Smelly Music?

In some ways, music is like a smell.

They say that the sense of smell is linked in some very basic way to memory. Certain odors will prompt the memory of an event. For instance, perfumes may remind you of certain people. Smells can also evoke emotions, positive or negative that relate to our memories of events. Yesterday, I was taking a walk and smelled a cigar. Not a malodorous, cheap cigar, but a fairly decent one. The smell of good cigars reminds me of my father. I like the smell. It reminds me of the feeling of safety and security I had as a child.

Music does the same sort of thing. I've got Sirius radio, and love the 70's station. There's just nothing like music from the 70's, is there? My kids are amazed that I seem to know every song. Many of those songs carry memories. Many more evoke feelings: the feeling of the world opening up in new and exciting ways, feelings of confidence (and sometimes of insecurity), feelings of love - or rejection. Overwhelmingly, though music from this era makes me feel great.

It's an amazing power, isn't it? The power of words and music together forming part of the framework of someone's life?