Remember That Time
There are stories written into every song & often we attach our own stories to songs. These stories and the people in them still mean just as much to me three years ago as they do today. This is a part of my Rerelease Series. The following was originally published on January 22th, 2022.
Music is storytelling. There’s a story in every song, could be fiction, could be non, likely a concoction of both. And yet often as we soundtrack our lives with melodies, we’re attaching our own narrative to a track. I’ve got one by The National stuck to a breakup, a Pusha T song that defined my Friday homeward commute, a Beatles deep track that carried me through long-distance. I’ve got about a thousand songs and a thousand tales. I bet you do too.
So. Let me tell you a story. It was November 2015. Sophomore year of college. My broskis and I embarked on a road trip involving four national parks, thousands of miles of open road, and dangerous amounts of McDonalds. My first road trip with no adults present. I was free and alive and fearless. As the trip was winding down, we were planning one final day in the Rocky Mountains. A massive blizzard seemed to think otherwise.
start listening here for full experience, DO NOT hit shuffle
Picture this: it’s 2 AM and we’re hightailing it out of the Rockies in a 2003 Grand Marquis. Steep grade warning signs on either side, semis whizzing past. I’m white-knucked gripping the seat of the driver, Loyal. I can tell Grayson and Christian are feeling the same. At that point, Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight is playing. If you’re familiar with the song, you know that at the 3:40 mark, there’s this sudden, powerful drum break. It’s at this point that Loyal takes both hands off the wheel, and pounds the air with both fists, playing the air drums in sync with the song’s climactic moment. The other three of us spend 3 seconds with jaws dropped, before erupting in a mixture of laughter, cheering, and verbal abuse.
It was a moment I’ll never forget. To leave you with some reassurance, no one perished, and we outran the blizzard, safely making it home. Here’s the thing about In The Air Tonight. It’s a dark song. For us, however, it represented a chaotic moment of sleep-deprived joy. What was coming in the air that night? 27 inches of snow and some freaking adrenaline pumping through our veins. The song had taken on a special meaning to us. [If you want to know more about the song, the album, and Phil’s genesis, I’d start with Genesis].
For the playlist this week, I’ve crafted a list of songs to which I have memories and moments attached. Like a musical memory collage of sorts. I’d encourage you to make your own “remember that time” playlist.