Time Traveling Through Music

Distractions at work are inevitable! It could be hearing the people in the aisle next to you talking very loudly about what they did over the weekend. Or people arguing about some pointless issue that could be resolved quickly but they INSIST on dragging out. Or having tours go through because my cubicle is in a “working” showroom…

So, to avoid these distractions and attempt to get some work done, I put on my headphones and rock out!!! My method of streaming music has evolved since I began working. I began by listening to Launchcast Music through Yahoo.com. Launchcast was nice because I could rate different artists and songs and it would personalize my station if I was logged in.

But eventually Launchcast was discontinued and converted into CBS Radio. This was still through Yahoo.com. I did not like this as much because I could only choose pre-set stations, and I could personalize a station. This meant I did not get very much variety in what I listened to. I usually just chose the “Pop” or “Today’s Big Hits” stations.

As Chaz and I began to regularly attend church, I decided to try out some contemporary Christian music. So, I began streaming from the local stations WayFM (89.9) and JQ99 (99.3). This was a nice change and I realized that contemporary Christian music isn’t that bad! :-) It was uplifting and positive, and I could still rock out to it. Plus, I started learning the words to the songs they rock out to at church, so it was a nice change.

But I felt I needed more variety, so I began using Pandora.com. And I love it! I am able to personalize my station, and it is a lot easier that Launchcast ever was. I am able to just type in an artist and it is added to my station. And if I don’t like a song that is playing, I just give it a thumbs down, and it skips the song for me! And let me tell you, my station is VERY DIVERSE! I still have my contemporary Christian music like Casting Crowns and Newsboys, and then the next song could be Xzibit or Notorious B.I.G.

So anyways, let me get to my point. Now that I’m listening to Pandora and my diverse radio station, I am hearing songs that I haven’t heard in FOREVER! And I LOVE IT! Isn’t it crazy how you can hear just the first few beats of a song, and instantly be transported into some other time where that song had some meaning or was a part of some event? All the emotions of that time are stirred up and it just brings back SO MANY memories! It definitely makes work more interesting when I “time travel” to those different moments in my life.

For example, any time a Boys II Men song comes on, I am back in 6th or 7th grade! I was obsessed with them during that time. It makes me think of those Junior High dances and first crushes and boyfriends. I get the same feeling from Mariah Carey’s song, “Always Be My Baby.” The emotions that come up from those songs always bring a smile to my face. Oh, to be young again!

I am brought back to fun times in high school with Jen Miller any time I hear an Nsync song, of course! We love our teeny-bopper music together! I also time travel back to high school when I hear DMX’s “Up in Here” or Jagged Edge’s “Let’s Get Married.” And then there are just way too many songs to name that being me back to the college years! But I’ll try to name a few anyways: “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, “Suga Suga” by Baby Bash and Frankie J, “Dance with the Devil” by Immortal Technique, and “Ignition” by R. Kelly.

I seriously love how music is such a memory trigger! And for me, those emotions that get stirred up can be so strong! Am I the only one that feels this way???

And this leads me into shamelessly plugging my new little Etsy shop that I started – www.AccessoryLove.etsy.com ! :-) I’m not sure how many people read my blog, since I’m new to it and I haven’t been regularly blogging, but I thought I’d give my readers (if there are any other there :-P) an opportunity to get ONE of my fun jewelry designs at 50% off!!! All you need to do is comment here with the name of a song and when/where it makes you “time travel” to. Then visit my shop and pick out an item that you want! Add it to your cart, fill in the information, and in the “Notes to Seller” section, put BLOG READER. Then hit the “Commit to buy” button. I will send you an invoice with the 50% off sale price. And remember, all my items have FREE SHIPPING within the United States! :-)

I look forward to reading about your songs and “time travels!” :-)