In addition to "Dead Ringer," I thought it would be nice to have a more lighthearted thread, as well. One of the most striking images in "The Dead" is Gabriel's portrayal of his wife standing on the stairs listening to Bartell D'Arcy singing "The Lass of Aughrim." He desires to paint her in that moment and claims he would call the painting, "Distant Music." Her stoic disposition which enamours her husband so, we discover later, is the result of memories induced by the song of Michael Furey, a boy she knew in her youth. This demonstrates one of the most unique and powerful characteristics of music: its intricate connection with memory. A song is often able to transport a person through time and space to an earlier moment when it was playing. I would like to hear some of your own "distant music," that is, songs that bring back an overwhelmingly strong memory every time you hear them.
For me, there are many, but one that stands out is "Breathless" by (appropriately) the Irish band The Corrs. It was the intro music to one of the stage shows I performed in at Calaway Park in 2001 (I'm dating myself now). Whenever I hear it, I half-expect the overdubbed male voice to intrude with, "Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to Calaway Live's presentation of Summer Jam," etc. It also brings back the sights and smells of the carnival atmosphere - fried foods, sweat, the clicking of the roller coaster wheels - and I have to double-check that I am not wearing the white dance pants and sleeveless shirt which were my costume (it did largely revolve around boy bands). Needless to say, when it comes on in the supermarket, I have to come back to reality before I start busting a move in the cleaning isle.
Perhaps I should have picked a slightly less embarrassing story, but oh well. Now it's your turn. Choose an example, of course, that you feel comfortable sharing. If the song/video is appropriate, include it in your reply so we can all listen to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M--pucJL5hw&feature=fvwrel
ReplyDeleteAlthough you probably don't hear this song on the radio too often, I'm sure you all know exactly what song this is from!
Not only does this song remind me of The Lion King and how I used to watch it at LEAST everyday, but it makes me reminsce upon my childhood. This song makes me think back to the house that I grew up in, the friends I used to have, and most importantly, how much I miss my tiny town in New Hampshire! I can vividly remember my jungle gym that my dad built for me that I would spend hours upon hours playing on, the tree I would climb almost daily, and my favorite Winnie the Pooh curtains that would help me fall asleep each night. It's crazy how much you can remember from just hearing a song and having it tap into the dusty corner of your mind to recover all those hidden memories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7HSah2FsY
ReplyDeletePink Floyd. An awesome band, and I have liked them since I was too young to understand anything they said. This song in particular has been one of my favorites for that amount of time.
When I was growing up, I would always hear this song on the radio or my dad's cds. This just makes me think of how much fun I always had riding in his truck. One time I clearly remember.
At ages 4-6 I lived in Stanley. My dad (who was the head guy at the clinic, and also on Search & Rescue) received a call for S&R while we were driving around. He popped his light on top of the truck and proceeded to drive over 100mph, which at my age was amazing. While we were driving this song came on. Whenever I hear it, I always think of this moment. Music is a very powerful thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb0Y3FNrVJk
ReplyDeleteNow some may not like the humor in this, but the song shows the frustration of love in a humorous way. Listening to this song makes me think of the funny moments I've had in my "love life".
If I could "like" this post I would that is such a funny song. It has some truth though.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4
ReplyDeleteThis song brings back so many memories. This is not only my mother's favorite song, but is also the song my older brother and I grew up listening to, creating homemade music videos to share with the family. I come from a very athletic family, and this song truly represents what the "Phillips" family is all about. Hardwork, sacrifice, and victory is basically what "Eye of the Tiger" is about. This song is definitley a motto I live by.
"300 violin orchestra" by Jorge Quintero is an awesome song. Everytime I listen to it it brings backs memories of playing football or basketball. We always listen to it in the locker room before games. If sports events had background music this would definately be one of the songs. This song always gets me pumped up and ready to go hit someone. Everything about it reminds me of sports, I remember the smell of the locker room, running out under those Friday night lights, and then making a wicked tackle in front of a huge crowd.
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh! I love this song! It's so motivating. I listen to it before every basketball game :)
DeleteI somehow figured that you would choose this song seeing as anytime you get your hands on the music you play this song
DeleteThese are all great examples, and I love the stories. It is a little irritating that the url's don't seem to hyperlink automatically. However, I just discovered this little trick on how to do it. The nifty thing about this method is you can integrate it right into your text. Say, for instance, you want to hear a great Canadian pirate song. Incidentally, this is another song that brings me back to my youth. My friend, Jordan, and I used to sing this while riding in his 1982 Omega, since it didn't have a radio. It did, however, have working Christmas lights and fake jungle leaves strung about the interior, so I guess that made up for the lack of a radio or working heater (well, maybe not the heater).
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll have to play around with it a little more since my hyperlinks aren't showing up a different color. If you scroll over "how to do it" and "a great Canadian pirate song," there are hyperlinks.
ReplyDeleteThe song that for me that I currently think of when I think of good times and brotherhood, I think of "Whistle" by Flo Rida. Everyday as a team we listen and sing this song. After our first football game we sang this song on the bus about twenty times.We all continually try to improve on our whistling so we can sing the song better. This song will always remind of good times shared with teammates.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I think I fixed it.
ReplyDeleteThe song “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood reminds me of floating on the river and making funny decisions with my friends. At one point I was floating on the river and our boat his a bridge so perfectly equal that the boat started to become submerged so I decided to let Jesus take the wheel and abandon ship with a little girl that was freaking out. It will always be a moment that makes me wonder what would have happened. I also think of all the stupid things I do, and I said, “Jesus take the wheel” a lot.
ReplyDeleteThe song "It's My Life" by Jon Bon Jovi is a song to live by. It reminds me that my life is my own and that I control what happens in it. This song motivates me to move forward towards my goals of college and life beyond Salmon. It reminds me to stand my ground and not let others choose my path for me.
ReplyDeleteMy strong emotional song is Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt. It embodies music with true meaning, unlike the children's techno garbage that everyone seems to love so much. The complexity of his heart and mind are revealed unequivocally and it taps deep within the listener and unveils even their deepest of loves. Every time I hear this song I gain another emotional experience, be it, singing it to Hunter, or in my car, or alone atop mountains, searching for my own soul. "Goodbye My Lover" will play in my head forever.
ReplyDeleteWhilst contemplating what song I would chose, I ran into somewhat of an issue, which was, there are so many songs which yeild such different emotional reactions or bring to mind very vivid memories from my past. Yet I could not narrow this choice down to one easily. I then thought, why not go with something classic. This reasoning lead me to pick, "The Spam Song" by Monty Python. It not only brings back several memories of listening to the song late at night with friends, but also the reaction that I felt when I first hear it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE