Attaching memories to songs

There's songs from the 80s that bring back very specific memories for me, so when we decided to take a nice family vacation to FL I had a great idea for a soundtrack to listen to while wasting my time away on the warm sands. I would play certain songs while doing specific things like whenever I would sit on the back porch of our hotel and watch the sun go down I would play Skidoos by Akufen. Now everytime I hear that song I remember the warm breeze, the Luminiscent orange surrounding the clouds and the swarms of dragonflies that flew by one evening.

I have these sort of memories too. Songs from the late 80s take me back to the excitement of the weekends when I was in my late teens and it felt like anything could happen (and often good shit did). I won't mention any of those songs here as a lot of them are embarrassing and cheesy. But yeah, there are so many songs that I love today that have nostalgic memories attached to them. Feels sad sometimes.

music is awesome for remembering specific things.

getting really, really stoned for the first time with this really disgusting white trash girl i was for some reason friends with and her even-more-disgusting boyfriend while listening to wu-tang clan. wu-tang still makes me feel like i'm in 8th grade, i love it.

RATATAT's entire first album reminds me of the smell of cilantro, i worked at whole foods for a bit and would listen to that album every day while making boatloads of pico de gallo.

i was listening to tri repetae when my best friend found out her boyfriend had OD'd and died, i was pretty good friends with him too, and don't really like listening to that album anymore.

marvin gaye's "lets get it on" reminds me of my old neighbor george, this 65 year old alcoholic guy who insisted on listening to that song at LEAST 8 times a day at MAXIMUM VOLUME while singing along off key and getting so drunk he couldn't even make it up the stairs to his apartment. he was great.

  On 5/23/2010 at 1:46 AM, disparaissant said:

i was listening to tri repetae when my best friend found out her boyfriend had OD'd and died, i was pretty good friends with him too, and don't really like listening to that album anymore.

:(

I made a thread about this years ago. I love the way music attaches itself to your memory. Gotta be careful with that shit though because you can get music tagged to memories inappropriately. For example, there were a few times back in highschool where I would develop a huge crush on some girl and whatever album I was listening to at the time would forever remind me of having that huge gay crush. I've done this with Bonobo, Clark, and a few others. It hasn't affected me quite as strongly lately except that my whole england journey has been attached to the whole Oversteps album, which is quite fitting.

  On 5/23/2010 at 1:46 AM, disparaissant said:

i was listening to tri repetae when my best friend found out her boyfriend had OD'd and died, i was pretty good friends with him too, and don't really like listening to that album anymore.

I don't think i would ever be able to listen to the album again in your situation. Memories get pretty deep in the music i listen too.

'Reach Out' by Midfield General. Although not a song I ever listen to these days it reminds me of getting the all-clear after a biopsy which showed I didn't have cancer.

i wish it didn't happen, i don't like the feeling of nostalgia

music has the right to children reminds me of an entire summer spent living in a cottage in the middle of the woods and smoking way too much crappy hash. that was an awesome summer. listened to nothing but BoC and the Beastie Boys, it was fantastic.

  On 5/23/2010 at 2:42 AM, bacteriatastic said:

  On 5/23/2010 at 1:46 AM, disparaissant said:

i was listening to tri repetae when my best friend found out her boyfriend had OD'd and died, i was pretty good friends with him too, and don't really like listening to that album anymore.

 

:(

Ya, I can;t listen to certain albums anymore because they are tied to relationships in my head. Also, I remember driving to my grandfathers funeral listening to It Never Changes to Stop by The Books, and other tracks from Lost and Safe. needless to say that album is always kind of sad now...

A lot of Stars of the Lid reminds me of this one Vietnamese girl I used to know

  On 5/23/2010 at 3:16 AM, thehauntingsoul said:

For example, there were a few times back in highschool where I would develop a huge crush on some girl and whatever album I was listening to at the time would forever remind me of having that huge gay crush.

this.

chiastic slide reminds me of going to edinburgh to visit a girl, waking up stupid early for no reason and going for a walk all around the city at 5.30, listening to cipater and walking drunken cowboy style down the high street good times.

debut by bjork reminds me of my first gf, which is why i don't play it much any more.

little fluffy clouds by the orb is me sitting in my old garden in summer with a huge spliff and book about reggae

most of sigur ros' stuff is driving around cornwall in my old fiat

etc

Elliott Smith was like a comfort blanket during a point in my life where I was severely depressed. Now that he's tragically dead and I'm better I don't listen to his music much because there's too much wrapped up in it. A shame, the man was incredibly talented.