The Song Remembers When...

I was sitting back the other night, listening to music, and discovered that I was very soon taking a walk down Memory Lane. Every song gave me a specific memory of a person, place, or event. And I thought to myself, "What a good idea for a post!" So without further ado. Computer on SHUFFLE, and we're off:

"Windmills of Your Mind" by Alison Moyet. My friend (and a former dancer for Samantha Foxx)Keith Chawgo sent me a huge batch of 20 CDs once. This Alison Moyet was included. Fell in love with her voice.

"The End of the Summer" by Dar Williams. It was the week before the start of my freshman year at HC. Orientation for the new students. There was a get-together thingy on The Point. All the new students sat on the grass and listened to upperclassmen speak about their experiences at HC. A girl sat in front of my with a Lilith Fair t-shirt which listed, among others, Dar Williams. Having just discovered Dar, I excitedly told this girl so. She gave me a look like I had just asked to touch her vagina. Um...ew.

"Goodnight America" by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Coming home from my summer job as supervisor at the Horner Center, I'd take the back roads, passing the fields and taking in that special scent of country night. My headlights played on the cornstalks. This song, with its sprinkling piano, reminds me of that feeling.

"Better Than Anyone" by Mary Beth Maziarz. This is an artist who signifies for me a particularly happy summer. 2001. I stayed at Phi Delta Theta, on the top floor, as Maxie's guest. It was a summer of great music and gin.

"Storms in Africa" by Enya. Bought this record along Sarah M's Surfacing. I remember listening to it at full volume the day I bought it, in the kitchen with Mom as she made dinner.

"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone. Me. This record. My green camping chair. Second floor in Wiley Hall. Friday nights. Christmas lights decorating the room. And wine. That's how I started my weekends.

"Boots of Spanish Leather" by Martin Simpson. Favorite song ever. When I was headed to Australia for grad school Maxie held a going away party for me at the Broadway. Joe Hanna was playing that night and he played the tune just for me. A special moment indeed.

"I Wish I Cared" by Aha. I first heard this song in Italy. More specifically in Firenze, in the repurposed monastery where we were staying. I had to have it, so bought it a day or so later.

"This Time of Year" by Better Than Ezra. Football in the fall at HC.

"The Letter" by Natalie Merchant. There was a boy in college I was in love with. Graduation came and went without me expressing that. I wrote him a letter that summer and, surprisingly, had the guts to send it. I never heard another word about it, even when I saw him again the next year at Homecoming.

"Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction. Me, Maxie, Nate, and Tony in Maxie's room, drunk as all hell and jumping up and down to the song like we'd forgotten our ages. And, wonderfully, for a span of a few minutes, we had.

"Dammit" by Blink 182. One of my fondest memories of living at the Ogle Center. Me, along with my friends Miranda, Tessa, Shelly, Adam, and Aaron, nearly brought down the newly built structure.