Songs that remind you of specific stuff – times, people, places…

You know the ones. 6 music have just played this…

And I just drifted off. When I was 15 me and my mate Burt* used to race BMXs. Badly. As his dad was the owner of a business, but more importantly, a van – he was roped in to having the bikes and us in the back, ferrying us around the north west to tracks at weekends.

He was a top bloke. A mountain of a man who chain smoked Hamlet cigars, and I think the Best of the Carpenters was the only tape he owned.

Every time I hear the Carpenters it makes me smile and think of simpler happy times

Lets have yours then. The tune, and a story of what it reminds you of. GO!

*not his real name, but he had a monobrow like Burt off Sesame Street)

The whole of George Best by the Wedding Present. Released in Oct 87, it was the soundtrack to my first year at university.

The breath in at the start of side one track one* (Everyone thinks he looks daft) just takes me back.

At the tail-end of school, in between university – and on return home in holidays – used to frequent the same pub/hotel in my home town. The jukebox was stuffed with worn-out singles, some classics (“Like a Hurricane”) and modern tunes (e.g. “Echo Beach”).

I think the first first four notes of Echo Beach will always take me back to the Braelossie c. 1980…

Got loads of these. Smashing pumpkins Siamese dream takes me back to university days, and most classic rock takes me back to Rock nights at the Floral in Southport.

The Kinks Plasticman – Driving around the sunny Isle of Coll in a beige Peugeot 505 estate that stank of dog/weed.

“Smells like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and “Alive” by Pearl Jam both instantly transport me back to Glasgow Caledonian University Students Union in 1991. I can literally smell the place every time I hear either of these. They were on constantly in there for the next 3 years.

INXS – the entire Kick album – High school skiing trip to Aviemore in 5th year – I don’t think the Loch Ericht Hotel in Dalwhinnie had ever had a toga party before.

J’t’emmène au vent, by Louise Attaque – straight to working in France over the summer of ’98, best summer I have had and will ever have.

The ride back from my local loop is a couple of miles of deserted country lane. Golf course one side farmland the other.

For some reason I start muttering the words to Rockstar (Nickleback) in time with my pedalling and whenever I hear that tune it makes me want to go riding

Such Great Heights – The Postal Service. A crazy few weeks in Hampstead with an even more crazy american heiress. I didn’t walk right for months.

I bought Leftism the same day I came home from the library with Colin Forbes’ Stockholm Syndicate novel. To this day listening to the former takes me back to the latter.

Born Slippy .nuxx mix- summer of 96, cornwall, best summer ever. (see also, Killing Me Softly).

A Perfect Teenhood by And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead rather controversially takes me back to an And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead show. They were playing A Perfect Teenhood… But you’d guessed that. Anyway, it was just this moment at the (first, fake) end of the song where it breaks down into pure noise and **** YOU, **** YOU, Conrad’s in the audience, guitar held up, just smashing powerchords out of 4 remaining strings, we’re getting obliterated with decibels and blinding white lights, everything in black and white and grainy. The most un-zenlike zen moment. If I play it now and close my eyes I’m there, it must have been about 2 or 3 seconds but it’s still happening.

I’ve got two.. Ratt, You’re in love.. A lasting memory of mates, rock n roll, fun n frolics.

And REM, from Automatic for the people, Drive. Nicola, that’s all you need to know.

The Sundays album Reading, Writing & Arithmetic reminds me of a road trip through the Spanish Pyrenees. I spent a fabulous but ultimately unsuccessful day in Ainsa trying to get off with a girl called Rosa. I ended up giving her the cassette.

Funking ‘eck, is this not the normal / default setting for life? I’ve got thousands of these, from talking heads once in a lifetime, getting my hands on the controls of mum’s radio, to the royal blood CD on repeat round Dorset this summer.

The best are the ‘lost’ ones, the half-remembered melodies that you heard at the time, but never knew what they were, or who they were by. Great when you hear them years later unexpectedly.

Every time I hear the Carpenters it makes me smile and think of simpler happy times

Every time I hear the Carpenters I get an allergic reaction, start swearing and have to turn the radio off. One of the few bands I just cannot stand – it takes me back to rubbish radio in the 70s.

But I agree with edlong – Funking ‘eck, is this not the normal / default setting for life? I’ve got thousands of these,

It was July 1990 at a rave I was ..ahem slightly worse for wear when I spotted the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, fuelled with chemical bravado(I would have never attempted to speak to her otherwise)introductions were made and nonsense was spoken ..we discovered a mutual love of 10000 Maniacs,REM and Galaxie 500 fast forward 25 years and 3 kids later she still fills me with awe ..admittedly the past 12 months have been trying to say the least and we’ve both lost our way a bit, but listening to this again takes me right back to that time when everything seemed possible everything was simple …as the year draws to a close I want to regain that feeling …**** it i will regain that feeling 2016 WILL BE MINE !!
Binners you may have just saved my marriage

Alcopop – as someone who’s best memories were early 90’s in a chemically enhanced state – the best of luck to you my friend! Go for it fella! 😀

And while we’re on that era – this will always remind me of me and our kid (bless her!) sat on the window sill of her flat in Leeds, feet dangling out the window, after some mental night at Orbit or the Warehouse, just sat chatting and watching the sun come up. Happy care free days 🙂

Thegreatape, that’s proper scary. Before reading your post I was just about to say listening to James Seven album always reminds me of reading Colin Forbes novels in the early 90s!

