Browsing through some music it struck me how certain songs are just the defining songs for certain times in our lives. You listen to them and they take you a to a place and time, they can evoke a certain mood like nothing else can, so I decided to share some of my “personal soundtrack” with you. Feel free to reply with your soundtrack in the comments.
Growing up and not knowing who you want to be: Innuendo by Queen
This was actually the first CD ever which I got together with the CD player. My English wasn’t quite good enough at that time to quite understand the lyrics, but the music just said enough. Just keep on trying, eh? Later I sat down and translated many of the songs, a much better exercise than anything we ever did in class and to this day some words are automatically said in Freddy’s voice in my head.
It was a time in my teenage years when I was trying to figure out who I wanted to be and what I actually liked.
Freddy died not much later and I was devastated, cut lose again after I thought I had found a place. Queen stayed with me through all these years. Although I like a great variety of music, I became a rock chick back then and have always stayed one at heart.
Very thought-provoking.
My parents were both teenaged “Displaced Persons” after WWII, and it was obviously difficult for them to talk about their wartime experiences. As a boy/young man, I wanted to understand, but didn’t get their reluctance to open up.
I think the film The Third Man helped open my eyes. I can never watch it without thinking about their lives. It is such a beautifully made film, with a heartbreaking performance by Alida Valli. Also, Joseph Cotten looks a lot like my dad.
More than any film I can think of*, the score plays an integral role in my feelings for it. The ending is so eloquent, and Anton Karas’ music the perfect complement to the scene (well, the whole film).
*Taxi Driver and Tarkovsky’s Solaris come close.
The first music that really captivated me in an adult way was Don McLean’s album American Pie. I was in my first year of high school when it came out and I remember saving up to buy the album. I must have played it hundreds of times. The song ‘Vincent’ is still one of my favourites.
I was more of a folk music girl than a rock chick, but Queen were fabulous.
*****
Rob Grigjanis,
Thanks for the story. The score of a good movie really does influence your emotional experience of it.