Song Memory
That last post got me thinking about Song Memory, or an Aural History. These are songs which trigger very deep recollections of points in your life. For instance:
Cecilia Ann by the Pixies – driving in my grandpa’s SLK320 convertible through Carlsbad on my way to get a bagel early in the morning after I got laid off from Freedom.
Wilco – She’s a Jar – weekends spent at work, during Santa Ana conditions, programming Java during the tail end of the last dot-com bust/boom.
R.E.M. – The Lifting – Falling asleep with my head against the window of a Metrolink train while commuting to and from work.
The Verve – Lucky Man – Driving home from the Oceanside train station after work.
Oingo Boingo – When the Lights Go Out – setting up my computers at my first house when I moved out at 18
Richard Hell and the Voidoids – Love Comes in Spurts – Moving out of my parents house
Pearl Jam – Animal – My sophomore year of high school, walking around with my Walkman on so I didn’t have to talk to anyone.
Radiohead – Let Down – sitting on the beach late at night when I lived in Oceanside
Architecture In Helskinki – Its 5 – the chaotic time when I was graduating from my MFA program, moving and starting a job within the same week.
Badly Drawn Boy – Once Around the Block – sleeping between dives in Aruba during New Years, 2001
Brian Eno – Music for Airports 1/1 – wondering what to do when my heart was broken, 1998
The Pixies – Debaser – figuring it out, 1998/1999
The Eels – PS. You Rock My World – finding HER – 2002
Sia – Breathe Me – my great grandpa Jim dying
Sigur Ros – Vaka – late nights, ocean in the distance, talking on AIM
R.E.M. – Orange Crush – when I first heard this song, I was 9 years old. I at that point thought there was nothing more sublime on the planet than stipe/buck/mills/berry. I still believe this.
Metallica – The Unforgiven – summer camp when I was 12 or so
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Subway to Venus – Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama when I was 13 with my friend Michael
Patti Smith – People Have the Power – November 12, 1994 – life changer.
Music is such an important part of my life. I have been privileged to meet a good majority of the artists above in person. Although I’ve talked with them, there is no way to express when the signifier of a portion of your material existence is tied to a piece of art/culture that they have created.
As Michael Stipe once said (in a book): words are stupid. Look into my eyes.
Please comment or trackback with your song/memory list
The nothing song on untitled has to be the most moving song sigur ros have ever written. Every time I hear it it brings back so many memories – not necessarily good but still. I understand what you mean though songs seem to capture the essence of a place and a time in your life more than words ever will. I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I guess the point of this comment is just to say thanks and you know keep going and all that stuff people say….
Tim
[...] In response to Ethan: [...]
This is great! I’ve actually thought about doing a set of posts on this very topic, but since I never got around to it, I’ll share one here.
Sonic Youth – “The Wonder”
Blasting in my Dad’s 89 Dodge Dakota driving home from high school on highway 92 in Jefferson City, TN. I got a speeding ticket.
Lynrd Skynrd – Sweet Home Alabama
A few summers ago this song was playing at a neighbor’s house. We could hear from nearly two miles away. Everyone was outside clearing the fallen trees in their yards; we’d just had a 3-mile-wide tornado come through.
Nice little meme going here…
I remember listening to “Saint Steven” on vinyl in my dorm room in 1984. When I say my first Dead show a year later, I kept calling for the song, not realizing the band rarely, if ever, played it live.