a friend to every falcon, shark and bee

When Stone was inside of me, he loved hip-hop. My pre-mommy-mobile had a box in the back that made the windows shake, and Stone would, forgive the pun, rock out every time I turned up the bass. “Can I kick it” by Tribe Called Quest was an obvious favorite.
Now that he’s an air-breather, his tastes have changed. He likes The Beatles, Bebel Gilberto, Bob Dylan. He likes Raffi, too, but we balance it out with a hearty dose of Amy Winehouse to keep him from going soft. He adores anything that resembles bluegrass, and reggae really puts him in the mood for a rousing game of pull-all-of-the-baby-wipes-out-of-the-container-and-then-shove-them-in-the-bookshelves.
I’m sure it does the same for you.
It thrills me to see his tastes developing. He points to the stereo and looks at me expectantly.
“Do you want music?”
“Yessss”
Well, okay then.
I turn it on. We dance.
My general tastes haven’t changed much in the past 15 months, but my playlists have. I can’t tolerate violence anymore, lyrical or otherwise, so my collection of NWA is gathering virtual dust.
I have no patience for The Cure. Robert Smith is clearly a wuss who wouldn’t last 10 minutes with a newborn and a breast-pump.
I’ve always loved the way that some songs are so wrapped up in a certain person that you can’t hear them without seeing that person’s face. Sometimes it’s mutual- you know they think of you, too- and sometimes it’s one-sided. Sometimes the meaning evolves as your life changes.
For my brother, “We are the Champions” will conjure up both the experience of beating me at monopoly and the pride-filled moment of being introduced as husband to his beautiful wife. I can’t even get past the first note of “Like a Prayer” (God?) without thinking of Mandy’s birthday, and God Only Knows what I would do without my husband.
So, on that note, here’s a list of 19 songs that, for reasons obvious and not-so, will always remind me of my most recent love affair.

“Tattoo” Petra Hayden
“Strangers” The Kinks
“The Lion This Time” Van Morrison
“Honey and the Moon” Joseph Arthur
“Through Any Window” Wisley
“Just Like Honey” Jesus and Mary Chain
“Zousan” Elizabeth Mitchell
“Roly Poly” The Little Willies
“The Birds and the Bees” Patrick and Eugene
“I Do It For Your Love” Paul Simon (this song was playing the moment Stone was born)
“Little Wing” Jimi Hendrix
“The Seed” The Roots (He should be grateful that I didn’t name him ‘Rock and Roll’)
“Born Into the World” Supersystem
“Float On” Modest Mouse
“Levon” Elton John
“You’re in My Heart” Rod Stewart
“Helplessly Hoping” Crosby, Stills and Nash
“I Was Born” Billy Bragg and Wilco
“With a Little Help From My Friends” Joe Cocker (amen, my brother)

Please note the absence of “Beat on the Brat” by The Ramones.
Proof that I’m a good mother.