in australia there was a song called "let's get shaky after school" and it was played constantly wherever we went. whether we were in clubs, the mall, or a coffee shop, this song was always on the radio. i remember dancing at clubs when this song came on and a feeling akin to the feeling a middle school-er has when she skates with the boy she likes at the skating party would overcome me. i got so excited and nervous and filled with adrenaline that my friends and i would scream and shout and, well, dance.
i listened to the song the other day and almost laughed. it is really the most ridiculous thing ever and not a very high-quality song when looked at in perspective. but, like most things, it has memories attached to it. it was practically the theme song of my time in australia which means it brings places, people, and things to the present that are now completely removed from my current life. in fact, instead of breaking out in a dance when i hear it, i now want to shed many tears for all that i miss about that time of life.
it is this way about so many things in life, particularly songs. there is something about them that jog our memories and bring us back to a time when that song reigned in our lives. they connect us to times and places that are long gone or far away. its amazing, really, how our brains can process one little tune and make so much more out of it. it becomes not so much a mere tune, but a musical photograph of memories. if the eyes preserve memories in snapshots and visions, then the ears do so with sound and songs. together those two senses make up memories and visions that no words can do justice to.
so, when i say, "let's get shaky after school" and it sounds completely and utterly ridiculous, it is. for me and my friends in australia, that song meant everything. ultimately, getting shaky after school.
