Music Nostalgia

I’m almost done copying all of my CDs onto my new laptop. I transferred most of my music last weekend. My mom kept sitting next to me and trying to calculate how much money I’ve spent on music. I told her to stop because it was going to drive me nuts.

As I was copying CDs and listening to a lot of songs I hadn’t listened to in years, I couldn’t help but get caught up in nostalgia and warm fuzzy feelings as certain songs, albums, artists evoked memories and feelings of a certain period in my life.

The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel: Elementary School. I wasn’t hip enough to get into New Kids on the Block or other pop artists of the time. I sat around and listened to The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel when I did my homework.

The Carpenters: 4th grade. I think I listened to them obsessively in the 4th grade. This is a bit embarrassing, but every time it rained and it happened to be a Monday, I was so excited to listen to “Rainy Days and Mondays” and stare out the window. I still remember those moments so vividly. That song is so depressing. I don’t remember what went through my little 4th grade mind when I listened to that song.

Joni Mitchell: My obsession with Joni Mitchell began in the 7th grade. Once again, I don’t think I fully understood her lyrics, but I was attracted to her music and listened obsessively. I think I really liked her voice. Her songs remind me of junior high.

The 60’s: I think I really got into the music of the ‘60s my freshman year of high school. I worked on a documentary about the Vietnam War for History Day and listened to A LOT of music from the ‘60s to determine which songs to include in the doc. Whenever I hear any songs from Woodstock and that time, I remember my History Day experience. I began to appreciate protest songs.

G.Love & Special Sauce: I remember sitting in Sue’s Oldsmobile listening to 91X and listening to the middle and end of “Rodeo Clowns” for the first time. We both really liked the song. We listened to 91X every chance we had for the next couple of weeks hoping that they would play the song again and tell us who the artist was. We finally caught it on the air. I bought the CD that day. G.Love & Special Sauce reminds me of riding around hot, dry Lake Elsinore in Sue’s car.

Incubus definitely reminds me of high school. “Stellar” was ‘our’ song. I smile and laugh when I think about it now. I guess it was cute.

MTV2 discoveries: I couldn’t fall asleep one night, so I turned on MTV2 to watch music videos (because they actually played music videos while MTV was filled reality shows… I think that’s how it is now too). Ok Go’s “Get Over It” video came on. I liked the catchy beats and looooved the video: every time they emphatically sang, “Hey!”, they showed a stack of hay. Brilliant! Right after the Ok Go video, they played India Arie’s “Video”. That’s when I fell in love with India Arie. I bought both CDs the next day. I think I’m an impulsive CD buyer.

India Arie: I find all of her albums so spiritually refreshing. Her first album reminds me of my senior year in high school and freshman year of college. I listened to her second album non-stop while I was in D.C. I am now listening to her third album non-stop. It’s amazing how I find that her albums seem to fit reflect what’s going on in my life at the time of their releases. I’m sure most women feel this way about her albums. I see her growth through her albums and I’m able to track my own growth through her music as well.

Coldplay: I listened to ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ a lot while I was in Africa. “Politik” always reminds me of South Africa.

Gracie Mix vol. 1, 2, 3, 4: I think I expanded my taste in music mostly in college. I wasn’t one of those cool kids in high school who knew all about the indie bands and what not. I can attribute the widening of my musical taste to Dan’s mixes. I never grow tired of them and they’re filled with bands that I would have never known. Plus, like India Arie’s albums, each mix reminds me of a certain time or year.

So, I think that’s all for now. I recommend that you take a look through your hundreds or thousands songs you may have and listen to those songs you haven’t heard in some time, the ones you’re embarrassed you still have, the ones that make you giddy or sad… and enjoy a wistful moment.