There is a scene in one of my top favorite
movies, High Fidelity, where Dick walks into Rob’s apartment as Rob is
rearranging his record collection.
Dick asks Rob how he is organizing the records. Chronologically? No. Alphabetically?
Nope.
Autobiographically.
Profound.
Maybe even genius.
Why? Because Rob must
remember that in order to find the song “Landslide,”
by Fleetwood Mac, he would have to recall that he bought the record for someone
else in the Summer of 1983 and he didn’t give it to them for personal reasons
[loosely quoted – High Fidelity].
Eat your heart out, Scrabble.
Some might say that this peculiar way of
organizing one small section of life is ridiculous. I would argue that our memories, whether you are an avid
music connoisseur or not, are tied up in songs. For those of us who live and breathe music, there are songs
in existence that are essentially the soundtrack for life-changing
moments. So the
sentimentality wrapped into these tunes are scrapbook-like. Smothered in memories. And I’ll be honest with
you. I love it, whether the
memories were good, or bad.
I posted a Richard Marx song on a social media
account the other day, and a good friend of mine, Jeff, was able to rattle off
exactly where he was and what he was doing when that song [Should’ve Known Better] was big on the radio.
This reveals the true power of music. Who needs time travel when you’ve got your record
collection?
I have always felt the presence of great
memories [and BAD] when the stylus touches wax. I wanted to share an example, so I meandered down to my record
collection to peruse for a moment or two.
There was a kid named Justice who I hung out
with on the planter in front of the principal’s office at Fallbrook
High during my sophomore year of high school. I was really starting to get into the idea of forming my own
band. I remember Justice used to
say that he was in a band called Bloodshed and they were signed with Tooth and
Nail records. At the time, I had
no idea who they were. And I had
no idea who the label was. Very
soon thereafter, I discovered that Tooth and Nail held several of my favorite
bands on their roster. This 7”
reminds me of those times hangin’ out on the planter at school. Justice: If you’re reading this, I hope you are well!
Example 2: Petra – “On Fire” -
12”
I had to find Christian alternatives to Guns N’
Roses/Metallica [metal and rock n’ roll in general] because my parents
didn’t
want me to listen to vulgar lyrics.
Petra was about the closest Christian alternative there was at the time
[that I knew of]. I owned the
cassette. I used to lay on the
floor in my bedroom where I would play the song “Fired Up”
over and over and over. As corny
as this music was, I can still play this record all they way through and
mysteriously enjoy it.
Nirvana - “Nevermind”
- 12”
I owned everything that Guns N’
Roses [and Nirvana] put out. I
used to have to hide the cassettes because mom would find them and I’d
have to throw them in the garbage.
I remember that I used to hide them on my wooden bed frame along-side
the mattress. I used to listen to
the cassette singles on my Walkman before falling asleep at my grandma’s
house. I always rendered the tapes
useless over a short period of time.
This habit continued into the Use Your Illusion records. Additionally, the two records, seen in the photo (above - GnR & Nirvana),
were both purchased in Europe during one of our tours. Memories on top of memories.
Final Example 5: New Found Glory – “Sticks and Stones”
– 12”
I remember sitting in a hotel room in Australia
[Warped Tour Australia] with all the guys from NFG when the label sent them the
edits for the “My Friends Over You” video. The NFG guys were trying to decide which edit would be
appropriate for MTV. There was a
scene in the video where the music stops and Ian farts. The decision revolved around whether or
not the video containing the fart would run on-air. So whenever I see this album or hear “My Friends Over You,”
I am reminded of this particular night and all the fun we had trying to figure
it all out.
I know you get the point. There are songs that transport me back to Homecoming and others that sit
me down in the hospital room where Ivy [my daughter] was born. There are songs that put me in the
middle of a SOMA mosh pit and others that put me on a stage in front of 35,000 people. There are songs from bands who I have
met that were pricks, and others from bands who were as down to earth as the
next guy. There are songs that blew the speakers out of the first truck I owned, and others that fueled some great times with the best of friends.
I wish I had the time to stop and write it all
down. I know I’d
fill the pages of a thousand Moleskins.
Give the gift of music to your children. Make it so their playlist is nothing
but a massive compilation of scrapbook pages filled with the best memories you
could muster.
Thanks for sharing a little time with me here today.
Steven
