Emotional Memory

Perhaps it's because we all get a bit nostalgic as the evening progresses, but tonight on the drive home from a party the songs on the radio seemed particularly poignant. Now, for clarification purposes, there were a number of songs that I had previously associated with one event, feeling, or person that happened to be played in a row. It seems that the older I get, the more songs seemed to be viscerally linked to things, people, and times. Yet what does that say about me, or about humans in general? For argument's sake, I'll list a few particularly relevant songs (and those who know me well may even be able to guess the associations):

1) Better as a memory
2) Then you stand
3) Born to fly
4) The reason

Now, mind you, I've never had anything close to an official song with friends or guys, but these songs evoke an unofficial emotional response. One of the coolest things to me is that the most basic emotions cross all types of socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. At the heart of most humans (sociopaths excluded) is an innate emotional compass with which we attempt to chart a course through social, professional, and familial interactions.

While our experiences may differ and affect our judgements, there is something intrinsic and almost animalistic about our feelings. Even our most difficult to define emotions (e.g. love, anger, pain) can be related and personalized by someone listening to a song. Multiple someones.

I'm not quite sure the point I was going for in all of the above (after all, it is 3am), but I think there's something to be said about emotional memory and the raw feelings shared by all. Perhaps it's another equalizer for us all.