It is absolutely insane to me to think about how powerful music is. It brings people together, can change your mood in an instant, or make you feel extremely nostalgic. Just hearing a certain song or album can transport you back to a certain moment in your life, almost making it feel tangible.
Ever since I was very young, music has been an important aspect of my life; each part of my life has been soundtracked by a different record. For example, whenever I hear any song off of “Room for Squares” or “Continuum,” I think of my Dad and how he really got me into music – by introducing me to John Mayer when I was barely ten years old. Or whenever I hear a Keith Urban song, I’m suddenly 12 years old riding shotgun in my mom’s 2005 Toyota Sequoia driving through the Ozark Mountains to visit my Memaw in Arkansas.
But this music-related nostalgia does not only come from my early childhood. I still feel it today with songs I heard only a year or so ago, or even just months or weeks ago.
So many of my favorite albums were released around this time last year. Bad Suns’ “Disappear Here,” Lady Gaga’s “Joanne,” Glass Animals’ “How to Be a Human Being,” to name a few. This time last year was such a happy period in my life; especially in contrast to now. The tracks on these records are beautiful, and I love listening to them, but lately I’ve found myself avoiding them.
Why is that? Is it because listening transports me back to this point in my life that I can never get back? Does it make me realize how quickly time escapes us and how life just does not stop? Does it make me wish I could go back in time and relive every fond memory I’ve made while erasing the bad ones that have happened since then?
Of course, the answer to all of these questions is YES.
But it is time for me to stop being scared. No matter who or what these certain songs make me think of, they ultimately have a power allowing me to temporarily escape any troubles that are fogging up my mind at that moment. These songs bring me joy, peace and comfort. I am done letting this fear of nostalgia keep me from listening to these songs that warm my heart. Time to move on from old memories associated with these lyrics; here’s to creating new ones.