A few weeks back, I commented that the soundtrack for AJ Schnack’s documentary Kurt Cobain: About a Son “looks amazing.” Instead of focusing on Nirvana’s greatest hits, Schnack built the soundtrack and the film around songs that Cobain loved and listened to through various stages of his life. A few weeks back, a reporter asked Schnack to name the soundtrack to his own life, and now the filmmaker has challenged a number of bloggers (including yours truly) to do the same.

AJ set out the following rules for the endeavor:

1.) It must reflect music from each part of your life, including childhood, awkward pre-teen years, all the way up to your current existence
2.) It should be music that is not just your favorite songs, but also things that make sense thematically
3.) It cannot be your own music
4.) Challenge at least 2 other bloggers to do the same.

I noticed that Tom Hall wrote blurbs for each of his choices, while AJ did not. With my list, I elaborated on a few choices and left others cryptic. As Schnack’s film is broken down into sections based on the cities in which Cobain lived, my list is broken down by own geographic location when these songs had an impact on my life.

We’ll start with a teaser. You’ll find the full list after the jump. Oh, and I tag these two: Filmbrain and The Cinetrix

LOS ANGELES

Malcolm McLaren, “Madame Butterfly” (see video above)
Malcolm McLaren’s Fans came out in 1984, and at the time, I had no idea who Malcolm McLaren was, nor did I have any concept of how ridiculous it was that the puppetmaster behind the Sex Pistols was releasing an album of synth-pop opera covers just seven years after Never Mind the Bollocks. My mom bought it–I actually have a vague memory of her hunting it down at the Tower Records in Sherman Oaks before finally finding it at the Music Plus in Studio City. I was a four year-old budding ballerina, and when she’d put the record on, I’d practice my pas de bourrée. At some point I choreographed an entire ballet to the full record, with yours truly playing all the parts (thankfully, this was before the advent of affordable consumer camcorders). It’s the first music I remember requesting to listen to.

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