Music and Memories

When I hear certain songs they take me back to a specific place and location in time. When I hear Cult of Personality by Living Colour I always get taken back to eighty-nine when I was driving down highway five-eighteen. I was heading towards four-oh-five going in to Tukwila. It was going to be the first day of my fire cadet training with the Tukwila Fire Department.

The song Battle of Evermore by Led Zeppelin remind me of driving my truck around the highlands after I got my license. I was cruising with friends and I had some Oreo cookies.

Then there is the song Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie. That takes me to ninety-three when I was living in Stephenson East. I was also doing a radio show. That was one of the song I would play and it just reminds me of my freshman year at college.

The Offspring’s song Smash takes me back to May of ninety-seven. I was in my apartment. The first time living on my own like that. I had all sorts of dishes my mom bought and I was washing all of them by hand. It was taking a long time. I did not have cable yet because I had just moved in. I just got Smash, the Album, so I listened to that over and over and over while I was working.

An old one is Kenny Rogers’ Coward of the County. I was in day care at Busy Bee. The lady who drove us to Apollo everyday asked to borrow my record. It was a single with that song on it. I handed it to her one day getting into the van. I remember her putting the record in the pocket of her vest. I remember when I got it back there was a scratch on it and I was very sad about that.

It is strange how certain songs can take you to a very specific place in time and how for some reason those events get tied in your mind to that event.