music, therapy, and me

Do you have an answer to the question, "what is your favorite song?" I have been thinking about this lately. I don't really have just one favorite song - my music preferences change significantly over minutes, so I have many favorites. In fact, I have made so many compilations of "favorite" songs over the years that I can't really just pick one for all the attention and love of being "favorite." I just can't do it. When I'm asked this question, which I try to avoid, by the way, I hem and haw until any song that I currently like pops into my head. It is difficult to figure out what to say when you have some many wonderful pieces to choose from, isn't it? Right now, my music preferences are based in older music. I brought a whole bunch of CDs with me on my recent road trip rather than filling my iPod with music - I filled that with television shows and movies - so I had lots of older compilations of current favorites with me. I listened t...

There was an article on NPR the other day about songs we should retire . The article basically was a discussion about preferences - those of the show's hosts - and the point where we saturate on a particular song. I'm not sure that I agree with the premise - that these folks should be in charge of what the rest of us listen to (or not listen to, as the case may be) - but I can see their point from a personal point of view. I have only retired one song from my repertoire during my time as a music therapist. That song was the favorite song of one of my clients. He died in a train accident several years ago (this month), and I still haven't been able to sing "his" song with other clients. Now, having said that, I do have songs that go into temporary hiatus when they have been used or sung or listened to WAY too much. The familiar adage "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" really seems to apply in the case of music. After hearing any of the songs menti...