Music and Memory

In the late spring, early summer of 1986, I was driving in my silver IROC Z28 Camero (insert small....joke here) from my house in Moorpark over to CLU where I was a junior working on my Communication Arts degree.  It was a really brilliant blue sky warm day.  Nothing really of note was happening that day, just your average, ordinary day.

I had just made a cassette copy of a "Till Tuesday's sophomore album Welcome Home, so on the drive I popped it in.  The first song 'What about Love ' was the big hit off the album (peaking at 26 on the Billboard Top 100)  I halfheartedly listened, humming a bit as I had heard the song several times on the radio, and it was in pretty heavy rotation on MTV- ya know, back when there was MUSIC on MTV...but I digress. 

Then the second song started.

'Coming Up Close' was a fairly simple pop song, but for whatever reason...the lyrics, the melody, Aimee Mann's lilting vocals, the sunshine...I was floored.  This song hit a part of my brain and made such a mark,that to this day, I just have to hear the first few notes, and I am IMMEDIATELY transported back to that sunny afternoon. 

I can vividly recall so many details about that drive...over Tierra Rejada road, past the family farm that had awesome strawberrys and fresh produce, up to the 90 degree right hand turn that I loved barreling into, breaking at the last possible second, up the winding hill to the top of the grade, then back down to Moorpark Road, and over to CLU.  I had on a pair of blue Vuarnets  'cat eye' sunglasses, and a Big Gulp Dr. Pepper in the cup holder.

Now, before you all call my wife to tell here that 1) I have cheesy taste in music (she knows) and 2) I need a CAT scan,  I know that it's not the best song in the world.  It's a bit dated, and the lyrics are fairly generic. I don't go out of my way to add the song to my iPod , nor do I actively seek it out when I'm just at the computer needing to listen to some music.  It is just burned into my brain and it has these wonderful, vivid  memories attached to it. 

More than the first dance song with my wife at our wedding (Harry Connick Jr. 'It had to be You' by the way - I'm not a total git) more than any other song that I can think of.

I don't know why.

So, why am I writing about this today?  Pandora, on my run, in the cold, windy , pre-rainy morning. 2 notes in , and I was 21 years old in my Camero on a sunny day. 

Pretty cool.

For your ear worm of the day, please enjoy.