Mariah Carey – All I want for Christmas is You

Takes me back 9 years, MrsMC was expecting LittleMissMC. We knew after our first child she couldn’t have her naturally, as MrsMC was disabled at birth after a botched Cesarean, we were living in fear of her going into labour before the planned C section.

All I wanted was to have them both home safe at Christmas. I still get a tear in my eye when I hear the song. Just not for the same reason as the rest of the population!

JLS – Everybody In Love. Reminds me of the first time of seven that I saw them live. While I enjoyed the other six, you never really get that feeling of the first time. For the chorus, they got us all to hold up our phone with a white screen on. It was bloody awesome. Unforgettable night.

Armagideon Time by the Clash.
Christmas morning, sitting on my bedroom floor, playing the 7″ single over and over on my little Dansette record player. Heard London Calling too many times for it to be evocative, but the other side of the double A single always takes me back.

Who’s your favourite Bravissimo?

You, binbins. Always you. 🙂

Right answer!

I was starting to feel a bit insecure there. And …. and… I’m not ashamed to say it…. quite jealous!

Driving to Lake District in 1992 when I first got into mtbing with “Suicida Tendencies” on tape.

Undertones “my perfect cousin” straight back to Newcastle bierKeller on their farewell tour – London Calling the clash newcastle Mayfair – I have loads which probably makes me sad, worst one is watching “From the Jam” last year at richmond (north yorkshire) and Bruce Foxton took 35 years off my life for 45 minutes… sigh

Loads of them but the most specific is Crowded a House, Weather with you.

Was a lambing job in Easter holidays at uni. Feeding the sheep early in the morning. Only radio available was Atlantic 252 and they played same songs on rotation at the same time each day. If I wasn’t in the last field I was running late when it came on.

Binners -Leeds Warehouse I saw Southern Death Cult there in the early 80s had forgotten about the place

Would love to have seen that! Great venue! My first gig was the (Southern Death) Cult. Manchester Apollo 1985. Stil up there with one of the best gigs I’ve ever been too. Not much has topped it since. But amongst it all, the track that stands out in the memory is this….

Appropriate for Manchester i suppose

bruk – Member
Loads of them but the most specific is Crowded a House, Weather with you.

First ever Glastonbury festival. Pitching our tent in the sun on the hill in front of the pyramid stage. Thinking what a strange wonderful place it was. This was when tickets were on sale for months, not minutes, so I’m guessing early 90’s. When I had more hair and decent health. I’d give an arm and a leg to go back to those happy times

Constantly played or on the air in Oz in 1992 whilst I drove around in pursuit of the perfect wave (clocked up 20,000 miles that year).

I was 12 and stayed with two hippies at Christmas, they played velvet underground
it seemed pretty much all the time. And now the velvet underground always make me
think of that Christmas.

Outkast – Hey Ya. This was seemingly all they played in the night clubs of New Zealand when I was there in 2003/2004. Happy memories.

Yes. “Yours is no disgrace”. Takes me back to college days. A friend had “The Yes Album” and I would constantly badger him to put it on. Again and again. He probably hated me. I still listen to it regularly.

Oh and U2 “Joshua Tree”. I went on a climbing trip to Switzerland with a couple of friends who were fans. I figured if they were going to play it non stop for 3 weeks the only way out may be to throw myself off a cliff.

Not a song but computer-generated music from a V-Tec child’s toy…. when our son was about three he got a kids’ computer for Christmas. It has a very distinctive range of tunes. On Christmas Eve new neighbours moved in, the selling neighbour had told us the new buyer had been a bit “naughty” but didn’t mention that he had just come out from a 10 year stretch for robbery with violence and drug dealing. He and his spawn moved in and that same day the problems started; I can still remember the feeling of dread and the six months of stress that followed, Mrs Gti and I taking tranquillisers, until we were able to sell the house for less than it was worth and get the hell out. The house was re-sold twice in the next four years. Now whenever we hear that music, on TV or in a shop, we are filled with a feeling of dread. It was the worst time of our lives. The bad thing about the music is that it reminds us of a nightmare but our young son was so blissfully unaware and happy at Christmas.

Two songs: Beastie Boy’s “Intergalactic” and Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”

It was summer 1998. I got a job as a parcel courier. I would pick up my parcels for the day in the morning, head out on deliveries, swing by my girlfriends for a bit of action, then head out for the day. Cutting about Glasgow with the windows down on the work’s van, those tunes on almost constant repeat. Not a single care in the world. Such a good summer of parties and fun. Almost a bit dusty in here.

lunge – Member
Outkast – Hey Ya. This was seemingly all they played in the night clubs of New Zealand when I was there in 2003/2004. Happy memories.

I was there at the exact same time, and the 6 months I worked in Queenstown, that was our work tune

It was played a lot

Apologies for the less than cheerful post but for me it’s always “No Woman No Cry”. Played by a busker it came echoing down a long curving corridor somewhere in the westerly tube network. I was a recently single student on my way back to uni in Bristol after visiting what remained of my Dad, who was brain dead in hospital having had a severe stroke the day before, following what we’d thought had been a successful heart operation. He was technically alive but he was clearly no longer there. Fortunately he died officially about a week later. The worst day of my life and a wonderful song that’ll always remind me how much I loved him.

Crumbs – my whole life has had a constant soundtrack of music, it seems.

Stand out music

Together Alone album by Crowded House – reminds me of a young lady who I thought was the one. Turned out she didn’t concur
Anything by Dire Straits or Bread reminds me of my dear departed dad
The song that provokes the strongest emotion in me is This Year’s Love by David Gray, which was being played the first time we gave my son a bath. The enormity hit me there and then of the forthcoming responsibility.