2008年 08月 9日 土曜日 07:02

A thing I've noticed lately while walking through my city with my walkman on is how some songs have the ability to draw pictures in my brain… And I don't exactly mean the stories they talk about, but more like traces of my memories… Not the exact memories but like a reminesence of a non specific memories. Nothing in particular - just a feeling, just a colour of the sky, of the sun…
For instance, each time I hear Parisian Skies, A Fortnight's Time or Our Velocity I feel like I'm back in Copenhagen, riding on my bike through the city on a sunny day (which is kinda rare memory for autumn in Denmark). And it's not that I see myself on the bike, but I see the sky above me and the buildings along Andersen Boulevard moving fast as I pass them by. Actually most of the Maxïmo Park's last album songs remind me of Copenhagen and bikes… Plus Sunblasted And Set Free takes me back to the Amager Strand - the weiredst beach I've ever seen - probably because artificial. But those are only visions with blue sky and sun shining.
The more typical danish weather memories come with Interpol. Songs like Obstacle 1, C'mere or Leif Erikson are songs of the dark and rainy streets of Norrebro - always during night, always soaked wet, with neon signs reflected on the lakes.
And what about it? Why is this so damn interesting?
Well I've always had this pictures in mind while listening to music, but they were usually more or less connected to the stories told by the songs. Some had my own experiences imprinted in them, some where just pure fantasies based on the song script… Like the video clips or something. Now those visions are not even close. Isn't it strange how big is the influence of the place that you've started to listen to some particular band or song? Now each time I hear Cuentame Un Cuento or 20 de Abril I see a bus going through spanish motorways, passing by all the great views of La Mancha and Andalucia and I can't figure out if it's for better or for worse - I mean have I lost the ability to make up stories based on songs, or have I gained soundtrack to the specific parts of my life, that not necessarily fit lyrically? Does that mean that I don't value the lyrics as I used to? Or maybe with such an amount of music around, the criteria have sharpened…
But then why don't I see the bike-danish-thing while listening to Saybia or the latest Hard-Fi album, since they also come from that times?