I promised to close the project this week, so here we are.
The iMix of all the songs that were applicable to the major criteria – available on iTMS – is available here:
[iMix: Music To Change Your Life](http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=401330)
Before I get going on which track was mine, I’d like to thank (once again) everyone who contributed a song. I really appreciate the honesty and the stories that were shared. I look forward to playing the full playlist on a future VJ Army Radio.
So, my song. There were certainly a lot of songs to pick from, songs that hold special places in my heart and correlate to major events. The song I chose in fact hits three major life points:
One: The first time Katie came up for an extended visit – Spring Break, 1999 – we had a wonderful week together. It was the first time we were together and didn’t really have that trepidation about figuring out if we really clicked together. When time came to take her home, I crashed hardcore almost immediately after leaving the Ithaca airport, so I detoured to the mall and perusing the music store. I honed in on an album by an artist I had been meaning to get into for a while, but I had failed to for years. I bought it, brought it home, and rather than skipping to the singles I knew, I started on the first track – which captured my mood perfectly. It marked possibly the only time I’ve reached out blindly to find music to fit my mood and nailed it exactly.
Two: The purchase of this album bridged what would be my two major musical foci – electronic and rock. Moody, brooding, but still hopeful, the album maintains a sort of musical connection to nearly every other album I still listen to. It’s maintained it’s space for six years – better than almost any other album I have.
Three: About a month ago, I was playing music loudly in solitude and singing along to whatever came on. This song came on, and I realized I hadn’t read the lyrics – so I googled them quickly and going through them, it resonated even more with my life, especially the first two lines of the refrain:
> *Oh, I’ll break them down, no mercy shown / heaven knows, it’s got to be this time*
And so, the curtain falls: the song is [Ceremony by New Order](http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=777031&selectedItemId=776964).