REMINISCING: SONGS THAT TAKE YOU BACK TO A CERTAIN PLACE

Music Reminiscing- Songs That Take You Back To a Certain Place

It’s undeniable that we all have songs that take us right back to a certain place as soon as we hear them. Whether they are good memories or bad, we tend to associate music with a time and place. We asked our contributors about what music takes them back:

‘Music has this unique ability to shape lives and memories through a simple beat. Rihanna was the soundtrack to my childhood. When I hear the chorus of her hit song Umbrella I am transported back to scorching days, playing with plastic figurines by the poolside in Menorca, whilst my mum desperately tries to get two minutes’ peace underneath the blaze of the sun. Still, I sing ‘Ella, Ella, Ella, May, May, May’ instead of the real lyrics, thanks to a joke that one of the holiday entertainers made about my friend Ella-May when the song was playing. In the two weeks together, every hour of the day was spent in the pool (“Come on in, Tegan, the water’s lovely!”) unless my mum called me back to the loungers, begging for me to eat something and stay hydrated. I remember my head resting in my mum’s lap and being covered by her cardigan as I succumbed to sleep after hours of fun each day, lazily being carried by my uncle back to the apartment (pretending to be asleep, of course), and the sticky ruffles of Spanish flamenco dresses as we danced along to the classics that will only ever be re-lived by my future children, never me. But, I will always experience it once again when Rihanna comes on, only in my head.’

Words by Tegan Davies

‘For me, there is one song that from the first note sung, instantly takes me back to the kitchen of my childhood home. Mambo Italiano by Rosemary Clooney transports me back to Saturday evenings spent convincing my mum to play Monopoly with me, my dad cooking dinner and listening to Music to Watch the Girls Go By, a compilation CD inspired by the Andy Williams hit. While the Dean Martin version of Mambo Italiano became more popular and well-known, Rosemary Clooney’s voice brings back sweet memories of dancing around the kitchen until I dropped and inevitably mispronounced every word sung, or just made up my own version of the lyrics. Unfortunately for me, this childhood Saturday night memory was captured by my parents on our old video recorder once; me swishing my skirt around the kitchen and confidently butchering the song is forever on tape. Even though my parents’ CD collection rarely gets played now, whenever

the song makes an appearance on Spotify or begins to play over the radio it brings back memories, perhaps rose-tinted, but sweet.’

Words by Rubie Barker

‘Some songs grab you by the collar and whisk you back to long-ago parties: the Bee Gees at my school’s prom is one of the more embarrassing examples. Some, you listened to so often for a time they sum up a season’s mood (September Gurls by Big Star, namely). In some albums, you can vividly recall the sensations of hearing for the first time. I can remember buying a CD of my now-favourite album, Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, when I was around twelve years old and hearing it radiate from my TV, standing utterly awestruck by the unknowable, inexplicable power it had over me. Its ferocity and sensitivity, and its strange story of triumph, was all told by a voice you could follow to the death. This became a sacrilegious act realised most school evenings. The great thing about collecting physical copies of recordings is that every object is linked intrinsically to you. When collecting CDs or records, nothing is taken for granted. Every time I listen to the first Roxy Music album, I recall buying it off an elderly lady at a front-lawn sale for £3 and carrying it home under my arm, so proud of my success. There are hundreds of blissful examples of this.’

Words by Megan Shinner Designed by Rida Rehman

Words by Billy Edwards

“Shut up and dance!” are perfect instructions to guarantee a good night and all-round immaculate vibes, whatever your music taste may be. That’s what makes WALK THE MOON’s track so wellsuited to a wedding evening reception. After a long day of celebrating love, family, and life itself –you want to make it last as long as possible, right? Let’s set the scene! Everyone is in the party mood. The bride and groom have had their first dance, and the rest of the evening guests are settling in with the same energy that everyone else had at 8 am that very morning. It’s not too late for the worn-out grandparents and little ones to be heading off, but it’s not even close for the party to be settling to a close. All I can picture happening next is the eruption on the dancefloor as soon as the guitar riff commences. Strangers, friends and family of all ages are clapping, jumping and shouting the lyrics in unison for a glorious three minutes nineteen. We’re all tied to that dance floor through different people, but at that moment we all have the same mission –to simply “Shut up and Dance!” until we can’t any longer.