Inspiration in the form of a plush rhino

The Soundtrack of our Lives

I'm one of those people who strongly associates music with my life. When I hear a song (specific song--I know that for some, it's albums) I am immediately taken back to where I was, how I felt, and who I was. Though sometimes it's just an artist in general...

For instance, Collide by Howie Day takes me back to leaving Austin. That afternoon, as I drove out of town (crying the entire way), that's what I was listening to. I remember the afternoon sun, the snapshots of scenes I passed on Mopac, then 183, then I 35 as I drove north towards Dallas. I remember the ache I felt inside as I left the city I love for a city I... well, hate.

Why Georgia by John Mayer is junior year of college. It's driving back and forth on 35 between my place and my friend's apartment in South Austin. It's Mozart's and cats and an ugly brown loveseat. It's hitting the 290 overpass on my way back into Austin from College Station early in the morning.

OAR in general is my Austin theme. There's nothing else I associate more strongly with the city... in particular one song. Night Shift... Stir it Up IS Austin for me. It's cruising southward on 35, windows down, sun in my face, friends in the car, on the way to float the river. It's a hot summer night on my way downtown. It's friends, it's good times, it's Starbucks study sessions, it's standing on my apartment's porch while the rain pours down and I talk to my best friend in Paris, trying to cram 2 weeks of our lives into a 30 minute conversation while my bare feet get wet from the splashing rain.

Patio by Nine Mile. It's spring semester of freshman year. It's a snapshot in my mind of sitting at the intersection of 24th and San Antonio, on the way back from TCBY and a drive down 2222 to look at the scenery. It's napping at Zilker Park on a gorgeous day with friends. It's Goldschlager and Jester and parties at the Beta house and that last bit of life where you're caught in limbo between who you were in high school and who you're going to be in college. Phish's version of Gin and Juice is a darker view of that year, I suppose. It's drinking and late nights and the couch in my friends' apartment and that fuzzy orange fleece blanket. It's laying on the pavement outside of Jester, waiting for friends. It's that the first shot I ever took was Seagram's Gin.

There are more, of course. But there's a few, just for an idea.

One good thing about music
When it hits you, you feel no pain

posted by K @ 11:52 PM