Day 163: Summer Songs

Nightswimming, 
remembering that night, 
September's coming soon,
I'm pining for the moon,
and what if there were two,
side by side in orbit around the fairest sun? 
The bright tide forever drawn
could not describe nightswimming. 


- REM

O can't you see

You belong to me

How my poor heart aches with every step you take

- The Police

There were few things I loved more growing up than the radio. My first radio was a tiny blue transistor. I listened to it constantly, including in bed well after my bedtime. My sister got a matching red one, which she loved as much. Through that radio, I listened to everything. Ball games from distant AM feeds. Talk radio. The CBS television feed. Public radio. Country music. Classical music. Z-92. The Eagle. KFRX. Golden Oldies. KFMQ. You name it. 

I listened to the radio year around, but without question, the summertime was my favorite time to listen to music. I'd sit outside on our patio in one of those old steel and nylon lawn chairs I'm not sure they make anymore with any radio I could get my hands on and listen to tunes deep into the night. On Sundays it was Rockline and The King Biscuit Flower Hour where I'd listen to interviews with whatever musician was featured. On any other night, I just constantly turned the dial up and down, stopping at whatever I like or that intrigued me. 

As the years passed and my tastes became more refined, I started listening to the radio less and less and tapes and CDs more and more. Still, the summertime was my favorite time for some reason. To this day, I associate more songs with certain summers than any other time of the year. If I hear certain songs, whether on the radio, an iPod, a loudspeaker, whatever, it takes me back to a certain age in a certain time and place. Arguably, no two songs have as powerful affect on me in this way than "Nightswimming" and "Every Breath You Take." I'm not sure why, but I don't even question it anymore. I've heard both so many times, there's seemingly nothing new I can learn about either one, but still I do. And somehow, each helps me continue to learn things about myself. Each takes me back to certain social settings. Each takes me back to certain conversations. Certain nights. Certain emotions. Certain situations. I play those out. I revise history. I question actions. I relive laughs and smile. I explore all the places I was so fascinated with originally. The fantastic thing about these songs, and songs in general, is that somewhere, someplace, I know there are certain people who share of  the same feelings I do when they hear those songs but also experience their own intimate memories and emotions. 

I love that music gives people their own special emotions. I love that songs can transport people to specific moments lived out in different eras. I love that summer songs can elicit certain smells, certain sensations, certain power. Today, by whatever cosmic force that's at work, I heard both "Nightswimming" and "Every Breath You Take" at different times in the day. Both times, my day became just a little bit better, if only temporarily.