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Current mood: nostalgic
Category: Music

Keeping in the same vein as my entry from earlier today, I'd like to talk about something else that invokes a different kind of feeling. It's also a subject that I like to write about quite often, and the subject on deck for the moment is music. I know a lot of people who think music is fun, enjoyable, and nice to have on in the background. That's ok, if you only like scratching the surface of life. People that fall into this category are mostly people that are non confrontational, not necessarily with others. Mostly themselves.

So what does music do for you? Of course listening to new music doesn't bring back any memories, and I like forging new territory as much as the next dude. Right now, I'm talking about music from your past. Does it make you remember? Does it make you feel a certain way about a certain someone you used to know? Someone that got away? Do you remember certain aspects of your childhood? Do you see still shots in your mind of your old house, your old block, or your old friends in your old neighborhood?

"Take Me Home" by Phil Collins reminds me of playing on the living room floor of my old townhouse when I was 4 or 5 years old while my Mom vacuumed. I was in my own world like most kids that age should be. The carpet was brown and the brown matching furniture were items we had until we moved out of the house I spent most of my childhood growing up in.

"Shane" by Liz Phair reminds me of sitting in Sara Keyman's room with new friends from Patrick Henry Middle School while I was dating her (Sara) for a weekend in the fall of my freshman year of high school. I think I signed my name on her wall or chair that hung from the ceiling or something. We also watched Arachnophobia that weekend, and I hate spiders. Man, I would do anything for a new chick when I was young.

"A Girl Like You" by the Smithereens reminds me of driving around aimlessly listening to 80's music with my friend Matt the summer before our junior year of high school. He never took his baseball crap out of his car so it always smelled like leather and hot sweat.

"Us and Them" by Pink Floyd reminds me of sitting in my college dorm room as a freshman thinking how awful can my roommate smell? My roommate that year sucked. I also thought of new and creative ways to stay with a certain ex-girlfriend I should have left that year.

"Basket Case" by Green Day reminds me of me and my friend Travis pretending to play guitar on my crutches before we really knew how to play the real deal in my basement in the summer after 8^th grade. Our other friend Joe would sit and watch. My basement was the only basement in my neighborhood that didn't smell musty. My Mom was a clean freak. See my first song I listed.

"Myage" by The Descendents reminds me of screwing around and sometimes breaking stuff in my friend Mike's Blazer along with any other assortment of friends from that part of my life. A lot of destruction happened either by my hand and that group of buddies from about 1995-1998.

"23 Beats Off" by Fugazi reminds me of the last few months my parents were together before they separated, adding me to the long list of kids that were screwed up in a minor or major way by their parent's divorcing. It also reminds me of going on debate trips all over eastern South Dakota with my debate partner Ryan.

"A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" by Dwight Yoakam reminds me of moving out of my ex-girlfriend Mandi's house, broken and up against the wall in a lot of ways and living with my friend Cory. I was hurt and lost, but I was on my own and never felt better. I loved Cory's house. It was old, had character, and an awesome tube amp stereo system where you could put on music you've heard a million times and get lost in it all over again like it was the first time.

The song selection was calculated. These songs all represent either people, times in my life, or places that I miss dearly. And a lot of the time when I hear these songs it makes me somewhat sad. Sometimes I hate being a nostalgic person.

Currently listening : After The Gold Rush By Neil Young Release date: By 25 October, 1990

5:00 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Derek

For me, whenever i hear AC/DC, it always brings me back to when we'd sit in Jason's room playing Rock N Roll Racing. Offspring makes me think of debate trips. Green Day and Bush were the first bands i ever 'really' liked, so they make me think of just about anything we did around music. I agree that enjoying listening to music is more about the memories it brings up than what the lyrics say or how cheesy the music may be. New music just seems to be missing something, maybe its just that we are experiancing less now than we did as kids. Or maybe its just me... Posted by Derek on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 6:47 PM [Reply to this]