john denver and dashboard confessional

music has always had such strong emotional ties for me. as with most people, i hear a song and i'm instantly taken back to the time that that song represents for me. i noticed it strongly two times this week. the first time was while listening to counting crows. it was "mrs. potter" and i was transported back to driving around provo in my single days. really, i was 20 yrs. old again with not a care in the world. well, at least not a meaningful care.

the second incident was at parker's school family picnic last night. they had a band singing childrens' songs and they ended with "puff the magic dragon". i seriously almost started crying. i was reminded of that time in my life . . . and i remembered listening to that song.

i got to thinking about other songs that create emotional responses and of course, there's tons. but here's just a few . . .

"merry christmas darling" . . . a song that officially marks the beginning of the christmas season for me. a song that had me sobbing behind the wheel, december of 1999 driving to rexburg from provo. but really, anything karen carpenter sings makes me weepy. just her voice . . . reminds me of dad i guess.

anything beach boys takes me back to dancing in the living room with my brothers. john denver and frank sinatra remind me of what my parents listened to while i was growing up.

i can't talk about music without including my favorite band (well, one of them), the indigo girls. "ghost" is the song that made me a fan from the very first time i heard it in 1998.  there was no turning back.  i was a complete fan.  their music reminds me of driving around with jamie (fischer/ehrisman. . . i have to clarify, there's a lot of jamies in my life) trying to get the harmonies just right, or playing the guitar and singing with andi. . . again, trying to get the harmonies right (well, me, not andi).  ah, "mystery".

oh, and peter breinholt. his music saved my sanity summer of 2000. really.

old-school "dashboard" takes me right back to winter 2003, byu-idaho, driving in josh's prizm, same mixed  c.d. (all dash) on repeat for, oh, four months.  in fact, josh proposed to me to this song . . . at least i think it was this song.  it's all a little hazy.  not the most romantic song, but hey, we love it.

and to this day, the best fall-time c.d. is david gray's "white ladder" album. i'm immediately back in the shanty flipping through jcrew catalogs, november of 2001, when i first discovered david gray and his awesomeness. same for coldplay . . . their music has amazing transplanting capabilities.

and always, always, jason mraz's "you and i both" reminds me of when josh and i were newly married, with again, not a care in the world.

i've often wondered what music i'm listening to now that will forge such strong emotional responses in my children. who will be my kids' john denver?

the other day, in one of those rare moments when it was "mommy music" time, parker kept telling me to turn up coldplay's "life in technicolor" till it was at a teenage-worthy volume, and i knew i was doing something right. sometimes there's nothing better than a little blasting of coldplay. . . for memories sake of course.

maybe next, i'll introduce them to john denver . . .