As I walk to the subway while listening to my iPod on shuffle mode, the first few notes of a song begin to play, the first verse starts, and I all I can think of is: “What song is this?” I am listening to my own iPod. I should know all the songs in my music library right?
Wrong.
I have owned the same iPod since sixth grade. I have never taken music off my iPod. I just add more songs. I heard not listened to the tune that was currently playing on my way to subway since about the seventh grade. What an old song! As I walked, instead of skipping the song, I continued to listen. The song was cute, the beat a bit catchy. It was no surprise that I transferred the song from a CD to my iPod; however, it was by no means a classic.
So the question arises: Should I take this song off my iPod? The simple answer is yes, and as I swipe my Metro Card, I resolve to do just that.
Then something hit me. This song was not just a Billboard hit when I was in middle school; it was the first song I danced to with my then boyfriend. My first boyfriend. I was washed over with a wave of nostalgia right then and there as I waited for the train to race in. In fact, I could picture the scene from my middle school. The train arrived, but as I got on, I was totally lost in my current train of thought.
I realized that I have many memories connected to music. This should not be a new idea to me. Ever since my sister got married I refer strictly to the song I walked down the aisle to as “The Song I Walked Down the Aisle To at My Sister’s Wedding.” I have this song on my iPod as well, and whenever I hear it, I think of that great night three months ago.
It is probably the element of time that surprised me the most. Of course whenever I hear the song from the wedding, I associate it with my sister, because the wedding was only three months ago. However, that dance from middle school was many years ago. The song from my sister’s wedding I still hear on the radio, so how can I forget the memories? But the beat from middle school? I could barely remember the first verse. Yet, once I recognized the song, I might not know all the lyrics like I used to, but I could remember the memory with vivid detail, years after the dance.
I would like to call this phenomenon music association. A song becomes inextricably linked to an event; whenever you hear that song, you consciously remember that moment in your life. I don’t think I am the alone in this idea. It’s almost like my iPod is a history textbook, the keeper of my personal history through the music connected to events in my life.
Many of the songs that have special meaning to me are no longer top hits. Am I going to delete those songs, each which are like mini-time capsules? Absolutely not.
