When you live in a city surrounded small abode, cranked up music doesn’t seem to happen quite enough for my liking. I’m a considerate neighbour and as much as I might enjoy listening to Paul Dempsey on endless repeat. I’m not sure my neighbours do.
And so I’m selective on when the volume reaches double digits. Not so selective in the car however. The car and I don’t quite often don’t meet for weeks on end, so when we do, I like to celebrate that reunion with a chorus of loud singing and music loud enough to soften butter, (I’m sure this could be a thing.)
What’s wonderful about this scenario is that the three small people in the back, well they are well and truly behind that cranking up of tunes, (due to music being in their DNA you see.)
Song requests, loud family singing, air guitar solos, drum beats, seat dancing and lip syncing are all soul filling, de-stressing regulars for the car. It’s pretty amazing to see how a single well-chosen song can completely change round cranky arguments, bad moods and distract from a seemingly endless long car journey.
While the tape deck in our family car from my childhood didn’t quite have the same speaker range, I am thankful to my parents for giving me a well rounded eclectic background in great music. From INXS, Midnight Oil to Pavarotti. Lou Reed, The Sex Pistols, Edith Piaf and Vivaldi, music always played a big part.
Pip recently wrote about associating food and memories together, and while I certainly do this a lot, it’s music that I also associate with great chunks of time passed.
* Laying on the childhood couch, learning all the words to Crowded House’s albums.
* UB40 backpacking in India with my family as a kid.
* Beastie Boys and Violent Femmes teenage parties on empty cold beaches.
* Jeff Buckley’s soulful tunes sitting snugly inside, and it gently snows outside in Germany.
* Odd goth flatmates that introduce me to Marilyn Manson, (whether I liked it or not.)
* Friendly neighbours that exposed me to the soft Frenchy tunes of Air.
* Less friendly neighbours exposed me to the Numa Numa song and frequently at 3am. (Never the less it still remains a musical chunk of time as this continued for at least six months.)
Byron Bay road trips will always be attached to Midlake and Empire of the Sun was my first year of becoming a parent. I could go on and with specific songs or whole albums representing a tiny snapshot of my life.
So will my kids have the same sort of memories? Will they remember the loud family singing, the lip synching and intense seated dance moves on our car trips?…who knows. What I do know is, music is important to them. I know the excitement factor triples whenever a song gets cranked up, and I know when I see those happy faces singing their hearts out? Well this is a wonderful chunk of time, that I’m going to remember for a long period from now.
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How about you? Are there any musical chunks in your time line? Do you play loud music in the car, and what are you listening to at the moment?
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Oh god yes. We are a musical family, and I come from a family where music was played daily. I grew up with Van, Joni, the Beatles, Neil, Bob, Paul Simon and many more. My children have their own tastes which I encourage. We listen to music in the car and over dinner. ..it’s one of our favorite things to do. Luckily we have no neighbors 🙂
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Music is so good isn’t it Sara. Good for so many different things.
And no neighbours is…tantilizing.
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Musical memories are always the best. I remember driving around with my daughter who was 3 at the time and singing “I will survive” the version done by Cake as loud as we could. She knew all of the words. She is 19 now and still loves Cake. She also listens to the Beastie Boys. I love her very much.
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I just had to remind myself of who Cake were…yes! I Will Survive and Going the Distance!
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It always amazes me how many lyrics in stuck in my head waiting to come out again. I can go 20 years without hearing a song and as soon as the first few notes are heard, a library of words roll off my tongue.
I have been listening to a lot of Pandora lately while in the kitchen and The Smith library has brought back a lot of teenage memories.
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“A library of words”…love that BM. And yes, totally agree. I’ll surprise myself with the words that continue to roll on out as the song continues. (Seems it pays to repeatedly play the same songs over and over and over again 🙂
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When certain songs come on the radio, I’m often transported back to a different time and place. It’s so true that music can evoke memories. As for my husband, he loves his music LOUD. Especially in the car – that’s why I drive my own car! xx
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Instant transportation isn’t it 🙂
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Music, like books seeps into you. If your parents loved music, chances are you are in like Flynn. My dad was a huge Herb Alpert fan. I still smile whenever I hear it 🙂
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I had to look Herb Alpert up, I had never heard of him!
Smiling and songs are a beautiful combination.
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Music, food, memories that is the triangle and dont we love it. Lots of songs remind me of years and years spent travelling and they make me new all over again when I hear them.
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They really do don’t they Tania.
(Now when is your amazing travel stories getting published lady?)
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Music and smells are so nostalgia inducing. Alas I have a very inconsiderate neighbour who plays the saxaphone every day and it is so loud. I will never look at Lady in Red the same way again (and I didn’t even like it the first time around).
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