Most of my childhood memories relate, in some way, to music. If it weren't for some songs, I would have no memory at all from childhood. I guess it was just that dull and the music made it seem livelier.

The first five songs I ever remember hearing:

1) The Hall of the Mountain King--Savatage. This is Dad's favorite song, ever. He played it non-bloody-stop when we were little, and I still like it a lot. Especially Jon Oliva's evil laughter and screaming. We're currently on a quest to find a downloadable version of the music video.

2) Crazy Train--Ozzy Osbourne. "Maybe, it's not too late... to learn how to love, and forget how to haaaaaate!" Dad's a bigtime Ozzy fan, too. This was the song that usually lulled me to sleep as a kid. Fuck "Rock-a-bye Baby." Ozzy was what made me feel calm enough to sleep.

3) Iron Man--Black Sabbath. I remember all of the guitar parts. I didn't know the words when I was little, but I remember Tony Iommi's work perfectly. Good Lord, I wish I could play the guitar like he can! But I wanna keep my fingers. :P

4) The Boys are Back in Town--Thin Lizzy. Thin Lizzy's a great band. Fuck U2; I think Thin Lizzy is the best Irish band to ever walk this particular planet! Phil Lynott was a good songwriter, had a lovely voice, and was a good bassist. This is still my brother's favorite song.

5) Enter Sandman--Metallica. To this day, this is the only Metallica song I know. And I love it, especially the intro part and the part where the little kid is praying (for death?) It's a delightfully evil song, it is.

Grandma was the only one who ever tried with lullabies, and I never responded to them as far as I remember. I would only fall asleep if Ozzy was wailing away, or Jon Oliva was screaming, or so on.

I kind of vaguely remember hearing Baba O'Riley once in awhile as a tot, but it was never played as frequently as the others (perhaps because Dad's copy of Who's Next is the most battered thing we own; seriously, if I take the record out of the jacket one more time, the cover will probably split in half and crumble into dust). But I remember how familiar it sounded when I purchased my Deluxe Edition CD copy and popped it in the player. I can't really tell you where I heard it before if Dad never played it. Maybe I'm Keith reincarnated and it's a memory from a life I never lived? What the hell do I know.