songs and memory

Another video post.

Do you have songs that take you to specific places and times? There are some songs for me, no matter how ridiculous or cheesy or bad, that will transport me to very specific moments in my life. This song reminds me of around the time this song was popular – I was about 5 or 6. I remember the bedroom in that house in Lombard. I remember the smell and feel of the brown carpet, and the generic cartoon-y pillowcases that my parents still probably have. I remember the twin bed handed down from my sister that I now dutifully slept in, instead of crawling into bed with my parents like I used to. I remember my school uniform hung on my closet door knob, a white shirt with a peter pan collar and a brown, white and yellow plaid jumper, the fabric synthetic and scratchy and thin, so if I poked my pencil through I could make a hole and just massage the fibers back into place. I remember the specific feeling of the space, the air thick with quiet, how it looked in the dark, how hollow the radio sounded as I fell asleep with this song playing. The other song that does this to me? “Part Time Lover” by Stevie Wonder. See, I told you they were bad.

today’s earworms

Hi, strangers. Today: earworms!

“Bust A Move”, Young MC: ah, quintissential pop rap party jam of the 80’s. The parts that I’d like to specifically call out are the lady part that goes “uh, yeah, ohhhh yeah”. Also the “break it down for me, fellas” breakdown with the “unhhh….ohhhhhh”. Those parts just run in repeat in my head.

I can’t embed it, but “Come and Get Your Love”, the Real McCoy: I know this isn’t the real version. It’s a cover of that Redbone 70’s classic, etc. But it’s this specific version that’s implanted in my brain. I have absolutely no idea where this came from or why. I haven’t heard this song in years. I especially enjoy the Snow-like whiteboy rapping involved.

“Babe, We’re Gonna Love Tonight”, Lime: I’ve posted this song elsewhere. But god I love it and I will never stop loving it. I love that keyboard hook, so simple. I love the simplicity of the chorus and how it’s harmonized. I love how this is such a good bridge between that kind of disco-y italo stuff and house.  I love how it’s hard to make the connection between the homely-looking people in the video and the slick voices. Yes, those are the actual people who recorded the song. And did you know they were Canadian? And all this time I thought they were Italian… This song is always in my head in some capacity.

Incidentally, have you ever seen Lime’s album and single cover art? It’s truly terrible in that none of the figures actually follow any sort of anatomy based in the real world, and the airbrushing. Oh god, the airbrushing. That said, if someone made a gigantic wall-size print, I would probably want it.