You’ve probably heard the saying “Music is the soundtrack of our lives” – which, by the way, was said to have first been introduced by the late Dick Clark, who hosted American Bandstand and later a popular New Year’s Eve show.
The thought behind the saying is that we associate music, and certain songs, with specific times in our lives. They can evoke memories, good or bad, and often transport us back to that moment.
I’m not quite sure how the brain-music connection works but I have no doubt that it does.
This came into focus recently on a drive with my daughter Ally, as we were returning from Opening Night at the Shark Tank (OK, the SAP Center) in San Jose on Thursday, Oct. 1. We made what has become our annual trip there for the first home game of the season for the San Jose Sharks hockey team, attending the afternoon street fair before the game, standing with the crowd and hoping for a smile from or a photo with a few Sharks players as they came in on the ‘Teal Carpet’ before the game.
My daughter was determined to get a photo with her favorite player; last year she got all of his face and only half of hers while she tried to get the angle right with her little polaroid camera. This year, he was one of the first to arrive and we were lucky enough to be standing by some fans from Modesto, who gave my daughter a spot in front and this time around, she was successful in capturing both her face and that of her favorite player in the photo.
They had a DJ providing some music as the players arrived and it was easy to recognize the songs, even having the words pop into my head, whether I heard the song just last week or five years ago.
So, when we were heading home – following an intense overtime 4-3 win for the Sharks against the Florida Panthers – Ally and I were both very excited and energized and she wanted to put some upbeat music on.
The mix was one that included songs probably from 2012 to 2017, somewhere in that vicinity, and it was amazing that she and I could both sing along to most of them.
Some were even very specific as to what memories they brought to mind. Many of them were from our travel soccer trips when she was in high school, hitting the road for competition from Dublin to Sacramento, Fresno to Santa Cruz.
My daughter wondered aloud how she could have room in her brain for all those song lyrics when there is so much else to fit in as well. I have often thought the same thing, but there must be a special music compartment somewhere in the brain that allows us to make that connection. Some songs take me back to the summer I worked with the Youth Conservation Corps in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, clearing snowmobile trails, marking hiking paths … it was a live in job and since it was basically a bunch of teenagers from all over the state with camp counselors to keep us somewhat under control, there was always music playing when we were done with work for the day. I will forever link “My Sharona” by The Knack to that big house we all lived in near Peekamoose Mountain. That, and a fellow camper who loved to play guitar and sing and knew every John Denver song by heart.
Music remains constant. We are often treated to whatever type of music co-worker Michelle is in the mood for here in the office but, most of the time, we all start to sing along.
It’s the soundtrack of our lives.
Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.
