Songs that take me back

As I was cruising down the freeway a few weeks back, a song popped on the radio that I hadn’t heard in years. It immediately brought me back as I belted the lyrics out in complete tone-defying loud screeches that only I, as the singer, could honestly enjoy. However, it made me realize this wasn’t the only song that would bring me back to an earlier time. There are several songs out there that take me back.

My husband always states I have an eclectic taste for music. One minute you could be listening to Nine Inch Nails and the next minute you could be listening to ABBA. The problem with music for me, is even though I like a variety, very rarely do I remember the name of the song or the artist unless I seek it out. Because of that, the songs that I find particularly engaging, I usually obsess over until I find out who sang it and what the name is. Especially if it is a song I must add to the collection. Therefore, even though I love almost all music, there are few that make it too this level of obsession.

Some of these songs I will mention are ones that I really enjoy. I can’t promise that you will like them. I can’t even promise you they won’t get stuck in your head. However, it may give you a glimpse in the wide variety of music I like.

Note: These songs and videos are listed in no particular order of importance. Each of them holds a special meaning to me. 

I don’t really remember how I got introduced to this song. However, I was very young. In fact, I remember playing it on my parents record player. It was on a 45, so obviously the digital version is much cleaner. I remember when I was younger I used to love going through my parent’s collection of records, however I really fancied the ones that were on the 45’s. One song in particular was really irritating to my sister. This was not the one. However, the one that always annoyed her was on a warped record that had a crack in it. It eventually got tossed in the garbage. As a result, I had to find an equally annoying song. Personally, I find it catchy.

The music is irritatingly addicting, but it does talk about love. So, how can you really fault me for falling in love with the song each and every time I listened to it. (Bonus because it does irritate others - particularly my older sister!) After all, these little arrows hit everybody every now and then. It just goes to show that love hurts and there is no escape!

This is one of my favorite songs that started me on my movement toward more alternative types of music. The first time I heard this song, it wasn’t actually sung by Oasis. It was song by a boy I worked with at my first job. It was a Sunday and our shift was coming to a close. I was the assistant cook at a local bar with a restaurant attached. On Sundays we were so busy we hired a young boy to wash dishes. He was the son to some of our frequent clients, so even though his work ethic was horrible to say the least, at least he had good taste in music. The restaurant had just closed and we had piles upon piles of dishes and lots of cleaning to do in the kitchen. He of course decided he would sing instead of washing the dishes. It wasn’t his voice that drew me to the song, it was the words, and I immediately looked for this song to add to my collection.

“How many special people change? How many lives are living strange?…Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernova in the sky… Wake up the dawn and ask her why? A dreamer dreams she never dies!…”

This is the song that made me invest in the compact disc “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” by Oasis. This was the second album put out by this English rock band and it had gone 4 times platinum with a total of 3.9 million copies sold in the United States. So you might say I jumped on the band wagon with this one, but it was well worth it. With other great songs like “Some Might Say”, “Wonderwall”, “Roll With It”, and my personal favorite, “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, it turned out to be a great investment that I still listen to today!

This song is another one from my childhood. It is catchy and a little off the wall. Definitely an oldie but a goodie. The reason I was exposed to this song was because of my aunt. You see, she had a jukebox filled with oldies and when she would have family get-togethers we would all hang out in the garage, play pool, and listen to the songs on the juke box.

This was one of my favorites, and I am sure that the sheer amount of times I requested this song be played was more than enough to drive my family crazy. However, to this day, I still love the song and I have exposed others to this song about a car, the Little Nash Rambler, that outran a Caddilac.

There is a good moral to the story. It is to never judge a book by it’s cover (or more likely a the speed of the car by the type!) Or maybe it is that those with persistence win in the end. Kind of like the story of The Tortoise and the Rabbit. The rabbit automatically thought it would win because of it’s speed, but it just goes to show you should never underestimate the tortoises in your life.

Now I never claimed the songs I like are preferred by other people. In fact, I am pretty sure if it is one of those love/hate songs that most people start off liking but end up hating, I will be the 5% that continues to love the song. This is one of those love/hate songs.

Personally, I think it is catchy. However, reading some of the comments about this song, it seems everybody has a different interpretation of this song. Some think it might be a man reading a letter from a womans perspective; some believe it is about homosexuality. It doesn’t really matter to me what the reasoning is behind the song. Every person can interpret it how they want. It has a good beat and it is different from other songs. It definitely steps out of the mold to create something unique.

I can’t remember how I got introduced to this song, but it is one of my favorite oldies. Maybe it is because I was a young child dreaming of my first kiss. Maybe it was because it was smooth and melodic. Or maybe it was because it doesn’t matter who you play it to, the person will instantly have it stuck in their head.

I was always a firm believer I was born in the wrong decade. This just goes to show that might be a very true statement, since a lot of the songs I really like are oldies. They are happy and upbeat. They speak of love. It is one of the songs that I like to call happy music.

Now, there are several versions of this song. My favorite is the one done by The Chordettes, however, the one done by Petula Clark is pretty interesting as well. Feel free to search out the different versions for yourself. Just remember, never, never on a Sunday because that’s my day of rest!

I’ve been watching you… a la la la la long… a la la la la long…

Who can honestly say they have never heard of this song. It was introduced in 1992. That was when I was in 7^th grade, which meant that it was played at all of our school dances. However, most people are probably more familiar with Inner Circle’s more popular tune “Bad Boys” Personally, I like this song better, even if it is a little perverted (listen closely!) for a 7^th grader to really understand.

This is one of the first songs that I bought on a single. Remember those cassettes? The cassettes that cost you less, but played the same song over and over again. Done with the song. Take it out and flip the tape. I am pretty sure I wore mine out.

Back in the 90s, I was a big Sheryl Crow fan. She was an outstanding artist, and definitively someone I felt we could look up to. Maybe it was because her music was inspirational to my friends and me. This song, in particular, was one of my favorites. It brings back many memories of my high school adventures.

My friend and I used to take turns driving to school after we got our driver’s license. Whenever we had a bad day, we would play Sheryl Crow’s CD. Well, we didn’t just play it; we blasted it. As the song played, we screamed it at the top of our lungs. It made us feel empowered. Of course, we didn’t just blast this song to and from school, we played it on Friday nights on our way to the mall, we played it at the house while we hung out. It was our go to song. It got out our aggressions and just made us feel better.

As a teenager, we all contemplated if we really knew what we were doing with our life. “Were were they going without ever knowing the way!” Described how lost I felt when I was younger. Life is difficult, and as a teenager, you expect great things, but you don’t know which road to take. Sometimes I wanted to run; sometimes I just wanted to go blindly.

This song to me was inspirational. It still inspires me today. And it was the song that I heard on the radio that actually inspired this hub. There is hope in life, but it is what we make of it.

Unfortunatley, there isn't enough room to list all my favorite songs that take me back. The list could go on and on. The more I think of these songs, the more some of the pop up. Such as Barbie Girl by Aqua (yes, I actually like that song and it is on my Ipod); Crash Test Dummies; Radiohead's Creep, Bohemian Rapsody... I could go on and on. I am sure there are songs that bring you back. I would love to here which ones were your favorite and which ones make you think of earlier times! Feel free to leave a comment and let us reminisce together!