Lucky enough to have attended the Mashable conference in March, I was inspired by the founder of Soundcloud.com. A thin Scandinavian hipster, complete with oversized glasses, he posited that sound (specifically as it relates to digital experiences) is much more important than we realize. In support of his argument, he suggested watching any scary movie with the sound turned off – and see how the emotion flattens out. The more I think about it, the more I agree with him: audio and music matters. Aside from smell (the knockout king of emotional bonds) no other sense more strongly transports you to places and memories from your past.

Building on that idea, I decided to challenge myself to compose a personal soundtrack of my life. An album’s length – twelve tracks total. No more, no less. Not a song list of my favorite bands, or even my all time favorite songs – but a list of music that equally represents a period in my life. Heck, some of them aren’t even songs I would choose to listen to again, but if I randomly heard them, they’d elicit a specific memory or emotion.

So that said, my list is listed below. In the off chance that someone else actually stumbles across this blog I encourage you to try it yourself, maybe even list your list below. It seems difficult, I know, but may be easier than you think. And at the very least, it will hopefully create a bit of an audio DeLorean and let you relive some of the good times from your past. Who wouldn’t love to do that?

 My twelve tracks (no particular order):

1. Caledonia (Dougie MacLean)
2. Home (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)
3. Ghost in You (Psychedelic Furs)
4. Home (Jenny Bruce)
5. Afternoon Delight (The Starland Vocal Band)
6. Float On (Modest Mouse)
7. Six Months in a Leaky Boat (Split Enz)
8. Hook (Blues Traveler)
9. Save a Prayer (Duran Duran)
10. Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks)
11. Sweet Home Chicago (Blues Brothers)
12. Crackers (Barbara Mandrell)