For Serious

“Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment. Which is pretty amazing, when you actually think about it.”

It’s a quote I wrote down a year or so ago that Susan had in her profile. I don’t know who said it or where it came from. I do, however, know how true it is, especially for me. My name is Melody because my dad is a musician and has a deep love for good music. Maybe it’s a genetic trait. When I close my eyes and listen to an acoustic guitar, I am back to the age of 5. I’m laying on the couch in my living room and the sweet sound of my dad playing lulls me to sleep.

Bluegrass music takes me back to long family road trips in the Bronco towing our little Scottie trailer behind us. We drove past the plantations of the south, through the black hills of South Dakota, in the mountains of Montana, and the beautiful scenery in Wyoming. We took a coastal route north up to Prince Edward Island, Canada. We stopped at every Indian reservation we would pass and took every scenic path that lead to a waterfall or some other wonder of the natural world. Other kids took planes to vacation destinations with their families… not us. We were lucky even though we didn’t know it at the time.

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and all the other jazz greats remind me of nights at Nanny and Grandad’s house. I hear Nanny singing the little yellow basket song like it was yesterday. I remember Dad and Grandad watching the PBS jazz series over and over again hoping that they would find something they had missed during previous viewings. Once again, I remember complaining about having to listen to such “uncool” music. I had no idea I’d look back on those times with such fond memories.

Punk rock. Of course, I’m thinking of the Spike… that fabulous invention credited to Jeen and Brett. A Christian punk rock venue in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was at the Spike that I came to befriend quite a few local bands throughout my teenage years. My favorite bands no longer exist... Last Tuesday, Emberfall, and Torn Perfection (of course I couldn’t forget the boys’ band!) but the Spike is still going strong. It’s becoming the music of a whole new generation… of course, I’ll still show up whenever I get the chance.

Country music was the last two summers. Western World… a country western club we went to in Japan the summer of 2006 with our newly found Marine Corps friends. Yes, I did ride a mechanical bull for the first time in Japan. Then there was my zany post-graduation road trip with Tara and Jamie last summer, 2007. We listened to country music as I drove my little VW through the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and down Rt. 40 to Nashville. Beautiful Nashville had live music in every bar and free concerts on the river… thinking about it puts a smile on my face.

((There’s nothing like keeping a tent in your trunk all the time. I spent like half the summer camping in various places.))

Rap music makes me think about Evelyn and Washington, NJ; trying to write our own rap songs inspired by Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Eve. It is sad but true. We were only 13.

Classic rock makes me think of my time spent with the ex-boyfriend… he was pretty much the biggest classic rock fan in the world. It makes me think of camping in the State Gamelands and driving all the way to Philly just to see Across the Universe. It makes me think of Friday nights at the drive-in movie theater, camp fires at Assateague, and the road trip to NC. I’m not a fan of the ex, anymore, but I am still a fan of the Beatles, CCR, Bob Dylan, the Stones, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Lynard Skynard, Janis Joplin, and Eric Clapton.

Hip-hop and 80’s dance music represents many a night danced away throughout my college education… whether it be in Philly with the design girls or in the hometown with Kara. Dancing is the best stress-reliever… as we may have proved, going out with no sleep to subside the pain of so many all-nighters. I miss watching the crazy moves of Jes B and Wendee. I miss nights at the Pourhouse with Bridget, Maureen, Jesica Simpson (when we would force her), Angie, Melissa, Jamie, Amy, Megan, H-Bomb, and the architecture boys. Those were some darn good times.

90’s rock and Y102… the music of my childhood. We always had the radio on at Mommom and Grump’s pool. It makes me think of afternoons in the sun with Tara, Toni, Ashley, Taylor, Allisa, Aunt Heather, and my Mom. It makes me think of summer thunderstorms on the porch, swimming in the dark, popsicles, and Tony’s pizza.

Now, of course, salsa music will make me think of Peru and my new comrades here. I’ll look back on all the crazy dancing we did at these fiestas just like I’m looking back on all these other memories.

I don’t associate techno with anything. I don’t like it and I refuse to consider it music.

I wrote this whole thing because I heard Rock Me Amadeus playing today at a restaurant in Peru with my family. I laughed a little to myself. Bridget, Angie, Maureen, Alexa, Curt, Adam, and Ryan would understand the humor in it and its association to a game of Name That Tune we played one weekend at Woodloch Pines in the Pocono’s.

This is my tribute to the world of music… and a little glimpse into the love affair that I have with it. It’s random like everything else I write about.

I miss you all like whoa,
Melody