“I got to know [teen music] as we absorb music in passing but can remember only its seriousness and weight.”

“The greatest act of love was to make a tape for someone. It was the only way we could share music and it was also a way of advertising yourself.”

“If you don't hear this kind of music [pop] at the right time, can it ever make sense to you?”

“[My mother] believed we could each change the world, but what convinced me this was possible was music.”

“If I had not kissed anyone, or danced with anyone, or had a reason to cry, the music made me feel as if I had gone through all that anyway.”

“Being a woman seemed to mean listening to the music boys liked and neither dancing nor singing along.”

“There are times when we need the rocket fuel of singing and dancing to power us through an act of blind faith. Falling in love is one of those times, when we need to move into a phase of enchantment with enough force so that when things cool and the air clears, we are locked into that person, that love. We fall in love and we sing as we walk down the street; we turn up the music and dance.”