Take a trip down memory lane with me...
1) I grew up in a small town in NJ, but went back to visit almost every summer after moving to Arizona when I was 13ish. This song reminds me of driving along the shore with a couple of my friends, the Atlantic ocean's breeze coming through the windows and the taste of freedom so new to us at 16. One boy in particular introduced me to this wonderful musician so this song also reminds me of being young, having crushes on every cute boy I met, and not having a care in the world.
2) This song falls under the more embarrassing songs on this list, but there are SO many funny and happy memories attached to it. Before we all started having babies and getting "tied down" to our various wedding planning, kids, etc. my college girlfriends and I used to take big, annual girls' trips. We still hope to take one soon, but for now memories will have to suffice. A few years ago we all went to Florida together to visit Amy and had the best time. Everywhere we went this song was playing, and it kind of became our silly theme song of the trip. We'd find ourselves singing and dancing whenever it came on and it reminds me of cab rides, dancing until 4am in the FL coast clubs, and so, so many fun nights with some of my favorite girls.
3) Oh gosh. This song is SO college to me. It reminds me of being 18 years old in the dorms, everyone knew this song and would sing along every time is came on. It takes me back to Sechrist, running up to the boys' floors, laughing my head off with Alyssa and Susan and Sarah, and driving around Flagstaff in Alyssa's blue Tacoma. Amazing times and amazing memories.
4) Another college song but this is definitely a bar song. In college I definitely "lived it up" and my sorority sisters and I would be downtown at the bars a couple of times a week. My how things have changed, right?! haha. Anyway, after living in Mountain View (sorority dorm) there were 7 of us girls who lived in a huge house and would always go out together, taking taxis downtown and usually ending the night at Maloney's, our favorite bar at the time. Every single weekend night without fail this song would come on and in perfect college-bar cliche fashion, every drunk person in the place would sing along. This song reminds me of Alana and Autumn and Shirley and all of my darling girlfriends, all of our ridiculous nights and college days.
5) This song is one of the many songs that remind me of one of my dearest friends Sarah (Suki as I often refer to her here). We've had some of the most amazing times together, and have been friends forever. The main song that reminds me of her is "Heaven" by the Fire Theft- we used to sit in her car and just belt out the lyrics, we both always loved that song- but this song is another one of the many that remind me of some of my favorite times with her. We've been through so much from boys to mistakes to happy times and sad times that there is a plethora of music that reminds me of Sarah, but even though this song is a little sad it takes me back to the early 2000s and her apartment, our many adventures, and really just figuring out who we were.
6) A bit of a departure from the rest of the songs on this playlist so far, but memories are funny like that and the next song that popped into my head was this one. This song reminds me of so many shows, a period of my life that was really interesting to me, and pretty transformative. I searched playlist.com for some of the Bane, With Honor, and Champion songs that also remind me of this time but they didn't have them. Regardless, this song is a good representation of college, a lot of fun, a lot of amazing shows and bands, and so many good times.
7) This next memory is all Hank. Before Hour of the Wolf he sang for a band called Life in Pictures, which I'm sure a few of you know. It was the members of his current band minus HOTW's singer Lance, and our friend Caleb played guitar. When I met him I had heard of the band before from friends, but I'd actually never seen them. The song that I included on the playlist is an older song of theirs, I think Hank was 16 or 17 when it was recorded. So crazy to me. When I met him, then heard this music it was so funny to me at the time to know that the kind, more quiet-than-loud guy that I was falling for had THAT voice come out of his body. And then to see him perform was such a trip. Here's an old, old video of one of their smaller shows. It's so funny to me to see all the guys. I wish there was more video from all the younger years too. And yes, that's Hank with the mic running around like crazy. At 3 minutes or so when he gets shirtless his skinny self kills me every time. hah. And Pat's long hair is too good too. SO many great memories from all of their shows, meeting them in different places while they were out on tour, and all the fun we've had. Adie and Erin, I'm looking at you!
8) "Crocodile Rock" reminds me of my little sister Lauren, and one particular memory that stands out so vividly in my mind. When I was probably 6 and she was 3, we ran into my parents' bedroom, turned on my Mom's Elton John tape really loud, and danced and jumped on their bed as we repeated the song over and over. We had turned off the lights and I remember that we had flashlights, creating our own makeshift dance club. The whole memory makes me smile and every time I head the song I am transported back to being a little girl, dancing around, holding hands with my sister and giggling until our stomachs hurt.
9) I went to my first "show" with my friend Rochelle when we were maybe 15. Her Mom took us to see Goldfinger and this song was one of my favorite songs in the whole world at the time. I remember thinking I was so cool going to see them in concert, and R. and I had the best time in all of our teenage naivety and wonder while there. It's funny to think back to being so young and thinking you know everything- 15 is such an interesting age and I have a lot of pretty specific memories from this time period. Rochelle was one of those friends that left such an impression on me, and when she moved away the next year it was hard. Luckily we're back in touch now (in fact I just wrote her back on FB), and it's neat to see how much we've grown up. Regardless, this song reminds me of a wonderful time with a wonderful, old friend.
10) Johnny Cash will always, always take me back to getting tattooed by my old friend Jason who tattooed the majority of my first tattoos including the Vonnegut piece on my back, my chest piece, my wrist, my upper rib pieces, my Hank tattoo, and my sleeve. Unfortunately things happen and people change, and we aren't in touch anymore but we've had some fun times hanging out and also great times while he tattooed me. He did my very first tattoo too, and each session we would listen to a number of J. Cash albums in a row. Even though it hurt horribly it was SO exciting to start my whole journey into the world of tattoos and this music takes me right back there.
11) Throughout high school I hung out with many different groups of people, but the main guys I hung out with were my close guy friends. There are a MILLION songs that remind me of my crazy skateboarding boys (especially the entire Dr. Dre 2001 album) but Wu-Tang especially reminds me of them, and mostly driving around in my best friend Ryan's car. We all hung out everyday at school and afterward, they would have their silly "ruckus" nights where they'd go around causing trouble and being stupid, and in between we'd listen to our favorite albums. This song was a favorite and reminds me of all of the guys. Happy memories for sure.
Whew! That was a lot but really fun to create. It's funny how once you start thinking back to different times in your life how easy it is for memories to come spilling in. As I starting listing out songs a million more came to me and I definitely could have kept going. Fortunately I have a BLT calling my name so lunch time it is! I hope you enjoyed this incredibly random look back, and again, let me know if you decide to do the same!
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