This Week's Playlist

They (whoever they is) often states that smell is the sense that generates the most vivid memories.  For me, music often carries very specific memories when I hear a song.  Here is a list of 20 songs and the memory I associate with them.

1. In America by the Charlie Daniels Band.  When this song came out, it seemed to be playing on the radio everytime my family drove to the beach in St. Augustine Florida, so I always associate it with the beach.
2. Homebound Train by Bon Jovi.  I just love the ryhtmn guitars in this song, but oddly enough, this song was playing when a buddy of mine and I were riding the train back from a climbing trip in West Virginia.
3. We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel.  My wife and her family were big Billy Joel fans and we all went to see Joel in Washington DC, one of the best memories before my father in law passed away.
4. Acoustic Curves by Animusic.  My wife and daughter had gone to Boston with my wife's friend.  I used a four day weekend to paint four rooms in our house.  My wife was surprised and I discovered Animusic during that painting blitz.
5. Flying in a Blue Dream by Joe Satriani.  Flying in a Blue Dream was my first Satriani album purchase and after hearing this song on my Walkman coming home from the mall, I was hooked instantly.  Satriani remains one of my favorite artists ever.
6. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey.  Me and my friends entered an air band contest with this song in the 7th Grade. I rocked the air drums and the lip synching.
7. Enter Sandman by Metallica.  My Navy roommate and I would blast this song when ever we would go rock climbing.  Since we went climbing 3 or 4 times a week, the CD got a lot of play.
8. Even Flow by Pearl Jam.  One of my housemates in college got me hooked on Pearl Jam thanks to this song.  She went absolutely nuts listening to the song.  I will never forget her introducing me to this band.
9. Another Rainy Night (Without You) by Queensryche.  A squad mate in the Navy just after boot camp turned me on to Queensryche by playing this song.  I will always associate hearing this song with the knowledge that I had been selected to join the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard.
10. AFH by Slackjaw.  My Phi Sigma Pi friends from U. Va. (Chris and Sabine) turned me on to this Charlottesville band.  This song is forever associated with road tripping during college.
11. Panama by Van Halen.  From high school, I remember when this album came out as a freshman in high school and how much my friends and I would listen to it before soccer practice.
12. Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down.  Another song that got me hooked on a band during college, I remember listening to these guys on the radio in the bus I was driving through Georgetown to pick up a tour group.
13. Where the Streets Have No Name by U2.  I remember sitting in the theater with a former girlfriend watching the opening of Rattle & Hum, still one of my favorite rock documentaries.
14. Explosive by Bond.  I had a business trip to San Francisco/Sacremento and I remember this song being on the CD player in my rental car as I walked through the streets of San Francisco toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
15. Dream On by Aerosmith.  From my much younger days, this was the song that was on the radio when I first started listening to Rock 105 from Jacksonville Florida.
16. I Alone by Live.  This was the first concert I went to with the woman who would become my wife.  Live at HersehyPark Stadium was brilliant and the first of dozens of concerts we have attended.
17. Represent by Weezer.  This is my soccer song.  I remember watching the game where the opening commentary came from and I can't help but see that goal by Jonathan Bornstein and Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria in the World Cup.
18. To the One Who Knows by Yanni.  I know, Yanni right, but I actually like some of his stuff.  Me and a girl I liked in the Navy danced to this song while watching a thunderstorm move in.  Never really got the nerve up to date her, sorry Karmin.
19. Barracuda by Heart.  "No this ain't the end" was something of an anthem for my high school soccer team when we got behind.  This song still reminds me of travelling for games.
20. London Skies by Jamie Cullum.  I picked up my wife after her trip to San Francisco and this song was playing which she just loved and it reminds me, oddly enough, of London.

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