Does anyone remember that commercial that opened up with the line, "Scent is the strongest sense tied to memory?" Yeah, me neither. I just know that one day, a commercial came on and said that and I remember not being able to agree more with that statement. You know exactly what they are talking about. You can be just standing there, minding your own business and BAM! All of the sudden you're seven years old, standing at the bus stop again, probably trying to be first in line. All because that car's exhaust that just passed by smells a lot like your bus used to. True story. That one actually might happen to me the most. It's bizarre the things our brains hold on to and the times it lets you remember. God forbid anyone walks by me that smells like "Beautiful" perfume. I might yell out for my Mom.
So if scent is the number one memory-bringing-backer, I'm going to go ahead and say that songs are winning the number two spot. It's almost a mathematical certainty. New music excluded (for obvious reasons), there is not one song I have heard before that isn't capable of making me think of someplace I've been, something I did, or simply someone. Good, bad, big, small, most songs make me think of something from my past. Next time we are in the car together, go ahead and ask me what this song (whatever is playing at the time) reminds me of. I'll have a story to tell you. It may not be a good story, but I'll have one, and hey, you asked.
Personally, songs might even be more potent than scent. Sure, certain scents make me remember, but songs bring me there. If I have a vivid memory linked with a song, whenever that song comes on, I immediately am filled with the same feelings that I had during the initial experience. I can close my eyes and drift off into my past.
It's my own little super power.
Dave Matthews Band - "Seek Up"
This song made an impact on my memory with an incredible force. I've been listening to this song since I was thirteen years old and each time I hear the first few notes, I get an intense, nervous feeling. I have my siblings to thank for that. When I was thirteen, they took me to one of my very first "Dave" shows, if you will. My three siblings are all older than I and had jumped on the Dave Matthews Band train before there were train tracks. So here I am, at the Worcester Centrum or Great Woods I believe, thinking I am the bee's knees because I get to see a cool band without my mom. Not to mention the fact my brothers and sister are letting me hang out with them. Little did I know, they didn't have a ticket for me. Their plan was to sneak me in. They had already been to a handful of DMB shows and had mastered the art of passing a ticket back after the concert aisle people checked it. (I'm sure those employees have a specific title, I just don't know it.) I was a real "goody goody" at the time and had never done such a thing. Patrick gave me the rundown on how it was going to go down about five times and I tried to mentally prepare. Dave opens up with "Seek Up" and we're all running to get to our seats. This is it. Don't fuck it up. I definitely was not smooth about it, but somehow it worked. We finally get to our seats and I'm trying to enjoy this song, but mostly I'm catching my breath trying not to pass out all the while trying to act all, no big deal. From that day on, that is the feeling I get when "Seek Up" comes on. I probably would like that song a lot more than I do if that never happened but it will always have a spot in my heart.
This one makes me happy. Let's go back to 2001, shall we? I'm a freshman at Umass Amherst. I'm hanging out with my friend, Kristin, her roommate, Ashley and her roommate's boyfriend, hmmmm I don't remember his name. We decide it'd be a great idea to go smoke a blunt and drive around in his Jeep and let's face it, it was. This Jeep was sweet. The back seats were the ones that are on either side and face each other. I had never seen anything like it. In retrospect, it's kind of awkward but I was digging it at the time. So we are all high as kites, Kristin and I in the back, just driving around, breathing in some sweet Amherst air with the windows down, listening to some tunage. Then, a wonderful thing happened. "Breakdown" by Mariah and Bone Thugs came on. My friend, Kristin and I went to high school together but never really were friends so we were still in our "getting to know you" period. She knew I liked Mariah, but I don't think she grasped how much. I don't really think many people do. Naturally, I was singing along with Mariah the whole time, but towards the end of the song, Mariah does her unmatchable lead vocals so I shut up, saved everyone's ear drums and started lip syncing. When I say lip syncing, not only do I mean mouthing the words but also doing the hand motions that go along with producing the sounds I supposedly was making. All I needed was a spotlight and a stage. I was into it hard core and had my eyes closed for most of it. I don't even think I realized Kristin was watching me until I opened my eyes to see her in complete amazement. Kristin said she heard parts of that song she had never heard before. That's a huge compliment to me. I think the best part of this whole thing was that Ashley and her boyfriend had no idea what was going on in the backseat, but it was a moment Kristin and I will never forget and forever think about whenever we hear this song.
My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"
Whenever this song comes on, feel free to not talk to me for the next five minutes and twenty three seconds because I will be at The Pub in Amherst, MA, if only in my mind. I will safely say this song made impact during my Junior/Senior year at Umass. Someone had come across this song and showed it to our friends that were in a band, "The Shady Groove Experience." Fortunately, the band members all took a liking to it and learned how to play it. And not just play it, but MASTER it. These kids nailed it. Every week, the band got a night (Tuesday? Wednesday?) to play at a local Amherst bar called, "The Pub." To show our support, and to support our alcoholic, binge drinking ways, we went and saw our friends play. Each week they closed with "One Big Holiday." It was almost disappointing if they didn't play it. I'm telling you, these kids (my friends, I don't know why I'm referring to them as 'these kids'), played this song to a tee. By no means was this song popular with our group of friends to start off with. But after a couple weeks of this closer, we were loving it. I remember looking around seeing all of my closest Umass friends just jamming out together without a care in the world. They were just there, in that moment, feeling the song. The drums and guitar that come in within the first few seconds, bring me the most warm, nostalgic feeling. It's like going home.
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