Song Memories

The other day I was having lunch with 2 colleagues, and we started discussing music. The older colleague said, "I really can't stand rap." In response, the younger colleague said, "Oh, I love rap, but I hate country." Then I said, "Well, I hate 90s music." It was as if the needle scratched across the record and all sound stopped. My younger colleague asked, "What? All 90s music?"

No, not all 90s music, just most because I had some rough times in the 90s. I was telling B about the conversation later at supper, and we started talking about song memories. Like scent memories, I hear a song and it immediately takes me back to that event, place, and/or time.

Highlights from my musical timeline:

Childhood:
Tie a Yellow Ribbon - Tony Orlando & Dawn: One of my earliest memories is pretending to be Tony Orlando. Even though he was a guy, I wanted to be in the spotlight. I loved TO&D and would regularly force my parents to endure my "shows." If I could harangue my brother into the "show," he would be my back-up. I would also include Donna Fargo's Happiest Girl in the Whole USA in the mix.

Dance to the Music - Sly and the Family Stone: Otherwise known as "The Sloppy Song." When I hear this song, I am 5 years old again. We lived in a little house in rural WV and my dad worked a lot. My younger brother would have to hear this song every day before he would take a nap. He called it "The Sloppy Song," which stuck and we all call it "The Sloppy Song" still.

Come Sail Away/The Grand Illusion - Styx: My mom played this album every single day for years, and we continue to listen to it whenever she and I take road trips together. I can remember the stereo/record player was so big, it took up almost an entire wall. I have a very young mother, so in the seventies she was in her twenties. I can't imagine being 26 and having a 7 and 5 year old. At the time I didn't pay attention, but in memories, she was so cool, young, and beautiful.

Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' - Journey: This song reminds me of being at the local Roll Arena. Usually played for the final Couples Skate, the lights would dim to swirly red, blue and green and the boys and girls would take the rink. I was really young, so most of the time I was in the far corner changing from skates to shoes. I still remember the smell of leather, feet, and popcorn, and how weird it would feel to not have those heavy skates attached to my feet when I stood up and started walking to the return skates booth.


Teens:
Straight From the Heart - Bryan Adams: One of the first 45s I owned, this was also my first slow dance with an older boy. In seventh grade my love for David B., a ninth grader, was strong, true, and totally unrequited. Every month, our junior high would have dances in the cafeteria/commons. After several months of pining on the sidelines, I worked up my courage and asked David to dance to this song. We put our arms around each other and swayed in a circle. I looked off to the left, he looked off to the right, and when the song ended he said, "Thanks," and walked off to his friends goofing in the corner. I played that 45 over and over, reliving every moment.

Little Red Corvette/1999 - Prince: This song reminds me of my Junior High Posse, Kathy, Pam, and Jodi. We were so tight in 8th and 9th grade. Kathy and Pam both had a thing for Prince, I was loyal to John Taylor of Duran Duran, and Jodi loved the Kajagoogoo guy. In retrospect, I think Kathy's love of Prince was typical junior high crush stuff, but Pam's love came with a worldly, sexual knowledge that was foreign to the rest of us. Pam was wild and introduced me to things my mama and daddy didn't feel like a 12 year old in the early 80s should know. She enlightened about the sexual innuendo and drive of Prince's music, and I've been a fan ever since.

Need You Tonight/Kick - INXS: Kathy and I would cruise in her mom's white Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. We would open the sun roof and blast this cassette while driving past boy's houses, gossiping about everybody, and enjoying the little bit of freedom that comes with being 16. A time when the only worries we had were grades, boys, zits, and whether our nemesis Shari S. was going to steal our boyfriends (she did).

College and My 20s:
Back to Life - Soul II Soul: I attended a historically black college in the late 80s & early 90s. There was so much happening with hip hop and rap at that time. I remember dancing in the student union with my college boyfriend Danny. He loved the direction music was taking, and was really into this band, 2 Live Crew, Ice-T, Kid N' Play, Arrested Development, etc... He made me go see New Jack City, and that was the first time this WV girl had ever seen anything like the lifestyles portrayed in the movie. I remember leaving the theater feeling sick to my stomach and ashamed; I felt so uninformed about the world around me.

Mysterious Ways - U2: One of my least favorite U2 songs. Working as a bank teller and taking classes in my 4th year of college, I was so ready shed the mantle of college and move on. Even though I had great friends and a well-paying job, I remember feeling lonely and stagnant. This song was playing constantly; it was huge.

Twisted - Keith Sweat: I was dating a younger man and was contemplating a deeper relationship with a friend who was also committed. I distinctly remember this video playing while I sat next to the friend, sipping Foster's wondering what the hell I was doing. I made the wrong decision.

Crush/Before These Crowded Streets - Dave Matthews Band: This CD had been out for a while, but B loved it (still does). I had gone to a friend's wedding in the same town where B lived. We had only been dating a few weeks, and had made plans for me to meet him at his apartment after the reception. I was having my period, and by the time I made it to B's apartment, I was sick from it. I asked to take a raincheck for our date, and he told me he didn't care if we ever left that apartment, as long as we could spend time together. I stayed, and I laid down on the on the couch with my head in his lap. We were listening to this CD, and I remember thinking about how being with him was like coming home.

I am still building my song memories for my thirties. Some that come to mind are ones that remind me of C when she was small, and where I am in my life right now. A few:
Dream a Little Dream - Diana Krall
I Can See Clearly Now - Jimmy Cliff
Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks
Sweet Surrender - Sarah McLachlin

What songs trigger memories for you?