fighters – Walk
• 2012 – Goose – Control (fab Belgian electronic rockband… dancing in my kitchen to this!!)
• 2013 – Queens of the Stone Age – My god is the sun (This is definitely a band I want to see live some day!)
• 2014 – Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud (this is such a romantic song!!)
• 2015 – Adele – When we were young (I love the nostalgia of this song. I went to her concert in June and at first I was afraid I would find her concert a bit boring… boy was I wrong… I was stunned by her voice and personality!)

Phew… making this list surely was a trip down memory lane. And to my kids… whenever I’m old and senile and living in a retirement home… can you please put these songs on a playlist and play them for me… on repeat… I’m sure they will bring a tear in my eye or a smile on my face!

Love, Kathleen

You can follow me on Instagram!