I have never used the Genius feature of iTunes; namely because I know for a fact that iTunes doesn’t know me well enough to predict what I want to listen to at any given time. However, for some reason I put my iTunes library on shuffle while I was cooking dinner last night. When John Mayer’s Slow Dancing in a Burning Room came on I was immediately transported back to Fall quarter Sophomore year at UW. I spent the better half of the Fall listening to John Mayer’s new album and napping on the futon in the “NorCal Room”. Perhaps that explains the failure in Accounting 225?
That’s the thing about music, a song can so deeply weave its way into your life that regardless of the time that has passed, you always think of the exact same thing when you hear it. It’s funny though, the songs that evoke this “time machine” nostalgia are not even my favorite songs. Yet they take me back to moments I would likely forget had the song not stamped my life. My favorite songs on the other hand blend into every phase of life, which is likely why they are my favorite. With a quick scan of my iTunes, here are a handful of songs that stop me in my tracks every time.
- Yeah by Usher: Junior Prom
- Matchbox Twenty’s Exile on Mainstream album: long bus rides in Spain
- Skippin’ by Mario (don’t judge): long ass walks to the IMA.
- Blond on Blond by Nada Surf: studying for the LSAT