Although today's topic is a little "off topic" I think everyone can relate to it.
Today I've been working on pumpkins, ginger breads and stressed out girls. Instead of listening to my radio, I have Music Choice on the Alternative station. My choice in music is usually retro alternative (80s The Cure, XTC, New Order, etc). My next choice would be music from the 90s and now, like Stone Temple Pilots, Collective Sole, Smashing pumpkins, NIN, Coldplay, etc. When I'm feeling spiritual I'll listen to gospel and Christian. When I'm really in a good mood and feeling energetic, I'll put on Funky music like The Gap and Earth, Wind and Fire or old school. When I really want to feel reflected and relaxed I listen to new age.
While I was working, "Talk" by Coldplay came on. Immediately, I was reminded of three things. Firstly, "talk" was the first song I put on my myspace page. Secondly, the song reminds me of my boyfriend, Jeff. Thirdly, I thought about my daughter's old friend. The friend isn't in my daughter's life anymore due to personal reasons, but the song still reminds me of her. My daughter Amber was in labor, while her friend and I sat in the birthing room talking about Coldplay and how much we liked them. It's a simple memory, but it does make me a little sad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0uqLM1uj_k
I know I'm not alone when I say that music transports me back to a memory, a time or a place. When I hear certain songs, I can remember details like where I was sitting, who I was with, what I was wearing and what the weather was like.
One of the first memories I have related to a song is "Go away little Girl" by Steve Lawrence. I was dreaming that no one wanted me around, and that where ever I went, people would say, "Go away little girl." As I slowly awakened from the dream, I could hear the song playing on the radio. I heard my dad packing his lunch for work and he was whistling along with the music. That memory goes back to 1962.
In 1967 there was a song by The Boxtops called "The Letter". Whenever I hear that song, I can remember walking on a hot sandy road with my cousin Nancy. I was 12 years old at the time and she was two years older. I thought she was so cool and I wanted to be like her. We were walking with our transistor radios and the song came on. She remarked that she loved that song. I loved it too and I felt like it ranked me a little higher in the "cool" category.
My cousin died several years ago but when I hear that song I remember that hot summer day we spent together.
1972 introduced me to a lot of great songs and my first hard crush. My friend Debbie and I both double dated two guys for a few months and, although both of those "relationships" ended
with broken hearts, the songs from that era remind me of the fun, excitement and sadness I experienced then. I remember roller skating to "Round-about" by Yes, making out to "Doctor my eyes" by Jackson Brown, and fighting to "American Pie" by Don McClean.
When I hear "Precious and Few" by Climax, I remember the heartbreak my friend felt when her guy dumped her. My heartache followed with sad songs, like "Alone Again" by Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Without you" by Nilsson, and finally, Bread's "Diary" song.
I remember going to a pool party in 1973 and as I pulled up in front of the house, "Hooked on a Feeling" came on by Blue Swede. I sat in the car and listened to it. A friend of mine screamed out my name from the pool deck, but I waited till the song was over before I got out of the car.
I was married in 1976 and remembered traveling to Pennsylvania for the honeymoon. "Let Your Love Flow" by Bellamy Brothers was all over the radio, and I thought it was fitting that it would be "our song." (Originally, "our song" was "I shot the sheriff" by Bob Marley..kind of fitting now that we've been divorced for so long..)
I've only covered the first two decades of my life and I'm falling behind on making clay.
So, I think I'll cover the next two decades tomorrow. Enjoy the videos!
