It is said that the most powerful sense that brings back memory is olfactory. What does it have to do with songs? Well, nothing actually, but for me, hearing a song can also bring back a flood of memories. Listed here are but a few of the songs that will make me reminisce of my more blissful days..
- Living on Video - Trans-X (1984)
- I remember when I first heard this song in Montreal when I was visiting my cousins (who were living there at the time). It was the first dance song I ever heard, and it sparked my fascination for dance music and most of it's derivatives. Unfortunately, I never did come across this song very often after that and would only hear snippets here and there, but never the entire song, nor the song title.
- I thought that I found it a couple of years ago when I heard "Love Sees No Colour" by U96 but I quickly realized that the songs were different. (Hey, my memory isn't THAT bad!) It took a couple more years before I just happened to catch the song on the radio, and was lucky enough to hear the announcer mention the title and artist. That gave me enough information to track it down on the Internet and make sure it was the same song from my youth. Ah, I still remember those days in Montreal..
- Sara - Starship (1985)
- In grade five, I had a crush on a girl by the name of Sarah. Okay, so the names aren't the same, but it was close and this song just happened to make it big around that time. This is just one of the many 80's songs that I remember from my days in elementary school. Most of the popular 80's songs will trigger a specific memory or two from that time period. (Like Silent Running by Mike and the Mechanics, St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) by John Parr, Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes - strange video - and many others.)
- Say You, Say Me - Lionel Richie (1985)
- I went on a trip to Hong Kong and China in 1985/6. I still remember parts of the trip vividly (like the time we watched The Goonies or visiting Ocean Park). Dang, and there was that one cute girl (in Hong Kong) who's name I never got..
- Anyway, this song was making the rounds down in China while I was staying there. Hearing it brings me back to a time playful innocence and wonder. I still remember watching TV in the dining room (during the few hours of electricity), the birds that we played with, firecrackers we set off, and games we enjoyed. The food, the smells, the sights, the sounds.. yes it was a good trip.
- Hands Up - The Ottawans (1986)
- Also known as the "Club Med Song", I heard it first at some sort of dance demonstration in grade five (after I started going to Churchill Heights). There was a very cute girl in our class who I only saw sparingly. I don't remember why I didn't see her much (it might've been because I played Canadian Monopoly with the CCC boys so much) but she was one of the dancers (I still remember her taking our teacher's hands and dragging him out to dance), and from that point on, I could not take my eyes off her. There began my very long crush on Maddie.
- During our trip to Mexico in 1988 (grade seven), we stayed at a Club Med for one day to relax and enjoy the wonderful weather. This song also makes me think of that time down in the Yucatan Peninsula.
- The Longest Time - Billy Joel (1987)
- In grade six, a group of us got together and wanted to form some sort of singing group. Actually, SK wanted to form the group. I got dragged into it.
- The song that was chosen to be the one we'd practice on was Billy Joel's "The Longest Time".
- King Of Wishful Thinking - Go West (1990)
- During the summer after grade nine, HKL and I decided to work at the Ex. Actually, it was his idea to work at the Ex, I just got dragged along for the ride. The two weeks at the Canadian Exhibition were a fun and eye opening experience for me. It was the first job I ever had, and working with so many people I didn't know (most of whom were much older than me) was interesting. (Now that I look back, most of my co-workers were female, and most of them were HOT. Damn, why was I so shy back then?!?)
- There was one girl who I had a (very loose) crush on. I figured that I would never see her again after work and didn't bother doing anything. Funny enough, while I was walking down the hall in the first week of school, there she was, getting stuff out of her locker. I felt as if I had just seen a ghost. Flipping through the yearbook, I found out something that surprised me the most: She was in grade thirteen. I thought she was younger than me! Oh boy, well not much to say about that, but this song was big around the time I was working at the Ex, and it was played so often in and around the fair grounds that it got attached to the events during my time down there.
- You're The Inspiration - Chicago (1991)
- In high school, DeeL and MN were supposed to do some sort of gig with this song. DeeL came over to my place one day to practice, and I was so amazed how good the score sounded that I wanted to borrow the music. I was able to make a copy before giving it back to him and practiced, and practiced until I had it memorized. It's one of the few songs that I willingly memorized which also didn't sound too bad.
- This is also the first major non-classical song that I ever memorized on the piano. (Chopsticks doesn't count, and EVERYBODY knows "Heart and Soul".) I can't remember any of it anymore, but I recall playing it on days when I thought I'd go deaf from practicing for my piano exams. (Which was quite often.)
- Keep Coming Back - Richard Marx (1991)
- Throughout the last year of junior high and the first couple of years in high school, I had a big crush on a remarkable girl who was in my grade at that time. We were friends for a number of years, and exchanged letters for over a year. Anyway, in one of the letters she sent me, she quoted parts of this song so I looked it up and it got stuck in my head. We drifted apart soon after, and I only saw her a couple of times after we left for university.
- Using MJO's terminology, she was my first scourge, although I did enjoy spending time with her and having our long phone conversations. I don't think of her often anymore, but I recall many fond memories each time I hear this song.
- The Wassail Song (1991)
- During the winter of 1991-1992, I was invited out to go caroling with a group from school. I had never done it before, and even though I could not sing, I figured that it would be neat to do. (Especially since the majority of the participants were female and cute.)
- A decade later, Squishy lent me a number of her books on The Dark is Rising and in the first book I read there was a mention of this same song.
