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Thank (insert your deity here or if you're atheist, science) for music. I don't know what I would do without music in my life. I've always said there is a song for every moment and a moment for every song. Even if I don't enjoy a particular song or musician, I can typically appreciate them. Music doesn't have to be complex either for it to be good, and it doesn't necessarily have to be good to be touching. Music has definitely helped me through life. Whether I needed to rage with some metal, get my aggression out with some gangster rap, or calm down with something acoustical, there is always some type of music that is just right. I'm so glad my views on music have changed over the years. As a kid, I typically stuck with one radio station and listened to that type of music. As I have gotten older, my tastes have expanded and I think I'm better for it. In 1990 I probably had nothing but rap music around to listen to. Now I have everything from ABBA to ZZ Top. I have bluegrass, country, rock, classical, opera, punk, rap, metal....the list goes on and on. I'll definitely say I'm not a fan of all music. There is a lot of crap out there, and honestly right now there isn't very much being made that isn't recycled or manufactured. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop listening though, you never know when the next revolutionary artists will arise. One of the things that I'm most proud of as a parent is that my children have had a wide range of music exposed to them. It has paid off. I'm constantly surprised at what songs my kids really enjoy and which ones they ask me to play. My older one is very into the early grunge stuff (albeit she did just confess to liking boy bands and has an affliction for Nikki Minaj) and my youngest loves almost any song that comes on and has a banjo, be it Taylor Swift, The Pistol Annies, or that song from O' Brother Where Art Thou? Another cool thing is that music has helped keep me bonded with them, especially my older one. She is doing a project for school on Blink 182 (probably her favorite band) but we basically sat down and had a discussion of the entire history of punk music and where they fit in. It was great. We hadn't had a conversation for that long in I don't know when. We talked about everything from The New York Dolls to The Ramones, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Dead Kennedy's, The Dead Milkmen, Operation Ivy, Rancid, and the evolution to pop-punk and where Blink 182 fit into all of it. I was amazed at her thirst for the knowledge and want to understand the history. I hope all of you get to experience something like that in your life. Music really is one of the greatest things and I'm so lucky to be able to share with not only my kids, but my friends. I love that they can turn me on to new stuff and I love talking about the stuff I already know and can turn them on to new stuff as well. Here's hoping your day is filled with music and that the bands never stop playing.