words about music and short story collections hold court in the realm of favorite things of mine; nick hornby's songbook is a bit of both, which is probably why i am loving it so much. one of the viewpoints that nick hornby puts forth that i found both significant and thought-provoking is the notion that there is a difference in relating a song to a moment in one's life (i.e. phil collins' against all odds will always remind me of joel the pole vaulter, the first boy i ever slow danced with) and a song that one loves just because it speaks to them, moves them, hits on something that feels so intrinsically you that it carries along in the soundtrack of our lives - spanning a lifetime. he mentions that i was in this vein of thought that he wrote the book, and not as a memory recollection.
at first, when i read this perspective i was somewhat turned off. i sat there on my front steps, book in hand, and thought to myself "i cannot fathom loving a song that does not attach itself to a memory, a person, or a time in my life."
but, then i had to think deeper, and wonder "is that true?" are there not songs in my lifetime soundtrack that have enormous impact to my life, yet at the same time are not attached to anything specific? the answer is a resounding yes. an, in this i agree with nick hornby's take on it; that those songs are the ones we continue to love, that we carry along with us, and that often open our eyes to different things - and feelings - in every passing year that we turn up the volume and sing-a-long to those songs.
leonard cohen's famous blue raincoat is one of those songs, as is bob dylan's tangled up in blue, the cure's pictures of you, cowboy junkies' misguided angel, and sinead o'connor's emperor's new clothes. i could come up with more, lists of more, but these are the first five that came to mind.
what are some of yours?
