All About Me (And My Music-Centric Venn Diagram)

Summary

Liz, a Seattle-based project manager, is passionate about music and has built significant relationships and life experiences around her love for indie-pop, Britpop, and Twee, co-founding the music blog Three Imaginary Girls and hosting a radio show with her husband.

Abstract

Liz introduces herself as a GenXer with a deep-rooted love for music, which has been a central theme in her life. She is a married introvert with a child and a senior dog, who enjoys spreadsheets, lists, self-help books, ghost stories, and open houses. Her connection to music goes beyond appreciation; it has been the foundation of her friendships and relationships. Liz's music taste is eclectic, with a particular fondness for 80s-era R.E.M., 90s-era Britpop, and 00s-era Twee, along with bands like Allo Darlin' and Bright Eyes. She co-founded Three Imaginary Girls, a music website, with her best friend Dana, which became a significant part of her life for over two decades. Alongside her husband, Liz hosts a radio show that focuses on obscure indie-pop. Her commitment to music has persisted despite the demands of motherhood, and she now aims to rekindle her musical endeavors and share her passion on Medium.

Opinions

Liz believes that music has shaped her life significantly, influencing her relationships and personal achievements.
She values the community and connections that come from shared musical interests.
Liz is critical of the cliché nature of stating "I love music," preferring to emphasize the tangible impact music has had on her life.
She has a strong affinity for DIY music culture, as evidenced by her love for lo-fi songs on homemade cassettes.
Liz and her husband bonded over their shared adoration for indie-pop, which she considers a defining aspect of their relationship.
She is proud of her contributions to the music scene through Three Imaginary Girls and her radio show.
Liz is enthusiastic about reviving her "imaginary voice" and sharing her musical journey on Medium.

Hi, I’m Liz!

As I kick off my Medium adventures, I figure this is a good time to introduce myself. Hi! Hi! Hi! I’m Liz!

I’m a married GenXer and devoted mom to a kid and a senior dog. I’m an introvert-ish project manager for a growing tech company (not that one, or that one) in Seattle. I spend my spare time playing around in spreadsheets and making lists. I also will read any self-help book and listen to anyone’s ghost story and visit any open house tour.

But, all that said, the thing that most defines me is my love of music.

Ugh, that sounds so cliche.

I feel like the words “I love music” don’t really illustrate how much of my life has been tangibly shaped by and revolves around music and my favorite bands. I love music because of the way it makes me feel, but more than that, I love what it’s brought into my life.

I’ve met 99.99% of my favorite people because we’ve shared a love of a song or a band. Every crush and bestie I’ve had was related to a shared fandom of a song, album, band, or musical sub-genre.

My music-hearts Venn diagram is set to 80s-era R.E.M., 90s-era Britpop, and 00s-era Twee, with a super-fandom of Allo Darlin’, Bright Eyes, and lo-fi songs on homemade cassettes sprinkled in. And we all can agree that They Might Be Giants make us smarter even if we don’t listen to them every day, right?

I made this using some free Canva stuff.

I met my beloved hubs because of our shared adoration of indie-pop (he wow’d me with a mix CD). We host a radio show that focuses on obscure indie-pop (our favorite kind!) named Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid To Know About — it airs on SPACE 101.1FM in Seattle and you can listen to our archive anytime for free on Mixcloud.

RIYL catchy indie-pop and related obscurities

In 2002, I co-founded Three Imaginary Girls — a music website (a blog before blogs were cool) with my co-conspirator bestie, Dana. We chronicled our love of seeing bands perform in Seattle every night of the week and shared our bliss in talking endlessly about our favorite songs (and a handful of our really talented friends became writers and photographers for the site, too!).

The site became a cornerstone of my life and is one of my proudest achievements. 20+ years later, the Three Imaginary Girls “very imaginary” dream lives on (check out our latest film and live show reviews and everything else!).

My son was born around 10 years ago, and since then, my brain has been completely hijacked by the real-life stuff. I left very little space in my world for my “imaginary voice” which had been so important to me for the decade prior.

One of my Medium hopes is to breathe new life (and a new locale) into my TIG endeavors via my posts here — sharing my latest music-ish obsessions and revisiting items from my back catalog.

I’m excited to love music with you here on Medium.