I haven't done a Top 10 in awhile so I think it's about time for one. This morning I was listening to an episode of SYSK in which Josh and Chuck were talking about how music can provoke emotional responses. They each shared songs that bring back specific childhood memories whenever they heard them even today. I figured I could come up with at least ten songs like that, and it didn't take long at all. It was an interesting thing to reflect on and gave me some insight into what the origin story of my music obsession might have been. In no particular order:
1 - "I Was Made For Loving You" by Kiss. I got to know this song well while traveling across South Dakota to visit the Black Hills one summer. It was one of the songs on the mix tape my cousin John had recorded off the radio while listening to Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" show.
2 - "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow. For several years, "Barry Maniow Live!" was the closest thing to a rock/pop album we had in our house as kids. This song has a short little part that slips into a minor key I always thought was a little scary.
3 - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John & Kiki Dee. So much of my love of music happened under the influence of my cousins -- I started listening to "American Top 40" because they did, even though I was in 2nd grade and didn't know most of the songs. The show was four hours long, and there were many Sunday nights I would fall asleep with my small transistor radio resting on the pillow beside my ear.
4 - "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace. This was the opening song on a K-Tel album my sister bought, which she probably bought for this song, which was again influenced by my older cousins. And if you don't know what K-Tel albums are, sorry, but you haven't lived.
5 - Anything from the "Grease" soundtrack takes me back to the Elk Cinema.
6 - "Tragedy" by the Bee Gees. My mom bought the piano sheet music for this song and my younger sister loved singing along whenever someone would play it. I can still hear how she was just a little too sharp.
7 - "Cars" by Gary Numan. One word: Cheapskate. One more: Skateland. Enough said.
8 - "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner. This was song was on the set list the first time I saw my cousin Dan play with his band. I was amazed to see an actual drumset being set up in my aunt and uncle's back yard.
9 - "Earache My Eye" by Cheech and Chong. It was a great day if this song came on the A.M. radio during the school bus ride during first grade. Imagine how dangerous a bunch of parochial school kids would have felt to hear the word "butt" on the radio.
10 - "Kisses of Fire" by ABBA. My cousins also had me listening to ABBA in sixth grade. One of the girls in my class also did, and it was a weird little thing we bonded over because nobody else in our class thought ABBA was cool. I remember her breaking into song one day while we were working on an art project, just leaning over to the shy and awkward little boy next to her and singing, "Lay your head on my chest / so you hear / every beat of my heart."
He nearly died. I thought it was awesome.
