BootsnAll Travel Community

well i'm suffering from insomnia and boredom right now, which is a bad, bad combination.. and i suddenly remembered about this.

i was listening to my ipod on my way back from victoria (BC) earlier and i stumbled upon the same song that i was listening to when i was waiting for the ferry to koh phangan a month ago. then that got me thinking. are there certain songs that when you hear it, it instantly transports you back to that moment in time where you're in the middle of wherever you are, and you're able to recall every single detail?

let's see.. here's some of mine..

'somnia memorias' parasite eve sndtrk: standing underneath the warmth of the sun outside the gates of siena, overlooking the rest of italy (look up the translation!)

'six underground' by sneaker pimps: walking near the coliseum in rome at night, next to the busy streets with the cars zipping around

'landing' by moby: holding up the ends of my scarf against my near-frostbitten ears as i stumbled upon prague's old town square

'ranta' by darude: sitting at a table near the restaurant/store on big buddha pier on koh samui, eyeing the tiny ants while trying not to fall asleep from the jet lag

'autumn leaves' by cold cut: looking up at the statues of past heroes in budapest, shielding my eyes against the sunlight and marvelling at how magnificent the statues all look against a brilliant blue sky

'automatic' by utada hikaru: riding in the back of a hong kong taxi, on my way back to the hotel from playing some late-night mahjong with my cousins ok yes i know utada is japanese, but it's more of the 'vibe' than anything else


mm.. i feel all happy now after thinking about all those memories

'Corner of the Earth' from Jamiroquai reminds me of Berlin, drinking Weissbier at a pub, thinking what to do next: Ditch the flight back home and stay in Oxford for a while? It reminds me of thinking all of that while musing over the past two days, trying to make sense of the moment I was in, which included reuniting with a friend I had met on the road in Chile 3 years before, realizing that I was indeed in love with him and still had had to let go that afternoon. It reminds me of our past two days walking around Berling shooting black and white pictures and drinking Weissbier in between conversations about feminism, post modern society and what to do with life.

anything by oasis makes me think of vietnam because when I was there I'd fall asleep listening to 'V' Asia's premier (at the time anyway) music channel. They'd play a ton of Oasis and then go into the Bollywood hits.

Anything by Bob Marley makes me think of Belize and the Carribbean for obvious reasons I hope.

And I hate to admit this but songs by Eddie Money make me think of Washington's Olympic Pen.

Still though a Bob Marley or Oasis song will really pull at my heart strings. I will actually stop what I'm doing and listen and possibly get a little misty...how sad.

I bought the "best of" by James while I was working in Kandersteg, Switzerland in 1998. I listened to it constantly, and it definitely takes me back to the heart of the swiss alps with one lick of the guitar.

Clocks, ColdPlay. In a 757 over the atlantic

Seek Up, Dave Matthews Band. Being in an apartment in Alexandria Egypt.

Where Ever You Will Go, The Calling. Being in Salisbury UK.

So Right, Dave Matthews Band. Driving down Pacific coast highway south of LA.

Fortress Around Your Heart, Sting. Playing when I was (trying) sleeping in the control room of a remote power plant in the Philippines.

Sex Bomb, Tom Jones. Driving through Europe/discovering Red Bull and Vodka for the first time (not while driving).

Sure, there are (numerous) songs that remind me of places, and probably more importantly, people.

Nothing personal but I'm damned if I'm going to tell you what they are, though.

What a great question!
I'm sitting here smiling like a fool contemplating it.

First (and possibly funniest): Dirrrty by Christina Aguliera & Billie Jean by Michael Jackson -When I was travelling around Ireland with my friends Sean we heard these songs in EVERY club we went to, sometimes twice a night!
I also heard Nu Flow by Big Bruva for the first time on that trip...awesome band you can't find stateside.

Renaissance Affair by Hooverphonic -Such a great song...reminds me of Amsterdam. I remember standing the window of my hotel, pressed against the glass, staring out over street, watching cars and trams and bikes going every which way.

