Do you ever hear a song that takes you back to a place in time so specific your body will actually feel as if you were there? Maybe it was a first kiss or a song you heard when you used to get ready to go out in college?

That is exactly the feeling I count on when I listen to music when I write. In particular, my teen years were a time of feelings… all the feelings. I felt everything. I remember discovering my musical tastes at that time and the exact feeling when a song hit home and captured what I was going through… It instantly became my favorite song, ever! I scoffed when my parents told me they don’t make music like they used to. I mean, are we even listening to the same song, mom? Because I’m pretty sure Chris Martin has seen into my soul and wrote this song specifically for me.

The rush of excitement I used to feel – which clouded all judgement and reason – comes back to me with just a few chords of Yellow. Nostalgia is a term I want to evoke here, but with respect to those teen years when everything was so heightened, it doesn’t seem strong enough a sentiment. If I could bottle it and sell it, I would. I suppose it would be a mix of hormones so heavy, I wouldn’t trust myself to drink it unless it was the weekend and I was in a contained environment… and even then, the hangover would be awful. Can you even remember how strongly everything felt? The immense highs? The heart-wrenching lows?

Music’s power to bring me to my knees is a creative tool I like to use in particular for my memoir. I didn’t keep a diary, but as an observer, my memory is filled with a ton of thoughts about my experiences. Even at that early of an age, I had to process everything that happened to me. With just a few key songs from that era, I can unlock years of overthinking… which are great details for a story.

What songs are one the playlist of your past? I’m curious to know…