I love the shows that are a "flashback to the past." I'm enjoying one right now, as I write. PBS is showing Ed Sullivan: The Sixties. What great music that was back then! California Dreamin', House of the Rising Sun, Satisfaction, Crimson and Clover... okay, well maybe not that one so much. How many times can one really sing "Crimson and Clover, over and over" (and over and over and over)
The wonderful thing about listening to music from our past is the memories the tunes bring up. "Light My Fire" takes me right into a dark dance club with psychedelic posters and strobe lights (remember those?) "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" puts me in an officer's club in Vietnam, listening to bands from the Phillipines, with all the GI's singing along at the top of their lungs.
When I wrote about these times of my life, the songs were a key component. Music continues to bring back memories; and I continue to write about them.
Next time you hear a song from your past, think about where you were - geographically, as well as in your life - and write about it.
