I was driving home last night and I decided to turn on an album that I hadn’t listened to for a while. It was one of those warm California nights when you can drive with the windows down and it couldn’t be any more perfect. The album I chose for that perfect drive home was Heavier Things by John Mayer. It had been a while since I listened to the album but, as soon as it started, so many different memories came to mind. It’s amazing how specific songs or albums can trigger our memories and take us back to a specific moment or season in life. It is said that our sense of smell has the strongest ability to recall memories, but driving home I couldn’t help but remember that album and all the meaning tied up with it.
Heavier Things was released on September 9, 2003, a few weeks before I would get my first girlfriend. So much of that relationship revolved around John Mayer and his music. That summer we had gone to see John Mayer in concert and at the concert we realized that there was something more going on between the two of us. Songs from Mayer’s first album, Room for Squares, and Heavier Things provided the soundtrack for our relationship. I clearly remember conversations about songs like “Why Georgia,” “Something’s Missing,” and “Split-Screen Sadness.” And, as I drove home last night, those conversations, thoughts and memories all came flooding back.
After we broke up, well after I got dumped, it was really hard to listen to John Mayer. For a few months I wouldn’t listen to his music because it was filled with too many memories and too much meaning. Eventually I got over that and started listening to John Mayer’s music again; time had muted those memories and their meaning. I still have the memories but they just don’t carry as much meaning as they used too. I don’t look back longingly on those memories; I just look back on them as a season of my life that has shaped who I am today. I like how music not only reminds us of who we were during a season, but it can also show us how far we’ve really come and how much we’ve grown. Now, as I get ready to marry my fiancée, I can look back across the soundtrack of our relationship: Michael Buble, Wicked and Tyrone Wells. Looking at that soundtrack I remember where we’ve been, how we’ve grown together and how much I look forward to adding more tracks to our soundtrack as we begin our life together.
What music stirs up old memories for you?
No comments:
Post a Comment