3 Questions: Playlists of their lives
1 What was your first memorable music acquisition or gift? 2 What is your favourite music for relaxing at home? 3 Name an artist or song that you never thought you’d listen to but now love.
JOHN BROWNELL Percussionist and ethnomusicologist
1 “My first musical acquisition I remember very clearly — ‘Beatles VI.’ I was 10 years old. I still have almost every recording I have ever owned — but I don’t have that one. I played it so much you could almost hear both sides of the album at the same time.”
2 “Music for Airports” by Brian Eno — music that is meant to be in the background. “It’s actually quite beautiful if you do listen closely to it, but you can also just let it float along.”
3 “This question is easy. As a serious student of music (though not necessarily a student of ‘serious’ music) in the 1970s and ’80s, I was completely uninterested in punk. It seemed to me to completely reject everything that I valued in music (artistry, technical accomplishment, complexity, etc.). As I came to better understand the power of music as a social expression, I also came to appreciate (and, in fact, like) the disruptive energy of punk (especially the Ramones) a lot more.”
TRISH BENOIT Social worker and dedicated runner, including marathons and ultra trail races
1 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts on cassette tape. “That was the first one I owned, that was physically mine. That song ‘I Love Rock ’n’ Roll?’ I loved that when I was a kid!” Benoit says Meat Loaf’s “Bat out of Hell” was also an early favourite because her mom had the 8-track tape.
2 “I am a blues girl.” Benoit especially likes her husband Jeff’s great “bluesy slow mix” with everything from B.B. King to Ruthie Foster.
3 “Marianas Trench is very angst-ridden teen punk music and it’s totally not my deal, so that one kind of surprised me that I totally liked it.” In fact, this artist is on Benoit’s training and race playlists.
ISABEL CISTERNA PINO Founder of Neruda and Kultrún World Music Festival, nerudaarts.ca
1 “When I lived in Chile, we didn’t have any money to buy anything other than the basics, so the best day of my short life was when my brother surprised me for my 10th birthday with a vinyl of Earth, Wind & Fire. I will never forget that day. I was still in bed, sharing my room with my sister, when he brought it. I jumped on the bed, smelled it and then proceeded to dance in silence because everyone else was still sleeping.”
2 “I listen to all kinds of music and, depending on my mood, I choose my playlists. When I want to feel close to my mom, I listen to Frank Sinatra or Astor Piazzolla (tango). If I listen to Kool and the Gang or Earth, Wind & Fire, I immediately crave to see my brother, Adolfo, as his memory is attached to those bands. If I need inspiration, I always go back to Enya. The rest of the time I listen to world music because every sound makes me feel connected to other people and cultures and, in my mind, I can travel wherever I want to go.”
3 “Since watching the movie ‘Coco,’ I find myself singing along with all the very traditional Mexican folk songs. The rhythm of son jarocho is on my mind all day long. The song ‘La Llorona’ is my son Joaquin’s (age 1½) favourite song too!”
SAM LEGGE Product manager for Thalmic Labs and occasional DJ
1 Smashmouth’s “Astro Lounge” (CD) at about age 11. “I don’t think I’ve ever listened to one CD on repeat so much since.”
2 Tycho, Explosions in the Sky, Bonobo, Gramatik. “I like to throw on a combination of these artists and ones similar to them whenever I’m trying to decompress or relax on my own.”
3 July Talk. “The band’s sound is very different and therefore I never quite understood the appeal until, by chance, I saw them live. After seeing them live, their music and vibe makes so much more sense to me and I’m a big fan now.”