The 80's...a simpler time

Flock of Seagulls

I love Pandora on my android phone.  I also invested in some mid-level noise canceling headphones a few months back from eBay which allow me to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and streaming music through my smart phone all while drowning out my coworkers.

Sometimes, like today, I can lose myself in the music I grew up with in the 80's.   My friend told me about a station called "Haircut 100" which plays all the alternative rock, ska, new-wave, and pop-rock of that decade including artists like David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Madness, The Fixx, Big Country, Flock of Seagulls, and the like.

It's fascinating to me how the brain associates memories with certain stimuli from our senses.  Over the years various smells have brought back vivid memories for me, transporting me back in time.  I can almost picture with perfect clarity events as they unfold as if they just happened moments ago.

The same tends to happen with me and music.  Certain songs, whence I hear them put me right back into High School.  I can remeber driving in my car with friends, dates, hanging out at the beach, and even emotions.  Yes, certain songs bring back deep seeded emotions that fill my being such as love, excitement, anticipation...and even the bad ones: sadness, loss, frustration, etc.

But today most of the songs I'm listening to I have favorable memory associations with, and wish I could be 16, 17, 18 years old all over agin.  Ah, to have those problems as opposed to the mind numbing ones we experience as we get older.

A time where I was in fact concerned about styling my hair, which clothes I was wearing, and what tape cassettes I had in my car.  Where the biggest financial concern I had was if I could get a $4.50 movie ticket after filling my $20 gas tank.

Lord I miss those days, but I have my music that I can relive those happier times in 3-4 minutes chunks of time.