- When I Fall In Love - Nat King Cole (1993)
- During my first term in university, I ended up having a short correspondence with a girl who went to my high school. I didn't actually know her, but she knew me through girl, and we talked about this and that. In one of her first messages, she sent me parts of the lyrics to "When I Fall in Love" and I was so impressed by it that it got stuck in my head. (At that time, I thought she came up with the poem herself.) She told me where she got the lyrics from and soon enough, I heard the song on the radio. (I don't think I would've given it a second thought had she not told me the lyrics beforehand.)
- We stopped talking soon after, and I haven't heard from her since then. I never actually met her, and I've always wondered if I should've been more sociable with her whenever I hear this song.
- More Than Words - Extreme (1997)
- Since the inception of AMY's Christmas gathering, I've gone to every single one each year. It's a time to meet up with old high school buddies, get in touch with people you haven't seen in years, and talk about life when we were young.
- During one such gathering, DeeL had brought along his guitar and started playing some tunes. The first one he played was a song that I recognized and knew the words to, so I started singing along. He continued playing, and joined in with the second voice to complete the harmony. It was.. good. (For me, I'm not sure how everyone else survived that aural experience.)
- Who Let The Dogs Out - Anslem Douglas (1999)
- During my first year as a frosh leader, we had to come up with some sort of way to get the members of our frosh group to bond during our spaghetti dinner. A couple of the leaders started giving out "Dawg names" to each of our members. (Like "Big Dawg", "Sly Dawg", "Chilli Dawg", etc.) In addition to the names, they came up with a couple of chants and hand signs (dawgs) that went along with the names. Apparently it was some sort of carnival song, but we used it for our means.
- The first call was: "Where my dawgs at?" The proper response was three quick hoots in succession: "Hoo, hoo, hoo." The second was a chant: "Who let the dogs out?" and the rest, as they say, is history.
- Mambo Number 5 - Lou Bega (2000)
- This was the song for the Science Secret Dance during frosh week. We used it before it got big.
- Oye Como Va - Carlos Santana (2000)
- During the Havenger Scunt of my second frosh week, we had to do a little dance routine, and for some reason, we ended up picking Oye Como Va with me as the "lead singer" donning the rainbow coloured clown wig, and some funky glasses, I headed out with my entourage of (pretty darned good looking frosh) girls and we did our gig. Oh yes, pictures were taken, but I don't have any on hand.
- I Want It That Way - Backstreet Boys (2000)
- This song is significant because it reminds me of one of the best parties I went to during my last year as a frosh leader. We were having a dance that we called Planet Hollywood, and despite my general avoidance of dances, I had to go because I was a leader. (I had to set stuff up, etc.) After all of the events were finished, and the winners announced, the MC began to sing
"You are my fire, the one desire.."
And the rest of us just started to sing along with him. All two hundred of us! It's amazing how many people actually knew the words to this song, but it was such an impressive bonding experience. I definitely won't forget it anytime soon.
- Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) - Nine Days (2000)
- It's funny, but this is one of the few songs that will cause me to think of someone, even though she had nothing to do with how I came across the song. I should probably explain. In 2000, I met an extraordinary girl who I became very much interested in. One of the main reasons I approached her was because she seemed to.. be alone. I didn't see her smile much, but when she did..
- So I got to talking with her, and got to know her better. Afterwards, I heard this song on the radio and for some reason my mind linked her to this story of a girl, and it's been this way ever since.
- Now And Forever - Richard Marx (2000)
- The first time I remember hearing this song was when I was watching television. For some reason, I was watching a daytime talk show (Dini Petty methinks) and one of the guest speakers was Richard Marx. He did a little talk before going up to the piano to play this song. It's actually quite a nice song if you're into soft, sappy, romantic music.
- I ended up getting one of his CD compilations and over time I memorized the song. I wanted to save this song for my own marriage, you know, something to sing for my bride, but considering how my love life's going I figured that this won't be happening anytime soon. When Growly's wedding came up, I decided that I might as well use it then. Besides, I had an opportunity to sing at DeeL's wedding and squandered that chance so I had to make up for that fumble. Anyway, having not rehearsed it, I sort of forgot the words (after people started clapping after the first verse *shakes fist*) and had to cut it short. Apparently there's a video of it circulating around somewhere so if you ever find a copy, make sure you destroy it. Please?
- Superman Kryptonite - Three Doors Down (2000)
- The decision to go to the World Broomball Championship in Victoria was one of the best choices I had ever made. Despite not knowing anyone apart from Mr. Broomball, I was able to meet a lot of very interesting people and got to play a lot of good broomball. (Not to mention the fact that we won the tournament.)
- I still remember sitting in the van being driven to the arena where our games were held. Being dragged out of bed early in the morning, trudging out after lunch, or wander back after a successful outing, the one constant was that the radio was playing this one song. Just about every time we were in the van, "Superman Kryptonite" was coming out of the speakers. Because of that, I keep recalling memories of my trip to Victoria each time I hear this song.
- Only Time - Enya (2001)
- I had heard this song a number of times before I came across the lyrics that were posted on site I was frequenting at the time. The context on which this song was posted struck a chord, and since that time, I keep thinking of her whenever I hear this song.
- Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon (2003)
- I remember hearing this song when I was a kid and it stuck in my head.
- Fields of Gold - Sting (2007)
