The Memory Lives On

Are you haunted by song fragments? I am....and with the advent of Kazaa and itunes I have been able to satisfy 99% of my long frustrated aural needs by downloading songs from the Internet.

Why are we thinking about these songs from so long ago? Betcha other than your first sexual encounter (even if you were alone) those short little songs comprise the bulk of your memory of that time. Try to quickly name 25 of your classmates from those days. How about 25 song titles or groups?

Our earliest memories of music are of the nursery rhymes we learned as toddlers. They were easy to learn because they were short and highly repititious....much like your average 2 minute and 3 second rock and roll song. The "hooks" or choruses of those ditties are what we remember still. Any of you know all the verses of "American Pie" or "MacArthur Park" or "Alice's Restaurant?" Probably not. Ever hear them requested in a club? Probably not.

Having been in the radio business and having access to music research, , I know that the music we remember most are those songs we heard in our last formal formal year of education. At that time, popular music was playing in almost any recreational venue in which we found ourselves from the bars to our dorm rooms or apartments. My experience with this occurred in about 1966. However, something else was taking place at that time which would divide our memories. The something else was the advent of FM stations starting to play music other than their two traditional categories which were classical or elevator. But, not everyone embraced FM as a music source. One reason was the fact that there weren't very many FM sets in cars. If you wanted one, it was an expensive option. It wasn't until 1974 when federal law mandated that all car radios manufactured in the US had to be AM/FM. But back to our bifurcated musical memories. People who graduated in 1966 either listened to the Carpenters on AM OR the Doors and Captain Beefheart on FM. There are songs from that AM playlist that I never heard when they were popular and I have friends who missed the whole FM lexicon from their last year of formal education. Couple that with the ploitical schism that was occuring over Vietnam, and the two musical forms went into their separate camps with their fans....

So, rush to an Internet music website, type in your favorite song that you've been hearing in your head all of these years, play it ten or twelve times and move on with your life.

While you're at it, think about how fast your children burn through their favorite music due to the many sources they have from which to hear and copy it. Remember how long you listened to the radio waiting to hear your favorite tune? While you're at it, encourage your child to slow down in his or her appreciation of the latest hit.

Why?

Because they aren't going to have anything to dance to or request at their 20th high school reunion.