Flood & Spark

My first reader question -> my first 'real' band

GLP writes:

Just read your last post. Music evokes strong emotional responses tied to personal memories. When we listen to music, especially tracks that we've heard during significant moments in our lives, the brain links those sounds to the emotions and events experienced at the time. As a result, hearing those songs again can trigger a flood of memories and associated feelings, both positive and negative. Does music ever do this for you?

Firstly, thank you, dear reader, for your reaction to my post and this question.

I think I have actively avoided linking any song or artist too closely with a memory, another person, or a time in my life. I worry that it would forever change my relationship with the music. Naturally, I have memories of hearing songs, discovering artists and albums, and seeing live performances, but I am unsure if any of those trigger “a flood of memories and associated feelings.”

The first example that came to my mind was how sad I felt about Kurt Cobain’s passing in 1994 that I couldn’t listen to Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York (which I wrote about here) for over a decade. But that’s not a great example, because I didn’t know Cobain, and his death was undeniably sad. I imbued that album with the reality of what happened to him, not my emotional experience of something that happened to me.

I suppose I touched on this in my post about Death Cab for Cutie — how their music was a great comfort to me at a crossroads — but that’s not the same as their song or album triggering an emotion or memory. When I listen to Death Cab, I concentrate on Ben Gibbard’s lyrics, rather than reflect on how they apply to my life.

I was determined to find a good answer for you, GLP, so I scanned my massive digital music collection. It won’t come as a surprise that my all-time favourites, the songs I’ve listened to and cherish the most, can produce a strong emotional and physical reaction. But I didn’t feel like that was a sufficient answer.

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