Whenever I try to remember something in my past, I think in terms of three areas: church, Co-op, or Boy Scouts. Each area had its own good and bad memories, events, people, etc... However, another way to organize would be pre-car-CD-player and post. It was a pretty big deal for us when we finally got a vehicle with a CD player in it. Additionally, the same year we got the van was my first year of college, at Greenville Tech. Driving back and forth between home and school (especially the one semester at Brashier campus) we heard quite a bit of soundtracks. And what soundtracks they were!
First of all, there was Man of La Mancha. Instead of an actual CD of the Broadway recording, we had a CD recording of a tape of the classic. This meant we listened to the musical straight through, beginning to end whenever it came up. Favorite songs included Dulcinea, Man of La Mancha, We're Only Thinking of Him, etc, etc... Because it played ALL of the songs, we had to turn it down whenever it got to the... slightly awkward/inappropriate songs.
Another favorite was Love Never Dies, sequel musical to Phantom of the Opera. Odd as it is to have a sequel musical, and regardless of opinion of it in general, we enjoyed Webber's work. I think we also had Phantom floating around too. Oddly enough, we didn't really skip any tracks for Love Never Dies, even the explicitly inappropriate ones. I suppose we expected as much, owing to Phantom. This musical, and its predecessor, followed me into my college career. One of the first things I learned how to play on the piano was the signature opening, and main theme, of Phantom of the Opera. Had we not had a CD player, I might never have heard the musical, started playing piano, taken a music class, etc... I even started my experience with Erskine's pianos by playing that theme.
(On a side note, I attempted to learn one of the songs from Love Never Dies. "Til I Hear You Sing" was my favorite solo piece from the musical. I got the sheet music, only to find that it went to a crazy high note. Some kind of a B, I believe. However, I inspired another musical aficionado and music major to perform it in his recital, so that's my consolation I suppose.)
The key album, though, was the soundtrack of the musical Wicked. Maybe the library ha just gotten it in or something, as it had been out for a while, unbeknownst to us. It was, and still is, a definite favorite of mine. It also stands on the border between pre-college and Erskine: on at least one trip from home to Due West, we got through almost all of the soundtrack.
Other varied albums played roles, like an ABBA disc, or a CD of classical trumpet music. However, those three (five technically) were the key ones.
Anyway, this is all to say that I can't listen to some songs on those albums without remembering driving around in our van, either through town or on the way down to Erskine. Just as smells and scents can be strongly nostalgic because of how fast we take them in, so too does music because of its emotional impact. The music itself and its context affects how we perceive it.
Before this turns into a paper on musical psychology, I must conclude. The long and short is that our CD player introduced me to new music, such as the examples listed above, and many others. Part of my impetus to do music during college came from inspiration by Phantom of the Opera and Man of La Mancha. I just wanted to "Dream the Impossible Dream."
