music memories

You know when you hear a song it brings back memories? Memories of a time or place or of a person, well what else are memories made of… To the point then. When I hear Eric Clapton my father springs almost instantaneously to mind. Memories of hearing that music in his workshop or just around the house. I remember the smell of potatoes cooking in a small kitchen, myself and my sister are running around doing who knows what. I remember 50 watt lighting and the shades drawn. In my mind its always just before dinner and we’re making the last preparations before eating; my sis and I are setting the table, I’m still grumbling about having to peel the potatoes again and my father is finishing up at the stove. Music is an amazing conduit for emotion-memory. A certain sound will remind you of a feeling and a person attached to it, it makes you angry or sad, makes you happy or nostalgic; some music is just air, stuff that has no attached emotion, no point of reference no shared experience between you and the writer, just blah. I get a lot of my musical tastes from growing up, what my friends listened to, what my folks listened to… Music has to have a feeling, it can’t just be empty time fillers.
so in conclusion fuck elevator music and thanks pops.

conversation with a friend

Sitting on my balcony watching the lights blink back and forth at each other, the cars whiz silently by on invisible strips of blacktop. To my left my friend says something, I don’t really know what but I grunt at appropriate times; I catch the highlights. Moment of silence, I puff my cigarillo, watch the smoke drift away… I say something, not really thinking about it, just conversing. Music plays in the background, I can hear the neighbors playing rock band and I smile. I finish my scotch, I have long ago finished my cigarillo. My friend continues with his discussion of people, I nod and laugh at something he has just said. A moment passes where nothing is said, I say something, he agrees… Soon it begins to rain, I say it’s getting cold and rainy, let’s go inside. Inside we just sit some more without talking and listen to music. My friend goes home and I sit down to type this…