Music and Memories

I'm not one to live in the past, but sometimes a specific piece of music or an artist catapults you to a place and time. That can result in anything from a smile to wet eyes.

Some of my favorites that cause mental time travel:

GOOD VIBRATIONS by the Beach Boys: This was my first record - a 45. It brings me back to our house in Forbes Street in Rockville, MD in 1966. I was in 6th grade.

FIRE AND RAIN by James Taylor: Along with any song from his 1970 album Sweet Baby James, James Taylor's music was the soundtrack of my years at Magruder High School in Maryland.

SMOKE ON THE WATER by Deep Purple: This is the song that caused a stampede onto the dance floor at my senior prom in 1973.

COULD IT BE I'M FALLING IN LOVE by the Spinners: I fell in love for the first time to this song, ice skating at night on Northwestern's campus in Evanston, IL in 1973.

YOU COULD HAVE BEEN WITH ME by Sheena Easton: Always brings me back to the early days of my forever romance with Ron (circa 1983) in Dallas. The stereo is cranked up and we're wearing headphones and lying on the floor next to each other.

MARINA DEL REY by George Strait: Ron bought me my first CD player and George's first "best of" album when I lived in my townhouse (my first home of my own) in Coppell, TX in 1987. I had the most comfortable mauve velour sofa. It's OK, it was the 80's.

ONLY WANNA BE WITH YOU by Hootie and the Blowfish: When I hear this or any other song from  Cracked Rear View, it's 1996 and I'm floating in the pool at our house in Las Vegas.

CLARITY by John Mayer: The first song on one of the playlists on my iPod will always remind me of cocktail hour in the front room of our condo in Chicago (2008-2012), relaxing and enjoying the view of the neighborhood.

It's important to me to keep discovering and listening to new artists and musical releases. We need tunes to weave together our memories, and I'm not done with my life story.

Searching for Musical Relevance

Payday in the early to mid-1980’s always meant a trip to Sound Warehouse in Dallas, to buy 2 or 3 new music CD’s. We gobbled up new releases, as well as replacing some of our favorite record albums in the “new” format. It was during this time period that Ron and I really built up our music libraries, merging them when we combined households in 1988. Some of our favorite artists back then, like George Strait, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, are still cranking out great music. We also have old favorites like Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. But some artists have disappeared or gone very stale. Remember Sheena Easton? I won’t go on – it’s just too embarrassing.

The point is that we have fallen out of the habit of buying a lot of new music. I’m terrified of slipping into old fart-dom in my musical entertainment choices. I don’t want to be stuck in the 80’s and 90’s. Why does this so often happen to people as they get older?

I have a theory about how we lost our way. Where do you hear new music? On the radio – which we don’t listen to anymore, because we are hardly ever in the car. In clubs – and, yeah, we don’t go clubbing anymore. On MTV or VH1 – which we do not watch. So… What are the alternatives? We watched the Grammy’s on Sunday and picked up a few new leads. We cruise iTunes for what’s new. Amazon provides some recommendations. You see my dilemma.

We are not close-minded about musical choices (OK, except about rap and most hip-hop). Our iTunes Library includes newer artists such as Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, John Mayer, Feist, Pink, Paulo Nutini, Adele, Pink Martini, India Aire, East Village Opera Company, and a few more. But we need to continue to expand our horizons.

So…please send your recommendations for current artists or CD’s that you enjoy or think we might embrace. Help us in our desperate attempt to stay musically relevant as we age. God bless you.

P.S. BTW, we are at least iPod-enabled.