Surreal

e. came to visit me this weekend. He flew all the way across the country for about 24 hours with me. It was a warm and wonderful weekend, wandering past the boutique shops, sitting by a fire sipping homemade hot chocolate (by melting the chocolate in the milk), and munching on a lovely Valentine's Day dinner that he made me.

At the same time, it feels very surreal. He nips in for a day and then, just as quickly, is gone again. Mixing with this is a sharp sense of longing I have for the city where I went to college. I think this is partly due to the fact that it is much warmer there; spring is about two weeks away there instead of two months. But that feeling is also likely triggered by the fact that I'm currently listening to Feist.

Certain music evokes a particularly strong sense of place for me. Dave Matthews Band and Feist are associated with Charlottesville, VA. It's not that I necessarily listened to them in college; it's more that their ambience matches that of C-ville for me. Music sometimes holds a memory function for me (like when you smell fresh baked bread and are instantly transported to your grandma's house), but it more often just paints a feeling that envelops me, an environment.

Because of this, there is some music that I know I can't listen to. The soundtrack for Shakespeare in Love always makes me feel melancholy, no matter what else I'm doing. On the flip side, certain techno makes me immediately more productive and focused. And Frank Sinatra almost always offers happiness.

Is there any particuarly music that has those effects on you?

~Hope