I’m a sucker for cowbells. Accordions too. Clapping as a percussion tool, fiddles, even kazoos – if a song contains one of these elements, there’s a reasonably good chance I’ll like it. And anyone who knows me and my love of Rocket from the Crypt knows that I love me a good horn section too.
All these melodic musings stem from the fact that right now I’m sitting at my desk listening to a song I honestly haven’t heard in 10 years. Despite the length of time, the minute I heard the opening chords, I audibly sighed and said “Oh, I love this song!” and found myself sucked back into 1996. Literally. I swear if someone walked in on me right now they’d think I’d gone to some other world.
I’m always amazed at the ability music has to evoke such strong emotions and memories in me. For many songs, I have very specific and distinct memories and attached to them. Anytime I hear Kylie Minogue, I’m instantly transported to London, March 2003. If I hear Bob Marley on the radio, I feel like I should be driving on the 52 to the beach after school. And whenever I hear “This is the Day,” by The The, I’m back in Laura Kass’ or Steph Berry’s (formerly Hedeline) living room, watching a little-known, semi-mediocre movie called “Empire Records.” In the summer of 1997, this movie became the go-to movie for girls of a certain age, due in part to its cast of young, gorgeous starlets. “Empire Records” was a breakthrough movie for several then-unknown actors, most notably Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, and Anthony LaPaglia, and it tapped into the teenage dream of working in an über-hip record store, surrounded by lovable and good-looking men who secretly pine away for you. Let’s just say it hit a chord.
Now I’m not even going to get into the fact that someone was idiotic enough to name their band ‘The The.’ I’m sure the lead singer must have felt particularly profound when he pulled that name out a stoned haze. And I can’t name any other song by The The, but I will say that that “This is the Day” might be one of the great feel good songs ever put to record. An accordion, synthesizer, fiddle, and percussionary clapping – it’s a strange concoction of perfection. Seriously, if a nerdy 80s pop group and a jug band had a love child, this song would be it. And it would be one damn happy baby. Hearing the song makes me want to grab the one I love, look into their eyes and tell them how wonderful they are, and then start dancing. For other, semi-inexplicable reasons, it also makes me want to have a baby on my hip to dance around with. But I digress.
So here I am, stuck in an office, wanting to dance around but I know I can’t, lest I further the well-established stereotype here of what a Californian is.
Wait. I have a door to my office! If you’ll excuse me, I have an office dance party to attend to. But where’s a baby when you need ‘em?
All these melodic musings stem from the fact that right now I’m sitting at my desk listening to a song I honestly haven’t heard in 10 years. Despite the length of time, the minute I heard the opening chords, I audibly sighed and said “Oh, I love this song!” and found myself sucked back into 1996. Literally. I swear if someone walked in on me right now they’d think I’d gone to some other world.
I’m always amazed at the ability music has to evoke such strong emotions and memories in me. For many songs, I have very specific and distinct memories and attached to them. Anytime I hear Kylie Minogue, I’m instantly transported to London, March 2003. If I hear Bob Marley on the radio, I feel like I should be driving on the 52 to the beach after school. And whenever I hear “This is the Day,” by The The, I’m back in Laura Kass’ or Steph Berry’s (formerly Hedeline) living room, watching a little-known, semi-mediocre movie called “Empire Records.” In the summer of 1997, this movie became the go-to movie for girls of a certain age, due in part to its cast of young, gorgeous starlets. “Empire Records” was a breakthrough movie for several then-unknown actors, most notably Renee Zellweger, Liv Tyler, and Anthony LaPaglia, and it tapped into the teenage dream of working in an über-hip record store, surrounded by lovable and good-looking men who secretly pine away for you. Let’s just say it hit a chord.
Now I’m not even going to get into the fact that someone was idiotic enough to name their band ‘The The.’ I’m sure the lead singer must have felt particularly profound when he pulled that name out a stoned haze. And I can’t name any other song by The The, but I will say that that “This is the Day” might be one of the great feel good songs ever put to record. An accordion, synthesizer, fiddle, and percussionary clapping – it’s a strange concoction of perfection. Seriously, if a nerdy 80s pop group and a jug band had a love child, this song would be it. And it would be one damn happy baby. Hearing the song makes me want to grab the one I love, look into their eyes and tell them how wonderful they are, and then start dancing. For other, semi-inexplicable reasons, it also makes me want to have a baby on my hip to dance around with. But I digress.
So here I am, stuck in an office, wanting to dance around but I know I can’t, lest I further the well-established stereotype here of what a Californian is.
Wait. I have a door to my office! If you’ll excuse me, I have an office dance party to attend to. But where’s a baby when you need ‘em?
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