how songs move me and someday sara evans might get a restraining order. against me. ahem.

I love how we all sort of stem blog fodder from each other. Yesterday, Ash expanded on an idea Rachel had blogged – about certain songs and how they take you back to a certain time, or even a certain moment.  When Rachel originally posted, I thought about it and came to the same conclusion Ash did – there’s not A song, there’s A MILLION.

Yesterday, Ash wrote about one of my songs – Tim McGraw’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” – and then later on she referred to a boy known as OLD SPICE (kind of like scary spice, only not) for the cologne he wore when we were in high school (which, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned, but feels like was ten million years ago.).  Anyway, the boy in MY story WAS Old Spice.  Seriously. I just keep thinking of an ancient spice girl. Only with his face. And it’s a really disturbing image.

Anyspice.

I had SUCH a massive crush on this boy in high school; I may or may not have written him an email at the end of my junior year where I poured my heart out about said crush.

And I may or may not have received about a four-line response that basically said “awh, thanks, I’m flattered.”

Jerk.

Just kidding.

I have been over that for SO LONG, it’s kind of funny to even think about it now.  When Ash talked to me about using that story, she offered to not use my name.  I was all “meh. Use my name. link to me. Whatevs. I’m long over all that stuff, so it isn’t like I’m going to be all “OMG HE’LL KNOW.”

Trust me.

I made my feelings quite apparent with that email.

Ahem.

At any rate, even though it was a million years ago, and those feelings don’t exist anymore, I still can’t help but think of him every time I hear that song, and remember him singing it when we danced at homecoming or MORP (the backwards prom if you will) or some other school dance.  A lot of the details are vague, but I remember being in the elementary school gym, by the water fountain (the crap I CAN remember is astounding sometimes).  Like I told Ash, it’s a nice memory that makes me smile – but it’s just that: a memory.

Another song that always makes me smile is Dan Seals’s “Bop” (you guys are getting a country music lesson today)(also, that is quite possibly the cheesiest music video i have ever seen. even worse than this one with king george acting the part of the total creeper).  The girl I roomed with my freshman year of college was from a small town like me, and we’d never lived anywhere with more than 4 stoplights.  Talk about culture shock. I can’t imagine having moved to a bigger city than I did – I would have gotten killed for sure.

We were on the 6^th floor of the dorms and in our room; it was about the same temperature as I’d imagine the 6^th level of hell to be. Even at night. So when we couldn’t sleep, we’d go drive around, get ourselves lost, and try to find our way back to the dorms.

At night.

In a city we’d never lived in.

Which is known in Montana for its gang activity.

We were so lucky we didn’t die of STUPID that year.

When we’d have our little 3am adventures (um. Hi mom. I think I figured out why I was struggling to make it to that 840am class… in my defense, my roommate would also come in drunk at 2am and ask me to make her macaroni and cheese. And I would. You know what a pushover I am.)

Ahem.

Um, so, yes. Adventures.

At 3am.

Anyyyyyway. We’d hop in my car or Jessica’s and try to get ourselves lost (while also staying away from the part of town with the gang activity and shootings and other unpleasantness), the whole time blasting the country music radio station (or hot 101.9. IF {that’s a big if. Especially if we were in my car} I let Jessica have her way and listen to her booty music. But when that damn Alicia Keyes “Fallin’” came on, she’d always switch it back. She hated that song. And I still kind of love it. Jesus. With the digressing. But sort of still somewhere near the point of the post! Yay me!) and when “Bop” would come on (which, for being an ‘80s song, happened surprisingly often) we would both scream “BOP!” at the top of our lungs and  CRANK THAT SHIT UP.

*Youuuuu know I just can’t stand it when you look at me that way…*

Ahem. Sorry.

Courtney and I also had an adventuresome summer that we refer to as “The Summer of Sara” – Sara being Sara Evans.  The summer after my junior year of college-slash- her senior year of high school, we became INFATUATED with the Sara Evans “Restless” cd.  I still remember the night her dad installed the cd player in her little Plymouth Breeze, handed her the keys, and told us to be back by a reasonable hour.

And probably to behave.

Was that the summer we coined the phrase “it isn’t stalking unless you get caught”? I forget.

Anyway. We popped Sara  in the brand-spankin’ new cd player and peeled out. As safely as one can peel with one’s dad-the-cop watching, I suppose.

My favorite song on that cd is called “Otis Redding.”  Otis Redding… I’ve typed and re-typed my feelings on this song and what it means to me, and nothing quite gets the point across.  And when I can’t even get the point across to MYSELF, I know you guys will be bored.  Basically, the song is about a crush, I guess, and how it makes you feel.  And how every second you spend with that person is just magic (SAP ALERT!) even when you’re dancing outside in the pouring rain or hanging out at the house waiting for them to show up.  Even though that’s a really vague description, I still have really strong feelings when I think of it – or any time I hear a Sara song, even if it isn’t on that disc.  She just became such an integral part of my life that summer and if I ever get to meet her I’m sure I’ll fangirl all over her and be all embarrassing and OMG I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE SUMMER OF SARA and she’ll be all get this crazy girl away from me.

And I’ll still love her.

Because her music moves me.

But if you guys don’t want to go to that concert with me, I’ll understand.

So.

Tell me.

What songs move you?