Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Soundtrack to my life...



In movies, everyone has the perfect sound track to go along with their lives.

And I often find myself wishing that were the case in real life.

There have been many special, sad and frustrating moments when I could have chosen just the right song to be playing.

Sometimes this would have required me to move in slow motion however, but you get the picture.

But after going to a couple of concerts recently, I realised that I do, in fact, have a soundtrack to my life.

Songs may not coincide with those epic moments of life (apart from my wedding song of course and, sadly, funerals); but there are certain songs, bands and styles of music, that take me right back to a period of time, even a moment, in my life.

So, after seeing a couple of old favourite bands, I took the time to think about my soundtrack.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see Pearl Jam.

And when Jeremy and Daughter blasted from the speakers, I was immediately taken back to my high school years.

And suddenly I was hanging out with my two best friends, having sleep-overs and looking forward to school discos and music festivals.

On Wednesday I saw Greenday, and I was taken back to a different time - my university days when I first went to see them play, and when I met my husband.

He was a massive Greenday fan at the time – and suddenly we were dating again.

But the sound track began back when I was a little girl.

Blueberry Hill and the Beach Boy’s Barbara Anne play over my earliest childhood memories; a little girl dancing in the living room with my mum and dad looking on.

When I hear The House of the Rising Sun, I’m watching my dad strum his guitar and when Fergal Sharky’s A Good Heart plays, I’m in the car with my mum as she drives me to swimming lessons.

I’m watching Rage with my big brother to the sound of Cheap Trick’s The Flame and 1927’s If I Could.



Anything Nirvana and Silverchair’s Tomorrow prompts memories of my friend and I as we dreamed of our futures, we were going to start a band.

And I’m doing laps around the Gold Coast in another friend’s first car to the soundtrack from Romeo and Juliette. It was the only cassette we had at the time.

I’m watching Channel V in the middle of the night with my little brother to the sounds of The Verve’s Freshman and Foo Fighter’s Everlong.

And enjoying decades of family get-togethers to Leo Sayer classics.

But this is just a small sample of the soundtrack of my life. The soundtrack wouldn’t fit on one CD, and it’s still being recorded.

And while the tracks don’t always coincide with particularly momentous occasions, they all remind me of special people, family and friends, and represent the special relationships that I share with all of them.

4 comments:

  1. I completely get what you are saying. Emotions can get attached to music in the oddest and most unexpected ways. Almost as though certain tracks become page tabs for the book that is our life. And songs can take you back to important events or, as you allude to, just brief moments in time that you wouldn't have ever thought of again had you not heard the song.

    I love that you mentioned Leo Sayer, too. It's important to note that some of the songs in my soundtrack of life were not contemporary songs at the time. I remember discovering that I owned Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" about five years ago and it was exactly what I needed at the time.

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One soundtrack that takes me back is Wait by Gyan from 1989.... I was a child and this song was top of the charts. Hearing it reminds me of much childhood happiness:

    Watch the video on Youtube

    ReplyDelete
  3. Leo Sayer! how special his songs were to my family. Where are you Leo? When are you coming to Brisbane? If you do, you can stay at my place!

    John Lennon's 'Across the Universe' is a favourite of mine. And Joe Cocker's 'You are so beautiful' ... well that is about my beautiful wife!! Nice article Nicole.

    Thanks for the memories ...your
    Romantic and sentimental fool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did something similar a few months back when the Triple J's Hottest 100 of all Time was happening... made me think about my life... in music. It's a cool thing to do!

    ReplyDelete

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About Me

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Nicole is an Australian journalist, presenter and communications consultant. She spent several years as a News Limited journalist, writing for a variety of local newspapers and magazines. Following this, Nicole was a reporter and presenter with the Nine Network, filing stories for Brisbane magazine program Extra, lifestyle show Weekend Extra and National Nine News. She is now a freelance journalist, writing for a variety of publications. Her special interests are features, lifestyle, current affairs, women, parenting/family and health. Nicole is also a public relations and communications consultant. www.nicolemadigan.webs.com
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