1. Introduction

Something people notice about me, sometimes even the first time we meet, is that I have a deep fascination with music.  I am hardly alone in this, music geeks are a dime a dozen.  But most I’ve come across are gleefully elitist.  Snobs in a game where only they are keeping score.  These people funnel their social ineptitude into a seething contempt for people who do not agree with their muisical taste.  Me, I’m content to let people like what they like—expecting someone to have the same musical taste as you is just as ridiculous as expecting someone to have the same favorite color as you.  I’m passionate about music and appreciate the cutting edge, but I also have a soft spot for Spin Doctors, and may occasionally hum Hootie and the Blowfish while driving alone.

Okay, okay, okay, so maybe I’m lying.  MAYBE I’ve judged one or two people based on what music they like.  And MAYBE I’ve given a friend or two a hard time about their taste (Maroon 5, Adam?  Really?!?!).  But still, I just admitted to liking the Spin Doctors and Hootie and the Blowfish.  I have forfeited the right to mock anyone, ever.

I’m getting off topic.  I was saying that I love music.  I have for as long as I can remember.  Yet one question I’ve wrestled with is why.  Why do I continue to seek new music, and new bands, despite the fact that most of my friends outgrew this long ago?  Why do I feel the need to listen to music during any downtime of the day?  What need does music fulfill in my life?  I’ve thought long and hard about this.  And I think the answer relates to two things:  spirituality and history.

In the past, when people have asked me why I like music, my answers have varied.

“I love going to concerts.”

“I like playing, and admire the skill and talent it takes.”

“It’s just fun.”

But the true answer?  The answer I hesitate to give because it may seem too intense or overblown?

Music makes me believe in God.

What other art form is so universal, and speaks so directly to our emotions?  No person in the world can mistake the response a song is trying to evoke.  Joy is joy, and sadness is sadness, in spite of any difference in culture or religion.  The fact that our sense of hearing can tap directly into emotion amazes me.  No other sense has that power—when was the last time you tasted something that made you sad?  But with a few simple notes someone can be made to feel happy, melancholy or lustful.  Hearing a song which effortlessly speaks to my emotions and highlights this human oneness is a spiritual experience for me.

The other thing I love about music is the memories that it can conjure up.  Science supposes that smell is the sense most closely linked to memory, but I feel that a short musical refrain causes a stronger sense of nostalgia than the smell of baking cookies (or curry, as the case may be).  Television theme songs, pop song choruses, and jazz riffs all have colored my life, and to this day a song can vividly recall an experience I’ve had.

These are the two reasons I write this blog.  First, to catalog some experiences I’ve had, which are linked inextricably in my memory to certain songs.  In some cases the music was present during the experience, in others the music or lyrics of a song call forth an experience I had by evoking a related emotion.  By writing about these, I hope to maybe jar a memory for someone else that the same song may have, or to at least share some good music.  Hopefully this will be entertaining.  Comment away, whether you like something, hate it, or want to offer your own experiences.  And yes, there will be a post about Spin Doctors.