Ohh… I fell in love for the first time in my early 20s, and happy juice in my bloodstream transformed I Think I Love You (Patridge Family) into a song of great meaning and power.
During my years in art school, the 10-watt college radio station was the soundtrack of my life. I particularly remember Starry Eyes by the Records. It sounded wondrous on my thrift store clock radio, but since that time every version I’ve heard has seemed too fuzzy and lo-fi.
After leaving the safety of an ad agency job for freelance self-employment, I spent many nights in my tiny studio room working until 3 or 4 a.m. The disks stacked on the spindle were usually Stardust (Willie Nelson), Pirates (Rickie Lee Jones), Sense of Wonder (Van Morrison), and Blue (Joni Mitchell). They had almost no bad tracks, and the Morrison provided a reliable dose of spiritual back pats.
Back in ‘95 I was about to be made redundant (fired)for the first time in my life. It was fairly civilised - I was going to job interviews, so there was hope, but we weren’t in a great financial situation, so there was a lot of stress and uncertainty.
On the radio all the time as I drove back and forth across south east England- Roll With It by Oasis. It became an anthem of that time. Truth is, it was truly important to me; it was a sort of touchstone that kept me going. I was grateful for it, and am still.
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The first song that came to my mind is Heard It in a Love Song by The Marshall Tucker Band (summer of 1977). I was a sophomore in high school and my now husband was a senior. We had just started going out that spring. It wasn’t even a favorite song of mine, but it was played constantly. Whenever I hear it I am immediately transported in time. I’m in my boyfriend’s (future husband) GTO and we’re heading to a party on the beach.
My first girlfriend’s favorite song was Octopus’s Garden, so when I hear it I think of our relationship.
In college, Guns and Roses first album came out. I played the heck out of that on my Walkman.
After college I went to Africa to do volunteer work. On a taxi from the airport after arriving, I heard the Sweet Mother song ( (5) Prince Nico Mbarga Sweet Mother - YouTube) , which is sort of an unofficial anthem of Africa. So whenever I hear it, I think of my first days there.
I was enamored and truly involved with a woman, i used to make radio edit runs the 50 miles and more to see her, she inroduced me to Sparklehorse, Mark Linkous, and elliott Smith. Steak knife to the Heart.
She was a social worker, and predicted their death, long before I had any cue, I was enjoying their pain.
I forever attach Vic Chessnutt to a pe5iod of new music, before they all died.
