My First Meme -- musical memories and current tastes

So what are the rules on memes? Do you have to be tagged or can you make up your own?

I'm gonna be wacky and make up my own. I'm just that kind of a girl.

Like bensrib, I'm suffering from pre-menopause memory loss and can't remember whose blog tripped this for me so I can link them properly. I hereby apologize, but I'll identify you well enough so that you can gripe at me. How's that? =)

I was reading someone's blog recently who was talking about their earliest musical memories. She said she remembered hearing "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," which are also two of the earliest songs I can remember. It got me thinking about the music I grew up with (country) and the music I listen to now (lots of stuff, almost no country).

So here are the questions I have for anyone who might care to be tagged -- and I'm not going to tag anyone specific because I don't want to annoy anyone. If you'd like to pick this up, feel free. If it doesn't inspire you, ignore it.

1. What are your earliest musical memories? What songs do you remember? What was your first favorite song? What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

2. How have your tastes evolved? What kind of music do you love now? Do you have a favorite song; if so, what is it?

For me, I've answered most of #1, but my first favorite song was "Wildfire." If you're old enough to remember, it was a song about a horse that (I think) got lost. It was sad, and I would wail along to it when I heard it on the radio.

My tastes now are all over the map. I listen to some pop, some rock, a lot of "classic rock" (whatever that is), some Christian (although I'm pretty picky and tend toward indie artists), folk, some soul and jazz type stuff. My profile lists my favorite bands, most of which the general population has never heard of. Some are local Austin artists; some are indie.

Music is hugely important to me though. I see a lot of live shows and follow a lot of bands. I have friends who are musicians and love to see them live when I can. The upside to all that is that I'm not nearly as starstruck as I once was -- musicians are just folks really. There are a few people in the world who would make me tongue-tied, but not many.

Aha -- there's question #3:

3. What musician or band would you most love to meet and why? Would you be nervous?

I've met many of the bands on my profile page. A few of them are friends. The one I'd really love to sit down over dinner with would probably be Bono. I'd love to hear about his avtivism and why he chooses the causes he does to get involved in. I have a friend who's worked closely with him on one cause (debt relief for poor countries), so I'm familiar with a lot of his nearest and dearest causes. I'd love to hear more about them, though.

And yes, to meet Bono, I would probably be at least a little nervous.

Now it's your turn! Leave a comment if you pick up this meme on your blog. I'd love to read your answers.