The Official VSU Spectator Music Blog

Rebecka McAleer here, Web Editor for the VSU Spectator. Welcome to my music recommendation blog, Additive Noise! Here I'll be discussing snippets from the music culture that surrounds our lives. From Theory of a Deadman to Rascal Flatts to Pink!, you'll find great music here every week! Ready to get started? Just scroll down, and remember to [Listen Out].


Sunday, April 15, 2012

A Twist of Instrumental [What's Your Time Capsule?]



I was listening to this song the other day...it's one most of my crowd doesn't really like, but a lot of people in the world do like it. Truly, I'm not a big fan of the franchise it goes with, but I'm too big of an instrumental music nerd to let it pass. Someone sent a snippet of that song to me as a ringtone several years ago, and because of the time and place in which I used that ringtone, it's been infused with a vision. A feeling. Like when I listen to this song, I'm back in that place completely.

It was like waking up inside the sun. The walls of the room were basic beige, and so was the carpet. The wooden furniture was all a warm, light-stained wood that reflected the warm orangey sunlight that poured in the window. His favorite color was orange, so many of the accessories and things around the room were orange or red.

His sheets were red. They were soft, and you could tell it was because they were high-quality and well-worn. It was always warm in that bed, mostly because he was one of those people I call "space heaters". These are my favorite kind of people, because they keep cold-natured near-reptiles like me warm.

When he was there, I was always warm and comfortable. I never wanted to leave that bed. I remember waking up there on lazy Saturday and Sunday afternoons, lazing about in bed instead of getting up to be productive. Why bother? It was nice there. It smelled nice, because we were the kind of people who took showers at night before we went to bed. We didn't have sex, so there was no lingering scent of sweat or anything. Just the nice, clean smell of whatever body wash he used. It was strong, but after it had faded, it was one of the most pleasant scents in the world.

Of course we would eventually get up and go places, do things, all of that grown-up stuff. But for some reason, that sleepy, comfortable waking up memory is permanently etched in my mind.
I know exactly why. When I first got that song snippet as a ringtone, I never used it. The first and most permanent time I've ever used it was during those months I lived with him, and I used it as a weekend alarm-clock. Most days I go for more loud, obnoxious things that will wake me up, but those days, I needed that quiet, slow waking.

Despite the fact that the relationship went badly (my fault), I still have that one memory as one of the most pleasant memories I have. I could wake up in that place, with that feeling, any time. I don't want to now, of course. I love Severus, and I would never wish that I hadn't been here, right now. But don't you ever have those moments, those memories that just catch you where you are and keep you there?

This is mine.

NOW THAT YOU'VE HEARD MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE....

This post really isn't about this song. If you're a Twilight-hater, or not a big fan of instrumental music, that's fine. I'm not trying to press this song on you here and now. I just want to know, does anyone else out there capture moments with music?
Like for example, whenever I listen to Nickel Creek's "The Fox", I remember being in my big brother's truck, driving through dead-still traffic in Washington DC, singing folk songs to keep ourselves entertained. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe soundtrack feels like the waterfalls and quaint homes of Helen, Georgia, where my family went on vacation one year. April Sixth's "Dear Angel" feels like my junior year of high school, being backstage during the school musical.

Music is powerful. Not only can it transfer, explain, or intensify emotions, it can also be a time capsule. Songs are as memorable as the events in our lives, and vice-versa. I can't help but just stare in wonder whenever I run into songs like these.

I'd like to know if anyone else uses music for this kind of memory preservation. If you've ever heard something like this, felt this way, or wondered about the moments you remember- tell us?
You can email me with your answers at rmmcaleer@valdosta.edu.

Question of the week- what's your time capsule?

[Listen Out]