7 Day Wayback Music Challenge # The Only Day | Breaking all the Rules

It is June everyone! I can hardly believe it. I have been looking forward to this time of the year for quite a while, and here it is. So, I think a great way to celebrate the end of very overwhelming months (the past 3 months) here on Steemit would be to share a post that is not work/study related, but actually about one of the things I enjoy the most in life: music

This is, of course, first thanks to @dimitrisp, who created this challenge; and secondly , to my dearest @ruth-girl, who kindly nominated me a few weeks ago 😍

But, here is the thing, this is a 7 day challenge! However, because I am not used to posting on a daily basis, I do think this type of challenge is a tad long-drawn-out. This is when bending the rules comes in handy😉. Well, I am not harming anyone, right? Then, I am going to compile in this single post 7 songs that will transport me to my high-school and uni years (oh! there is a bonus song too!).

Also, I would like to add that most of the songs I am going to share with you here, I still listen to nowadays.

Here we go 🎧

When Ruth nominated me for this wonderful challenge @pearlume doubted that I even listen to music. I still wonder why Pearl thinks this is the case; but the truth is, he couldn’t be more mistaken! Throughout my life I studied music on and off in many different occasions (even in my early 30’s). I was never even close to being a prodigy, but I loved it! Many of my cousins studied it too, and a couple of them actually have a degree in music. Finally, we all also love dancing in my family. And nowadays, one of my favourite things to-do on a night out is to go to the theatre to watch musicals or the ballet 😊

Memories of Family Gatherings

These gatherings took place mostly in my Uncle Joseph’s home (the one I talked about in my post about Dementia). Here is something I should tell you about my family, my mother is A LOT younger than her brothers. This means my cousins are considerably older than me and my little brother. So, not only did I grow up surrounded by a lot of guys, but also they were quite older than me. I looked up (still do) to them so very much! They influenced me in many ways. This is the sort of music we listened to and sang when the older members of the family (e.g uncles, their wives and my parents) were also around. Those were the days when I started drinking sparkling water 😛

Gatherings with Cousins and their Cute Friends

My older cousins were definitely a little overprotective, but this didn’t stop me from flirting with one or two of their friends 😏 those gatherings generally took place in a house they used to rent up in the hills, it had a huge garden and an incredible open view. The parties started early in the day – lunch time – every other person had a different instrument; e.g. bongo drums, mini guitars. Everybody sang and danced together. Our record was gathering aprox. 42 people over there 😍, and this song is one of the top 5 that takes me back to those days!

To Chill after a Busy Day

Back then life wasn’t all about singing and dancing. I was a busy teen/young adult. I had a lot going on. But, after a busy day, I remember getting back home, going straight to my bedroom and putting some music on. Since my early teens I have been obsessed with Johan Sebastian Bach (and, consequently Glen Gould), my first Bach album was one with some of his Toccatas and Fugues. I could have easily made this entire list featuring only his works, but I decided to go for one of his piano concerts, which I still regularly listen to nowadays, as well as his partitas, cantatas and so forth ... Oh! Bach is magnificent! ❤

Here is another piece of music that reminds me of those evenings as well :) It is a beautiful Brazilian suite.

A Different Crowd

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for my cousins to start settling down, having children and make their gatherings look very much like the ones we had with the older members of the family. So, I started to mingle with other people - mostly from university. That was a good group of people. We went out pretty much a couple of times a month. We shared the same interests and had similar goals in life. And I could say the same for our nights out. We looked for places where we could find good music to DANCE! This particular song reminds me very much of those nights; we definitely had the moves 😃

A Love & Hate Relationship

Then, I found a cool job in a small, local paper (I always liked writing). The newspaper owner – a rich kid – also had a coffee bar where he held meetings which were frequented by young artists, musicians, writers, poets and actors. Some of them were quite travelled. I liked listening to their stories. They were the ones who introduced me to the world of movie festivals, book readings, abstract art etc... They were truly nice to me, but also very snobby towards others. It was when I realised they thought they were somewhat superior; presumably because they knew one or two niche things, I had to wave them goodbye. I did it with much love and gratitude. I kept my gig going for quite a while after as well, and that was fun! What music takes me back to those days? Well, the GREAT Bill Evans’ music does 🎔

Days of Solitude

During those years, as much as I spent time with people I also spent time alone. Back then we lost two members of our family (a cousin and my father), both to illnesses, and that was painful. In times of emotional distress I tend to withdrawal and stay by myself. That was a time when I dove into my Yoga, swimming regularly and going for looong walks on the beach. I became very health-conscious, precisely because we lost our loved ones to illnesses. Those were important days, those were days that basically shaped who I became as an adult, and highly influenced the choices I made for my future. And as I planned some cool projects I listened to Billie Holiday while singing along 🎜

Fast Forward 15 Years (May 2018)

I know, this was meant to include only 7 songs, but since I am breaking the rules, why not add another one?

So Pearl (@pearlume), it turns out that music and dancing is still very much part of my life! Only 3 weeks ago my husband took me to Lisbon, to a live concert not far from the river, it was mobbed, it was loud, it was great! I jumped and danced and trod on my husband’s feet for nearly 2 hours. You see, my husband is very space saving when he dances. This is his technique: he plants his feet on the floor and only moves his body from the waste up 👣 So, while he did that I used all my bones to dance to Lisboa Mulata

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Here comes nomination time! Hey Ego - @egotheist, are you up for the challenge?

I don’t know what it is about Ego ... for me it was truly ‘steemit love’ at first sight. I disagree with a lot of what he says, and disapprove of some of his choices. Still, I ❤ him. Not long ago, during a chat about music, on the SteemSTEM dicord channel - he said my taste in music is that of a 90-year-old. 👵So, let’s see what he has to show me/us!
Ego, I do know you are not a big fan of rules, but I feel compelled to put them here:

• Choose one song from your high-school/college years.
• Write a few words about who made you listen to this song for the first time, what this song means to you (was it a breakup song? you blasted it at 100% on your audio system when you were partying with your friends?) whatever you want.
• Write your text while listening to the song. As soon as the song ends, wrap up what you where writing and submit it. Do this for 7 days in a row if you get nominated.
• Mention one person who should do this on each day.
• Tag it with #musicwaybackchallenge and include these rules at the bottom of your post.

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So, Dear reader, how similar is our taste in music? Which song out of the eight I shared here with you did you like the most?