To a certain extent, my life is a musical. This is partly because I have both family and friends who burst spontaneously into song. And I’d be lying if I never said that I’ve had a singing conversation with Roomie. But, generally speaking, music is a constant in my day to day life. I can hear a song and it immediately brings up very specific memories. If I’m listening to Oldies and “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” comes on, I immediately picture sitting in the car with my dad when I was a little kid and him changing the lyrics to “I’ve been searching everywhere, just to find my underwear.” And yes, that still makes me laugh.
When I get new music, I will listen to the songs over and over again until they’re burned in my mind. And these songs get associated in my memory with whatever else is going on in my life at that time. This is particularly true for books and movies and has led to some pretty interesting (read: weird) pairings.
Before we go any further, though, I must sound the nerd alert. (Wheee-oooo. Wheee-oooo.) If you do not feel that you are up to processing some fairly severe nerdom, I would turn back now. No one will judge you. Or if they do, it will probably be favorably. I do not expect the same result from the following disclosures.
But, without any further procrastination, here are a few of the stranger pairings rolling around in my head:
Star Wars + Celine Dion + Clueless
- After I saw the movies, I (naturally) had to read every Star Wars book I could get my hands on, while at the same time, putting together some fairly intense Star Wars jig-saw puzzles. This experience would not have been complete without some over-sized t-shirts and me bopping along to the “Falling Into You” tape in my Walkman. Of course, I did need the occasional break to keep my hands from cramping. This time was almost always spent watching Clueless with my sister. Obvi.
- Specific book/song correlation: Heir to the Empire (Timothy Zahn) + “Declaration of Love” (I really don’t know why.)
X-Files + Shania Twain + Brink!
- I was just getting into the X-Files books when my family flew to Washington for my cousin’s high school graduation. While we were there, my cousins taught my sister and I how to line dance to Shania Twain. When we got back home, my sister got a Shania Twain CD so she could line dance in a school talent show, which she practiced as we watch the Disney Channel Original Movie, Brink!. So, I blame her for the fact that I hum “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” when the X-Files theme plays. Also, side note, Brink! is a classic. Thank you, Erik von Detten.
- Specific book/song correlation: Ruins (Kevin J. Anderson) + “Rock This Country!” (Stop judging me. I was kid. And anyway, who doesn't hear "Every brown-eyed boy, every blue-eyed girl, gotta really go psycho, give it a whirl," and think of Mulder and Scully?)
Sleeping Murder + Christina Aguilera + The Mummy
- My mother needed surgery, so my sister and I were staying at my godmother’s house down the street from the hospital. While there, I decided to catch up on my Agatha Christie. My brother stopped by for a while and brought my sister Christina Aguilera and me, The Mummy. So, now when I read Miss Marple’s last mystery, I think of sand storms with faces and whistle “What a Girl Wants.” I wonder if that’s what Dame Christie had in mind….
Well, I think that’s certainly enough horrifying information about me (for now). Don’t want to totally scare you away. Anyone out there have any of their own strange mental pairings they’d like to share?
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