Time Machine

Last week I wrote a few different blogs about food, music and scents. Well, that pretty much wraps it up for me...sort of. Mostly, the point I was trying to make was how those three things have the ability to trigger even the most remote memory in our brains.

I distincty remember standing in front of a hamburger stand near my home and hearing the Beatles, specifically Paul McCartney, sing "Michelle" on the AM radio. That was probably early 1966. It all comes back to me when I hear that song.

My family took a camping trip in the early 70's to Big Bear where I first heard "Caught In A Trap" by Elvis. This was at a time when my older brother, Rob, was going through some rough times. When I hear that song today, I am transported to a time when I felt insecure in my own home because my brother was reeking so much havoc on our lives through his erratic behavior. It is incredible just how much our auditory sense influences our thoughts, feelings and actions.

I saw a piece on TV a while back where Alzheimer patients were able to be reached in the deep recesses of their minds through song. When the therapist would sing a song from their era, the patient would then begin to sing along as if they were sent back to their youth in a time machine. These were patients with a severe case of Alzheimer disease that otherwise could not be reached.

I was driving yesterday past an intersection near my dad's neighborhood when out of my mind came a memory from the early eighties where I was listening to "Karma Chameleon" on the radio. I am not a fan of Boy George but man, I had no control over my mind's decision to pop that little ditty into my head.

I am so grateful that I became a songwriter. I have always believed that art can, through any given medium, convey the complexities of emotion and thought. I can write a song that feels like summer (windows down, fun in the sun) and hope that that feeling is interpreted by the listener.

Music is so very important to me and for that matter, humanity. I just would rather have my memory uncover "Michelle" rather than "Karma Chameleon". I guess I have no choice.