Can't Change Me by Chris Cornell -When traveling cross country, I told my friend Michelle she'd like this song even though she'd never heard it before. She instantly fell in love with it. It brings all these rolling greens hills and bails of hay to my mind.
(That trip is also brought up by Fresh & Clean by Outkast, that freaking Kylie Minogue song that I 'can't get (u) outta my head' when I hear it. And Mother Mother by Tracy Bonham which is just the best angry girl song I've ever heard)

Lover Lay Down by Dave Matthews band reminds me of San Francisco...the sea breeze and fog, the streets laid out at impossible inclines, and a friend I used to know...

Oh wow...this quetion has my brain firing!
Love it...

"Stay Human" by Michael Franti and Spearhead

First heard it in Pai, Thailand in a place called "Edible Jazz". At the time I thought it was just a really groovy radio station, but as I found out months later its actually all part of the album. Hmm... banofee pie, Banana pancakes, bamboo huts, hammocks and "garden showers"... good memories.

Non-trip related, but strong song memories:
"Smooth" by Santana. It was big my freshman year in college, and my basketball coach would crank in up in our travelling vans and "headbang". I can still see her hair kind of bopping back and forth.

"Lady Marmalade" the new version. Senior year... basketball initiation. Those freshmen practiced that routine and damn, they were good.

"Summer Jam" reminds me of the Greek Islands because I was working at a club in Kos (for all of 4 days) and I swear they must have played it about 20 times a night.

yeah coldplay's 'Shiver'
reminds me of being in Cario last october

oh i just remembered some more!

'musik' by knockturnal reminds me of south of france/monaco because it was playing in a movie that was set there, the transporter (lol i know, corny)

i always used to listen to 'beach vibes' by ATB whenever i had to motivate myself to look into places to stay on koh phangan

and now, even though it's an old song, 'strange love addiction' by supreme beings of leisure gets me all excited about spain

All These Things That I've Done by The Killers - Being very drunk in NYC.

Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty - Travelling with my brother in Spain.

Great thread!

This isn't a song per say, but whenever I hear bagpipes I think of when I was in Edinburgh.

It was a warm Sunday in September, and I was outside near waverly station. As I sat there writing and thinking a bagpiper started playing. I suddenly got goosebumps. Being in the country of my ancestors made all kinds of feelings wash over me. I remember everything perfectly, the colours, air, sounds, people etc. It was almost 10 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday!!

Yeah.

Lloyd Banks "Im So Fly".......South France, because I thought I was the poo, flying to the riviera all by myself..and I played this song incessantly.

Snoop Dogg "Drop It Like Its Hot".....Puerto Rico. It just hit me the irony of the title. I surely dropped it while I was down there....and the only thing I got outta PR was an std and a bad rep. Needless to say, I shiver whenever I hear this song. lol

- "Oh, What a night" by the Four Seasons - a hot July evening in Venice when I was 15 (first trip w/o parents - very exciting)

- "Buses and Trains" by Bachelor Girl - everything Australian

From my Normandy homestay in spring 2001:

Shaggy, "It Wasn't Me" -- it was ALL THEY PLAYED!!

From the Florence clubs in fall 2004:
Beyonce "Crazy in Love"
Houston "I Like That"
50 Cent "P.I.M.P."
Eric Prydz "Call on Me"
"Bodiqua, morena, dominicano, rubiano...."
"Superstar"
Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get Retarded"
The Game "Fresh '83"

It makes me SO happy and nostalgic whenever I hear any of those songs.

It seems like American (with a little British thrown in) dominates the airwaves in the English speaking countries as well as Europe, and maybe to a lesser extent Asia. Soo, there are a bunch of songs from other countries that would remind me of certain places, but that I would almost never hear at home (and don't even know the names of so I couldn't even if I tried to find them). India in particular has a thriving pop music culture that appears to have fended off the American invasion fairly well.

That said, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley and Love Generation by Bob Sinclar remind me of Australia and New Zealand. Bob Marley reminds me of Thailand, but it's probably only because of the rasta bar in Ton Sai.

The Jayhawks "Rainy Day Music" album used to take me back to early mornings at the Bundu on Utila. Then I bought the CD and played the memory right out of it. Still other good memories, but you listen to a song that harkens to a place too much and all the memory wears of it. Too bad really.