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a-ha
So of course everyone loves "Take On Me"...how could you not? but I never really heard anything else from a-Ha until a few years ago, when Julie (my sister) played the rest of Hunting High and Low for me when we were driving who remembers where. "Love Is Reason" stood out right away, but the whole album is pretty fantastic. Later, I acquired another song from Jen (also my sister), "The Living Daylights," from a James Bond Soundtrack...this one ended up being my wake-up song in Spain when I first got itunes alarm and didn't know how to change the settings yet. It's a good song, but I still find the first few seconds a little jarring, since they shocked me out of dreams so many times.


AFI
Sing the Sorrow deeefinitely reminds me of early 2003, when I had just come back to Stuart from a few months living in New York. Mimi and Tracey had an apartment together in Glenwood, and every waking moment was spent there. I remember Tracey and the Last Laugh guys and also Kretzer being really excited about the release of this album. I had heard a few A.F.I. songs before...singles from earlier albums...but not much. There was something really appealing about these new songs, though. Probably just poppy enough for me. And so it became a backdrop to many of those nights. Saw them at Warped Tour at some point, which was fun and ridiculous.


ABBA
When I was around 14/15, my sisters took me to a couple concerts...I particularly remember going to House of Blues, once for Cyndi Lauper, and once for Duran Duran. Julie was too cool for Abba, but Jen and I would get ready listening to the Gold (greatest hits) album. I had a very silly pair of fake leather pants at that time and wore them with brightly colored tube-tops and glittery make-up. Now, I also associate Abba with my Dad, since for some reason he really loves Mamma Mia. My favorite songs are "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Super Trouper" and "Lay All Your Love on Me."

ABC
Where did THIS come from? "Poison Arrow" is a pretty sweet jam, but I have no recollection of it from the 80's, nor do I know how or when it got into my library. But even though I can't trace where it came from, I'm not deleting it. It's sweet new wave-y fun. Who broke my heart? You did. You did.

abx
I was following a music blog for a while that I found through Shawn McGee's last.fm friends somehow. The flow of posts slowed down to a trickle a few months ago and then I just stopped checking altogether, but during the time I was going, I downloaded some interesting things I probably would never have found otherwise. "Light Falsetto Music" is one of them mash-up thangs (I obviously live in a cave most of the time). Not something I'm likely to investigate further, but It's appealing enough to keep around for now, methinks.

Ace of Base
Oh yeahhhh. Elementary school. All that she wants is another baby... I think at first I thought this was referring to an actual baby... So yeah, these Swedes were fun to record from the radio and sing during recess. I've got three tracks which I still definitely enjoy from time to time..."All That She Wants," "Don't Turn Around," and of course, "The Sign."

Acoustic Syndicate
"Rainbow was a Rollercoaster" was put on a mix for me by Andy when we first made the switch from friends to dating. He was at University of Tennessee and had thus acquired a taste for bluegrassy and hippie-ish jam band-y sorts of music. I don't know any other songs by this band, but I loooove the banjo, and the singer's voice is pretty nice, too. It reminds me of Andy and of the funny concept of us ever being anything more than friends, that seemed like a good idea at the time.

The Ad Libs
ooh. "Boy From New York City" is on a 60's Dance Party cd that belongs to my parents. I got hold of it in high school and never gave it back. Sorry, guys.

Adam Faith
Oh look, something else I took from my parents. This one I just borrowed, copied to my computer and gave back, though. The album is "The British Invasion" and this track is "It's Alright." Good handclap situation in the chorus.

Adam Rhinehart
Ashley Belanger made me a great mix maybe in 2005 or 2006 with a bunch of songs from different Lou Barlow projects and a few other little jems. "Anxiety of Nearness" is definitely the sappiest song on that entire mix, but it's sweet. :)

Adama Yalomba
According to last.fm, this artist is from Mali. The song "Politique" is from the album Festival in the Desert, which I'm pretty sure I copied from Jen. I should put this song on my dance around the house playlist.

Adele
"Hometown Glory" is another song I got from that music blog I was following for a time. Honestly didn't listen to it until right this minute. She's got a rich tone...sounds vocally similar to Amy Winehouse but with a sweet sadness. Maybe I should seek out more from her...I love female vocalists but can be fairly judgmental and picky about them. The track just ended. Maybe I'll try Adele radio on here sometime soon. Maybe.

The Admirations
"The Bells of Rosa Rita" is one of many, many doo-wop songs I acquired from Victor. I love this genre SO much.

Adriana Caselotti
And now we come to the first of much Disney music. Adriana Caselotti was the voice of Snow White, so here we have "Whistle While You Work" and "Someday My Prince Will Come." My strongest memory relating to this is being at the parks in 5th grade with my family and BFFs at the time Leighan and Aschlei, imitating the ridiculously high squeaky voice of Snow White when she sings into the wishing well and has her voice echo back...

Aerosmith
I don't know why of all Aerosmith songs, I only have "Walk This Way." This song doesn't do much for me, really. Oh, now I see. It's from a collection called "Ultimate Rock Collection: Gold and Platinum" that I borrowed from my parents when I was in high school. I made a lot of mix tapes with that collection as a base. I miss mix tapes. Anyway, as far as Aerosmith goes, I can't help but love "Dream On," especially when it's played at a piano bar. I also can get into some of the ridic 90's singles. But I don't have them in my library. I'll get over it.

Afel Bocoum
This is another one from Festival in the Desert... I like the unison singing...but I don't have much else to say about this.

Against Me!
I sort of saw them at a show in Orlando in 2003, but it got broken up when they were barely into the set. What I saw was fun though, so I eventually bought an album. What I bought was the Acoustic EP, which I listened to a lot and liked a great deal, but I guess not enough to get more. Last year in Spain, my roommate Steve was a big fan, so he'd play some of the songs on guitar for us to sing. He gave me a few more albums, but it's still not really a go-to for me. That being said, I did just listen to all of it again while cleaning, and it was enjoyable...and they do get bonus points for being from Florida.

Aicha Bint Chighaly
Wow! Another song from Festival in the Desert whose artist starts with A!

Aimee Mann
Oh, Man(n). I love her. Her voice isn't "pretty" per se, but it appeals so much to my ears, especially when paired with her lovely melodies. Like so many artists, she was first introduced to me by my sister Julie, who pointed out that she was the singer from 80s band 'Til Tuesday ("Voices Carry"). I played the album Lost in Space over and over and over. It was really exciting to finally see her play in Orlando with Tracey, Lauren Othón, and Chris Ziemba in...let's say 2006. My very favorite songs are "I Can't Get My Head Around It," "That's Just What You Are," and "Invisible Ink." <3

Wow, this is going to take forever. Excellent.