As I walk to the subway while listening to my iPod on shuffle mode, the first few notes of a song begin to play, the first verse starts, and I all I can think of is: “What song is this?” I am listening to my own iPod. I should know all the songs in my music library right?<\/p>\n
Wrong.<\/p>\n
I have owned the same iPod since sixth grade. I have never taken music off my iPod. I just add more songs. I heard not listened to the tune that was currently playing on my way to subway since about the seventh grade. What an old song! As I walked, instead of skipping the song, I continued to listen. The song was cute, the beat a bit catchy. It was no surprise that I transferred the song from a CD to my iPod; however, it was by no means a classic.<\/p>\n
So the question arises: Should I take this song off my iPod? The simple answer is yes, and as I swipe my Metro Card, I resolve to do just that.<\/p>\n
Then something hit me. This song was not just a Billboard hit when I was in middle school; it was the first song I danced to with my then boyfriend. My first boyfriend. I was washed over with a wave of nostalgia right then and there as I waited for the train to race in. In fact, I could picture the scene from my middle school. The train arrived, but as I got on, I was totally lost in my current train of thought.<\/p>\n
I realized that I have many memories connected to music. This should not be a new idea to me. Ever since my sister got married I refer strictly to the song I walked down the aisle to as “The Song I Walked Down the Aisle To at My Sister’s Wedding.” I have this song on my iPod as well, and whenever I hear it, I think of that great night three months ago.<\/p>\n
It is probably the element of time that surprised me the most. Of course whenever I hear the song from the wedding, I associate it with my sister, because the wedding was only three months ago. However, that dance from middle school was many years ago. The song from my sister’s wedding I still hear on the radio, so how can I forget the memories? But the beat from middle school? I could barely remember the first verse. Yet, once I recognized the song, I might not know all the lyrics like I used to, but I could remember the memory with vivid detail, years after the dance.<\/p>\n
I would like to call this phenomenon music association. A song becomes inextricably linked to an event; whenever you hear that song, you consciously remember that moment in your life. I don’t think I am the alone in this idea. It’s almost like my iPod is a history textbook, the keeper of my personal history through the music connected to events in my life.<\/p>\n
Many of the songs that have special meaning to me are no longer top hits. Am I going to delete those songs, each which are like mini-time capsules? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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