Musings on music

[pat]

Music tends to remind me of people. I think everyone as a "special song" that they share with SOs, but I tend to have far more extensive musical associations than that. It's almost that in order to make up for my poor event memory, my brain makes musical associations to help me remember. It's nothing more than a fleeting thought, but it's there. Family, friends, people on my friends' list I haven't even met.... It's almost random -- I have songs that remind me of people I only know online, and there are people who are very important to me who are not associated with any songs.

I got to thinking about this because "Shall We Dance?" came up on my iTunes, and it reminded me of curiousangel, because he had once been part of a music exchange I was in, and had identified this song as one which always made him smile. (I also think of him when my son plays "Comfortably Numb" by Luther Wright and the Wrongs, but far less charitably : ) )

brian1789 is the "1812 Overture" (so much so that he occupies that ring tone on my cell phone) and "Stars and Stripes Forever". "Man of La Mancha" is K; "Lullaby of Broadway" is D. There are a lot of songs for J, but the most recent is "You Got to Fight (for Your Right to Party)" by the Beastie Boys. My dad is "They Call the Wind Maria" and "The Sound of Music." geekchick is "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her" (and lately, "Number 6 Driver" by Eddie of Ohio.))

sarahh is "The Rainbow Connection." rivka is "Travelin' Man" by Johnny Cash, and the Great Big Sea version of "It's the End of the World (and I Feel Fine)". elissaann is "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning," the song she taught me to sing. wcg is "Recruiting Sergeant" and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." I have no idea why, but "Wilkommen" from Cabaret reminds me of rmjwell; Punky's Dilemma makes me think of phinnia. "Who Are You" (aka, the theme from CSI) reminds me of sisterfish125. And then there's kightp, who I now think of every time I hear Captain Tractor's "Last Saskatchewan Pirate, " for what should be obvious reasons. : )

And so on.... there are a lot more -- some of which won't come to mind until I hear the songs.

I don't know why I make some of the associations I do. It could be something as simple as someone commenting that they liked a particular song. I know, for example, that I think of wcg when I hear "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" because he explained part of the lyrics to me.

So my question is -- what song would you like to be remembered by? And is there any song which reminds me of you?

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I've no objection to the two you associate with me, but I'd appreciate if whenever you hear the Marines Hymn...

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

Of course! I usually think of Dad when I hear that, but there's no reason I couldn't think of you too :)

[sisterfish125.livejournal.com]

You're not the only person who has said that "Who are you" makes them think of me...

Actually, I think of you every time I hear the CSI:Miami theme "Won't Get Fooled Again", partly because I remembered you said something about liking it.

[phinnia.livejournal.com]

I love that song. :-D ('Punky's Dilemma', that is. It's probably my favorite by them.)
I think the song that reminds me most of you is probably that version of 'Lullabye of Broadway' with Jerry Orbach singing the lead. I'm not sure why - other than its presence on a CD you made - it just does.

weird

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

You're the second person on LJ who's asked that question today. Is it something in the water?

I don't really have A SONG per se. I never have. I think it's because my whole life has always been enveloped in music that to single out one would be like singling out a great breath you took.

If I had to arbitrarily pick a song to be associated with, I guess it would have to be the theme from The Last Waltz. You know the one where robbie plays a weird electric harp/guitar. For some reason that tune sticks in my head a lot and has since I first heard it some time in the 80's

[kightp.livejournal.com]

I'm amused by your musical mnemonic for me, and for some reason the rmjwell="Wilkommen" connection made me laugh and go "but of course!" (and I have no idea why, either.

I don't associate songs with people so much as with events and times, many of which are connected with people. Suzanne Vega's "Gypsy," for instance, calls up a summer's evening in the park, sitting on one of my mom's handmade quilts and leaning back into johnpalmer's arms as Vega sang the song from the open-air bandstand a few hundred feet away. So it's sort of "our song" but in a very specific context.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Boy, that's tough. Depends on my mood.

In general though, I think I'd plump for "I'm not supposed to care" or, if I could try to be broader in scope, the album it came from (Cold on the Shoulder), or perhaps Summertime Dream.

TK

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

I like to be associated with Joni Mitchell's cover of "Twisted".

:)

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I don't make song associations for most people. (I don't even have an "our song" song for each SO.) So I don't really associate a song with you right now offhand.

I can't think of any songs that I'd like to have associated with me that you'd be likely to know (not you specifically even, but that I'd expect anybody in general to know). I'd love to be associated with Paul Schutze's "In the Absence of Angels," or Nurse With Wound's, "The Strange Play of the Mouth," but I doubt that that's likely to happen even if I knew anybody but me who was familiar with either song.

[dangerpudding.livejournal.com]

I do tend to associate people with music, though it would take a lot of listening to write out a list. You, though, I have to associate with "Ordinary Day", driving across Spain.. :)

I'm entirely thrilled that you have a connection with "Rainbow Connection" for me... that's just lovely :)