Originally posted in January 2007

I caught wind of this NPR story yesterday when I was shaving before work. It was a story that talked about songs and memory, and how certain songs can trigger memories. Not unlike smells, or tastes, or other kinds of sensory responses, really, but for some reason things regarding sound and experience have always intrigued me.

I made a note to check out this story. I was curious to hear more about this perspective. It kind reminded me of when I used to listen to the NPR show Lost and Found Sound.

In some ways I think that Lost and Found Sound really planted a seed
with me. Of course, going back as far as I could remember, I correlated
song and memory, or sound and memory, but this was always on personal
level. With Lost and Found Sound, I had out-of-self experiences, where
I was able to experience the sounds and experiences of people’s lives
vicariously. Those experiences opened me up to the experience of sound;
not necessarily from a scientific perspective, but from a personal
perspective. I could relate to these experiences.

The Music and Memory show that I heard today told an interesting story. This is the show preface from Weekend America:

In this installment of our ongoing series, “Song and Memory,” we meet James Palmer, a listener in Seattle, Wash. Palmer grew up in small town in Michigan. For much of his early life, his family
consisted only of himself and his mother. One of Palmer’s earliest

memories is a popular lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Years later, after quite a bit of hardship, the memory of the song became even more significant, if also bittersweet.

The story really gave a poignant bird’s-eye view into musical experience. Music has a way of sticking with us, kind of like boomarking the soul. For me there are indeliable marks that have been left on my soul, and there are also songs or musical experiences that can instantly recall the best or worst aspects of my life associated with those sounds.

I guess what really draws me to this kind aural narrative is the same thing that draws me into reading. Reading has allowed me to relate to people, characters, and stories. While the medium is different, the intention is the same, the expression of relative experience.