I Saw the Sign

One time, a long time ago, I tried to convice my wife that I was able to disassociate songs with the memories that went along with them. I think we had just started dating, and I said something like "I always used to listen to this song with my ex-girlfriend." It turned out that, early on, she had issues with my ex-girlfriends (well, one in particular). So did I, apparently. Anyway, I told her that I had no association between this song and my ex, and I maintained that position for a few years.

It turns out, not only do I strongly associate songs with people and moments but I associate some pretty strange songs with memories. What follows is sort of a "soundtrack of my life."

I remember beating my dad at foosball for the first time with Queen's "We are the Champions" in the background. Ironically, it was my dad's favorite song to listen to while playing foosball.

Billy Idol's "White Wedding" reminds me of my mom, and her description of her aerobics classes. "This is where it really got tough!" she would say. Christy can now tell this story by heart.

The first three years of my relationship with Christy could be summed up by a mix CD I made for her when she went to Spain that we affectionately dubbed "The Sex CD." Some Portishead ("Dummy"), a few songs from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack and some Dave Matthews ("Crash") can go a long way toward erasing a chasm of 5,000 miles.

Every time I hear a song - and I mean every single time - by Ace of Base, I think of my friend Ryan. He purchased that CD one day in Denver. To his credit, I think he also purchased Tom Petty's Greatest Hits the same day. Last night on my way home, I heard "All She Wants" and almost called him.

There's some random line in the Sublime song "Chico mi tipo" that reminds me of this guy Blake and a time when we were hanging in Phoenix driving around in his car when I was 15. I don't think I can type this line in this family-friendly environment, though.


More to come.


By the way, I recently invested in a set of wireless speakers (hooked up to my home stereo) and a cable to connect my iPod to my stereo. The iPod is amazing - and now I can annoy my wife and the neighbors with it.