It’s the weekend, so a bit of music today – with a bit of a twist on perceptions of life of course…

I’ve now been living in Spain for 10 months and as a music fan, I like listening to the radio though to be honest, most of the music on the radio is pretty dire (Radio 3 aside, which is fantastic). However, while generally living here and spending time in bars or shops or simply walking around, I have heard a few songs which have taken me by surprise. Not because they’re not Spanish as international music is played a lot here and most of that is either English or American, no, what surprised me was the relevance to the songs in my life and how many memories were attached to them.

In fact, it was that very juxtaposition of past memories and my ’now’ which acted as an interesting reminder of how time passes. Hearing a song which is personally significant for whatever reason takes you back to the moment you first heard it or to the experience with which you associate it and that can be quite a powerful feeling, especially when you then combine it with listening to it at this moment in your life i.e. now. The now when you are perhaps a few years older or you may have children or whatever it may be, but the point is it is ‘now’ and not ‘then’.

Either way, although I’m a great believer in living in the ’now’, I also think that chilling out listening to songs you like from your past can be a lovely thing to do from time to time. So, here are a few of mine:

Orange Juice ‘Rip It Up’
In my local Apple store in Granada, this comes on and I’m suddenly at school trying to learn German.

Enzo Enzo ‘Juste Quelque De Bien’
On holiday in a  beautiful, romantic restaurant with my wife in Majorca and I hear this for the first time in years on the restaurant speakers and I’m taken back to being an Erasmus student in France (I love the cheesy TV ‘dancing/club’ in this clip).

Mandalay ‘Beautiful’
On holiday in England in the summer and this reminds me of a lovely time just after graduation when I moved to a small town near Barcelona.

America ‘Sister Golden Hair’ 
In a bar earlier this week in Granada while waiting for some friends, this came on the radio and I was suddenly transported back to a semester I spent studying in Grenoble.

The past is in the past. It’s the best place for it. Now is where we are. The strange clash of the past and present when these songs take me by surprise is always a sweet reminder of how we move on in our lives. Although, a little trip back every now and then doesn’t hurt…

So, on your travels or in your daily lives, what songs have taken you by surprise and what do they remind you of?