Minor Musings: Music and Memory Lane
Lately, music has been on my mind. Perhaps it’s due to a recent Coldplay fiasco involving a kiss cam. Maybe you heard about it?
For me, I think the reason is more personal.
This year has been pleasantly & unusually empty of commitments. With no weddings to attend, somewhat limited mobility and the need to stay close to home for the foreseeable future (did I mention I’m eight months pregnant? 🤰), I have dubbed this year my Concert Year. I bought tickets to three of my all-time favorite bands/artists, two down & one more to go.
So far, it’s been ELECTRIC ⚡️. Which doesn’t come as a surprise.
Is there anything better than a summer night in an outdoor amphitheater? 🌅
Does anything move you like singing along to one of your favorite songs with thousands of strangers, all out of key and messy and real?
There’s nothing quite like it.
However, I also feel pieces of this on a regular day driving in the car with the music cranked up or Spotify plugging through my headphones. I can’t help but associate memories with music, from my childhood to now.
For me, music is time travel.
Maybe it’s the same for you.
For me, they all bring me back:
The emo lyrics I put in my AIM away message (cringe)
The hip hop & rap that pumped me up & got me game day ready during basketball season
The Justin Timberlake song that was my ringtone during freshman year of college
The lyrics I named my Facebook photo albums after, or worse, put in my status update before a night out (why were we like this? Anybody have an answer yet?)
The Robin Thicke song from the all night bachelorette party with my best friends
The Foo Fighters songs that pushed me through my longest training runs
The country songs that helped me move through a broken heart
The playlist that I compiled of my Dad’s favorite songs that comforted me when he passed
The DMB song that brings me back to the first dance at our wedding
The Eli Young Band song that I used to sing to Maddie when she was in my belly
Anyway, you get the picture.
Maybe I’m just an existential nerd with a sappy soul. But when a band is singing live and I look around the crowd, it hits me harder than ever. My mind goes to my neighbors. This collective feeling, this collective moment in time.
What’s that guy in the red hat thinking about when he listens to this song?
Who is that girl in the tank top singing about?
What verse is the one taking that older gentleman back in time?
We’re all together, but is anybody really here?
We get so lost in our day to day. We sometimes go through autopilot, moving through the motions of our lives. A moment like this reminds me that there have been other chapters besides the one I’m currently living.
If you’re like me, there’s some that make you smile & there’s some that will always ache. Maybe there’s some you keep revisiting & others you’d rather forget entirely.
But one of the beautiful things, atleast in my mind, is this-the soundtrack of your life isn’t done being built yet. Whether you’re in a heavy season or a light season, if you’re lucky, there are more chapters (& songs) waiting for you.
More meaning to find, more highs & lows, more memories to make. For me, there comes some hope with that.
What about you? What music brings you back in time? What specific memories do you revisit through a song?
Thanks for reading & Happy Concert Season!
<3 Danielle
