I don't know what it is with me and mellow music.  I could probably listen to nothing but mellow music.  I've also referred to it in my head as "stoner music" - which is odd, because I'm about the furthest thing from a stoner in existence.  Stoners annoy and disgust me.  I have like no tolerance for them.  And I've never touched any sort of illegal substance myself.  Yep, I'm a goody-good.  I'm straight edge like it's going out of style.  (Actually it probably is.)

Anyways music does weird things to my psyche.  Certain songs take me back instantly to a different place and time in my life.  Other songs can rip my heart out, even if I'm just hearing them for the first time.

Ryan Adams' "Wonderwall" cover warps me right back to my wedding.  Or, actually, it kind of warps me back to the classes we took at John Dancer prior to the wedding where we learned to foxtrot.

Jonathan Rice's "So Sweet" comes on and instantly I am sitting in my Scion in the worst traffic jam of my life on the grapevine.  The one that took over 2 hours to get through (on a stretch of about 3 miles) on the way to go visit Mark at Camp Pendleton for the weekend.

Ben Folds' "Not The Same" takes me to every road trip I ever took with my mom - most of them to Disneyland or Camp Pendleton.

"The Scientist" by Coldplay breaks my heart and reminds me of the drive to take Mark back to the barracks before his deployment.  Sitting in the back seat of my mom's minivan wrapped up in seat belts and eachothers' arms, faces tear-streaked and tired.

"Acoustic #3" by the Goo Goo Dolls jogs my memory of a week-long family vacation nearly 10 years ago to a place called Pajaro Dunes where we spent our days on the beach and our nights eating pricey appetizers and enjoying eachother's company.

Jimmy Eat World, anything on their Bleed American CD, but mostly "Hear You Me" transports me to San Simeon.

"Wreck of the Day" by Anna Nalick reminds me of working at NavSea in Port Hueneme and the Santa Ana winds.

Blink 182's "Here's Your Letter" takes me back to meticulous, mindless paperwork when I was just starting at the only paying job I miss.

"She Will Be Loved" from Maroon 5's Songs About Jane puts me in the driver's seat of my first car, driving to my first job.

And a whole list of these songs pretty much makes me completely useless.  Because instead of working on the things that need to get done, I blog about how my life feels like it has a soundtrack.