Whenever I hear Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” or “Long December” by Counting Crows, I invariably think of the northeast US…say, New England. Something about the lyrics or music of these songs makes me think of sugar maples and a windy day in fall. I think that’s kind of strange, especially considering that “Long December” mentions Hollywood and such (clear across the country), and “Ramble On,” well, speaks of Gollum and Mordor.
So, do you have songs that evoke images of places that have no real (or at least explicit) connection to the songs themselves? Is there a story behind your connection? Do tell.
When I was younger I strongly associated music with seasons, for some reason. REM’s Murmur was the springtime album, the Smiths and Morrissey made the fall and winter music, the Cure was for summer… Even now, when I think about it, the songs from Murmur remind me of a certain springtime…
Nowadays, it seems that music sometimes “fits” the scenery I’m driving through as I listen… in February I was listening to Uncle Tupelo’s “March…” album while I drove through a bleak Western Ohio countryside, and it was just so right.
I love your username BTW. I suppose it has some movie or literary connotation of which I’m ignorant, but the word image is just very scenic.
It’s a movie reference. I started using it in various capacities a while back, more as a joke than anything else, but now I’ve grown quite attached to it…
My memory for music is very good (probably because I’m a long-time hobbyist musician). I associate songs with the last place I heard them.
For instance, I associate John Prine’s “I Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody” with the intersection of Boulevard Road and Pacific Avenue here in Olympia. I associate Monty Python’s “Galaxy Song” with a small second-floor apartment on Capitol Hill in Seattle, which is where I learned to play it.
That song “Sweet Home Alabama” reminds me of being on a roadtrip to anywhere.
“21 Questions” by 50 Cent reminds me of being at a picnic.
“Holding back the years” or maybe it’s tears the song that goes “I’ll keep holding on” for some reason reminds me of being downtown in a big city…so does Jazz music for that matter.
Robbie Robertson’s “Somewhere Down the Crazy River” reminds me of New Orleans. I’m not sure why, other than I had recently returned from a visit to New Orleans when I first heard the song.
John Williams’ music to The Phantom Menace reminds me of driving up Highway 99 in California. (Probably because I played it constantly while on a trip up the 99.)
