I was talking yesterday about the connections formed in memory by smells, sights and sounds and I’ve had a pretty huge reminder of that today. I have conceded to start listening to the Christmas music that’s been playing since the middle of last month because, in my opinion, once it’s December it’s fair game. And it’s a pretty firm reminder of how incredibly powerful memory is.
For example, there are a number of songs that I learned to sing for chorus either in church or school over the years which, having exited both church and school many years ago, I wouldn’t expect myself to remember. And yet when those songs come on the radio, guess who’s singing right along? Both the soprano and alto parts, amazingly enough.
Of all the random, useless pieces of information that seem to be firmly and unchangingly rooted in my memory these songs stick out as remnants from my past and remind me of how incredibly powerful memory is. It’s kinda cool to be reminded of the power of my brain. But I still wish I could use that brain power to store information that is actually, you know, useful.
It's so neat when a song comes back from deep memory. I had that reaction after hearing Peter and the Wolf for the first time in a decade.
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