I'm having great fun loading music into my new iPod thingie. I find myself drawn to music that already has layers of

Miles of Aisles

memory to it.

For example, Joni Mitchell's live album from the early 70's, Miles of Aisles, has been with me all throughout my 20's, while living, laughing, loving my way through the Niagara Region.  There is geography attached to this album … I also remember it as  the soundtrack to my first drive to the Michigan Women's Music Festival in 1990. This album has seen me through about 10 different apartments, break-ups and earnest coffee klatches in which the impact of post-modern thought on feminism were discussed. Now, it comes with me to Hawaii for a new layer of memory.

Jane Siberry is another nostalgia trip for me. I have specific memories for specific songs, often involving driving … occasionally involving sobbing … or my friend Trix and I obsessively hitting "repeat" on The Taxi Ride when she was getting over a particularly bad heartache.

80's retro stuff reminds me of the crazy L/G (there was no B/T or "queer" at the time) dances and intense crushes I had when I was just coming out. Erasure, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Pet Shop Boys … yep … all comes back to me. Huey Lewis and the News makes me think of driving along the Welland Canal in St. Catharines, windows down, music blaring, shades on, groovin' … I wanna new drug …

I think iPods make it possible for people to re-connect with their nostalgia trips, musically. I'm the kind of person who associates particular visuals or conversations or people with particular songs. When I hear the song, I'm taken back to a special moment in time. Wondering if this happens to others – what songs or artist take you right back? And, where do they take you to?

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