Now What?! The time-music continuum

Music is the great equalizer. It transcends race, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, and however else humans are categorically separated.

That’s not to say that everyone listens to and interprets music the same way, though. Some people are moved by the rhythm, some by the beat. Some folks prefer the lyrics to the melody or the genre to the tempo. Those who are hearing-impaired sometimes can feel the vibration of the bass.

What I can say with 99% certainty is that music transports most of us to another time instantaneously.

I’ve done a little research for this topic and asked dozens of people the question: “Is there a song that takes you to a particular time and place? Not just a sentimental song, but one to which you can close your eyes and surround yourself with a memory.”

Not one of those people paused to think for very long.

Some of the shared memories included one person riding around a school parking lot blaring “We are the Champions!” by Queen after her high school basketball team won the state championship for the second year.

Another was a friend playing the Thriller album for show-and-tell in kindergarten, which led him sharing how much he loved his kindergarten teacher. Songs and memories came from Supertramp, Jethro Tull, 10,000 Maniacs, Bruce Springsteen, and Led Zeppelin, to name just a few. The songs don’t need to have lyrics, by the way – big band music has that impact on me, too.

I could reel off dozens of my own vivid memories that show up in my mind’s eye within the first few beats of a song, but I’ll limit it to a few. Luckily there are others who can share in these memories vicariously.

When “You’re the Inspiration,” by REO Speedwagon comes on, I am immediately six years old and skating with one of my sister’s friends at Golden Skateworld in Eastern Henrico. It never occurred to me that my many crushes were doing my older sisters or cousins a favor. I can actually feel the carpeted walls and see the neon patterns on the floor to help guide the way.

The song “Cool it Now” by New Edition takes me back to the den/basement of my youth, which housed our record player and pool table. We had that 45 RPM and played it over and over. Those were some of the best Saturday afternoons (when we weren’t skating) when my cousins would come over and I could be an observer of the older girls playing pool. To this moment, if I texted one of my sisters “Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky and Mike…” they would know exactly how to reply. (Comment below if you know how you would reply.)

My son loves music, and he comes by it honestly. When he was in utero, I would play music in my cubicle at work through headphones and stretch them over my belly. Once he was old enough, we played music in the car both for children and not. I have always been a Jason Mraz fan (even before he was famous because we were friends in high school).

When his first album came out, I played the CD continually in the car. When the first few notes of “The Remedy” came on, my son would always exclaim, “Mommy, it’s OUR song!” with his little lisp.

This August when I took him to college, we spent the night in his college town the night before. I held it together even though I was exploding inside with emotion and made jokes with him as we got ready that morning. As soon as I turned the key, the radio was blasting from the night before, and wouldn’t you know, “The Remedy” came on.

When those first few notes started, so did my waterworks. He smiled but it wasn’t the same memory as for me. As I looked in my rearview mirror, I could practically see my three-year-old son on the way to Gingerbread Cottage Preschool with his little ankles crossed over his booster seat.

When I graduated from college, I went out to San Diego to visit a friend who just moved. During my stay, we decided to drive up the coast landing at one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life. They were gorgeous red rock formations being beaten by the Pacific Ocean, and even though I can smell the ocean while thinking of this memory, that wasn’t the most impactful of the day. The part of that day that I truly can put myself back in was when the windows were down and we blared, “California Love.”

I remember distinctly saying that this Virginia girl would never forget being in California and hearing that song. I am aware of how ridiculous that sounds.

I know music hits us all differently, but I welcome any memories you’d like to share. What songs take you back in a specific, vivid, and wonderful way?