I never really drove much until I was living here in DC, and I was in my mid 30s by then. But back in grad school I had to rent a car for something, and was really nervous about driving, but I discovered that I had no trouble listening to music that I like while I drive. It's like there are two separate tracks in my brain, one for driving and one for music. However if it's music that I don't like -- I'm looking at you, Celine Dion, and that time your wail nearly made me drive off the Whitestone Bridge -- well, let's just say that the first rule of the car is that I must approve all music.

I am old school and I still like to buy CDs. Then I copy them to my laptop and over to my mp3 player or phone. My car has a 6-CD changer that I like very much. I don't look forward to having a new car that will only work with an mp3 player -- too many steps involved in getting the music playing, plus having to worry about the mp3 player battery and having it stolen from the car. I also prefer CDs because I don't have time to create playlists.

I never listen to the radio, because I want to choose my own music. The only exception is my nephew's sports talk show on his college radio station.

I've recently started listening to music at work when I'm having a bad day. Today it took two consecutive playings of Marshall Crenshaw's first album, but I'm calm now. The only problem with music at work is that I find it hard to air drum and type at that same time.