AUTHOR: M. DATE: 10:24:00 PM ----- BODY:

Yesterday, my mother sent me The Evolution of Dance, which had me about peeing myself. I went to bed thinking about all those horrible eighties songs and dances. Oh my. Does anyone else have their high school graduation forever entwined in their heads with that terrible 10,000 Maniacs song "These Are Days" ? Today, on my 90-mile drive westbound on the Mass Pike, I popped in an old Tori Amos CD - From the Choirgirl Hotel - that I don't think I've listened to in years. Immediately I thought of the summer after I graduated from college. I was living in Northampton with three housemates and a rat, and dating The Mafia, who was living with Texas Wake-and-Bake Girl. I thought of dragging broken lawn chairs onto our shitty lawn and drinking beer with our feet in a plastic kiddy pool to cool off. I remembered being scared to death of my upcoming move and of starting a fellowship that barely paid the rent. I remember the walks down to the 7-11 for Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia popsicles, and the Russian woman at the clinic where I worked who used to knock everyone down in line and step on their feet in her rush when she came in for birth control pills. I couldn't believe how clearly I remember so many of those details when I put in the CD today. I started thinking of other songs that make me remember exactly how my gut felt when I was listening to them. I thought about listening to Kris Delmhorst's Five Stories while driving my Dad's car back and forth between the hospital and my parents house week after week after week when he was sick. Taking a road trip with I., alternating parts in a dramatic reprise of "Walk Through the Fire" from the Buffy the Vampire Musical. Seeing Bitch and Animal perform "Best C*ck on the Block " at the Paradise one year during Pride weekend (no need for google hits of that sort, but it's worth looking at the lyrics for this one). I remember being conscious of my flip-flops sticking to the floor, and thinking that Animal really did look like Animal. Hearing Erin McKeown's song "Queen of Quiet" for the first time a month after I started dating my wife. She and her housemate had a pumpkin-carving party, and afterwards we tucked ourselves into bed with the stereo on, smelling like pumpkin guts and stuffed with apple pie, and I decided I could fall in love with this girl. Anyone else? What songs have this effect on you?

-------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Johnny COMMENT-DATE:10:58 PM COMMENT-BODY:Got a draft just on that subject! But, kinda a downer.

Next week. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Barb COMMENT-DATE:6:19 AM COMMENT-BODY:Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up" reminds me of lusting after a mod-boy when i was 17. a very "high school" song for me.

happy weekend, M. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: J COMMENT-DATE:8:42 AM COMMENT-BODY:So many. Might need to turn it into a post.

As an aside, Kris D. is playing at the Ironhorse tonight... -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: FemiKnitMafia COMMENT-DATE:9:50 AM COMMENT-BODY:Oh ... Texas Wake-and-Bake Girl. I loved you, but I woulda done her in a heartbeat. ;-)

Sorry, I can't help it. I read those Bitch & Animal lyrics and now I'm feelin' wicked sassy! -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Clementine COMMENT-DATE:3:01 PM COMMENT-BODY:10,000 Maniacs makes me think of sleepovers at my friend Kelly's house, but Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" is all Prom. Oh, Prom! -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:5:58 PM COMMENT-BODY:Tori Amos's 1000 Oceans takes me to times I don't wanna talk about. That and Baker Baker.

Time of Your Life by Green Day was our graduation hoopla song.

But Footloose takes me to small agedness, dancing around the living room, in socks, with my Mom. We'd move the coffee table out of the way.... those were the days. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:3:09 PM COMMENT-BODY:Oh shit I am old. A friend and I just put "These are the Days" on the 8th grader's graduation slide show. See the song was way after my high school, so it seemed fresh. (hangs head in humiliation). We also put "Good Things" by Reel Big Fish, so maybe my hipness factor is back?

High school for me- Van Halen, Joan Jett (I Love Rock and Roll was our class song), the B-52's, the Go-Gos, and Pat Benatar were my high school songs. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:1:05 PM COMMENT-BODY:Yeah, for me the biggest thing songs remind me of is my summers working in Virginia for ASP because we played music constantly, so I have a whole lot of songs that can take me back there in a second. They have no real relationship to each other, just the conglomeration of the music we all had with us that we'd listen to over and over.

Most notably, "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Carolina in my Mind" always make me think of driving a beat-up old pick-up truck too fast through the trees in the mountains and watching for turtles crossing the road and coal trucks looking to run me off of it. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: Mrs Pushy COMMENT-DATE:8:19 PM COMMENT-BODY:"The Luckiest" by Ben Folds- After my husband and I lost our first and only pregnancy on Christmas Eve, I heard this song~

I don't get many things right the first time, in fact, I am told that a lot.
Now I know all the wrong turns and stumbles and falls brought me here.... --------