Music and Memory

     I can't hear Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" or "Sweet Sixteen in Leather Boots" without being transported to my best friend  Marilyn's family room circa 1980- dark paneling, overstuffed couch and a big stereo. I think I even hear her mom giving us dating advice- but that's another story. February 22nd would have been her 47th birthday if she had not been snatched away by cancer  a year ago. 
Not all songs I hear from the past have such a visceral effect, but Iggy can really bring me back. We bought that album at a used record store without knowing anything about Mr. Pop. We listened to it at top volume flailing around the room any time her parents were gone. Marilyn was fearless and so much more confident than any other 16 year old I knew. She had these skin tight red corduroys that she called her "rock star jeans" and only she was brave enough to wear them to school. These 2 songs have that incredible power over my brain. It automatically switches into flashback mode. I wish I could  as easily remember all that philosophy I studied in college. But then again, David Hume wasn't my best friend.