Sunday, March 6, 2011

Songs Remind Me of Stages of Life

I'm probably not unique in that I have specific songs that remind me of times in my life. Songs that no matter where I am or who I am with, I start remembering specific times.  I am sure if I thought about it longer I could come up with more but here's my list that immediately comes to mind:

I don't know if the first one technically counts as a song, it's more of a prayer.  Though we do "sing/chant" it.  Regardless, I am counting it.  When I was young, my mother used to sing the Shema to us every night before sleep.  (FYI--the Shema is a Jewish prayer ... click on the link if you want to learn more. I now find myself saying it when I see an emergency vehicle with their siren going.)  Thinking of that song reminds me of being young and spending that special time with my mother.

The next two songs were a part of my life practically from birth until age 15: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and A Bushel and a Peck.  Both were songs my grandmother (mom's mom) and I used to sing. Over and over again.  Constantly. Just thinking of them now make me sad.  I say this song was in my life until age 15 because that was my age when my grandmother passed away.

From Elementary school time period there is one song (though really one band) that is reminiscent of that time period.  That would be the same band for probably all girls my age ... The Right Stuff by The New Kids on the Block.  A few girls in my neighborhood would get together and choreograph dances to go with the songs.  Our parents used to videotape us moving and shaking along with the song.  There is probably a videotape still in existence ... but here's hoping it stays hidden!  I also remember when my younger sister would sleep in my room on the floor and we'd listen to the cassette tape of NKOTB and talk about when I was old enough, I'd drive us to their concert.  Funny how they disappeared but now that I am a decade + being able to drive they have resurfaced!

For middle school it would have to be Mmmbop.  Without out a doubt.  I was a HUGE Hanson fan.  I was convinced I would marry Taylor.  It was also the first CD I believe I ever purchased.  I had their posters all on my wall.  I would sometimes buy two copies of a magazine if there were pictures on both sides of a page that I wanted to put up on my wall.  (This lasted for a while until my entire wall was covered....not the entire room but one whole wall.  One day however, I walked into my room and looked at the wall, said "you're a freak" and took them all down.  And gave them to my sister.)

When it was time for me to go to high school, I would up going to a magnet school.  As a result, I had two distinct groups of friends: my old middle school friends and my new high school friends.  My best friend from middle school, B, and I used to try to get together frequently.  We would often watch music videos (remember when people were still really excited about them??).  The song that for some reason reminds me most of that time is How Bizarre by OMC.  Now the reason this surprises me is because I hated this song.  First of all, the video sucked!  Two girls and a guy in a convertible?  Pass.  Plus, I always thought they were saying "help is on" instead of "how bizarre."  Regardless, that song always reminds me of my time with B.  With my new high school friends, my best friend was K.  She was a HUGE country fan.  I had rebelled against country and refused to listen to it ... she forced me to.  With her the first country song I liked was BBQ Stain by Tim McGraw.  Though this did not make me an instant country fan ... it laid the seeds!

There are two songs, very different from the rest of the songs included in this blog, that remind me of college.  They are Sorry Ms. Jackson by Outkast and What Would You Do by City High.  The people I was friends who in college were huge fans of these songs and would often have them playing when we drove around.  As a result, I naturally became a fan myself.  These songs remind me of a time when I had no real responsibilities except school.  Where I lived in a dorm, hung out with friends, etc.  Although I did work, and worked a lot during school in different capacities, not in the same way I do now.

Toward the end of college I became friends with someone, let's call him E, who [claimed he] was in the military (I don't even know if I will ever write a blog about E ...).  I don't know if you've ever looked, but the only patriotic songs seem to be country songs.  Naturally, I started listening to country songs.  The first patriotic song I fell in love with was Letters from Home by John Michael Montgomery.  With this starting my enjoyment of country music, when I was home on a break I had the country station on and the video came on for He Didn't Have to Be.  I loved it.  And thus cemented my love of country.

There is no song that comes to mind during grad school ... probably too busy working!  

When D and I were dating, we had discussed marriage often enough to know it was coming.  Whenever I would hear Taylor Swift's Love Story I would get all tingly when the guy proposes to her in the story.  I knew D was close-ish to proposing so it would make me excited for when it happened for me.  Now when I hear it I remember feeling that way before D proposed.

For our wedding one of the traditions I wanted to do was having all the "committed" couples dance and have the DJ slowly ask couples to sit down as the length of together-ness got longer and longer.  (We didn't wind up doing this.  D's grandparents wound up not being able to come to the wedding and they would have "won."  Since they weren't going to make it, my aunt and uncle would have been married the longest so they would have won.  But my aunt somewhat suddenly passed away in December of 2009 and we got married in May 2010.  I thought it would be too difficult for my uncle so we skipped the dance.  We still played the song.)  The song is Then by Brad Paisley.  If you are married or in a long term relationship I strongly recommend you listen to it.  It's sweet but not overly sappy.  Perfect love story.  D even started recognizing it when it would be playing on the radio!

So that brings us to the present.  What song reminds me of married life?  To be honest, there isn't one "special" song.  But if I had to ... I would say jazz reminds me of married life.  D loves jazz music.  Loves.  Obsessed is probably more appropriate.  He is always looking for an excuse to blast the music.  I go into the shower, I can hear it playing.  I go out to get the mail, it's on.  You get the hint...

What songs remind you of moments in your life?

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