My system is a time machine

My connection is not with Sunday morning, but with songs that remind me of certain moments, such Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale" instantly reminding me of the time I heard it while driving down the road along the Hudson River from West Point, where I had been helping to train first-year cadets at their summer camp, headed back to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, and from there back to graduate school.  The summer of '67.  Then there is CCR's "Who'll Stop the Rain," which I listened to almost repeatedly after returning from 18 months in Vietnam while at Russian Language School in Monterey, California, just glad to have made it home.  Yes, the music can very much take us back to our past.

Reliving the 'glory days' of the 60s - 80s music I grew up with is the main reason why I put together my audio system in the first place... and mine is a true 'vintage' system made up of solely of  components from that era... names like Dynaco, MacIntosh, Pioneer, Akai, Wollensak, Sansui...

Nothing better than putting on a classic LP (or, better yet, popping in an 8-track or a RtR tape!) and hearing the memories come alive... and sounding superior to how  I remember them - thanks to the much higher quality components I have now; much better than anything I had (or my parents had) during that era 

Great post!

You got me thinking and smiling.  Thirty - Forty years ago, my equipment was the Time Machine and the music was from the same couple of decades. I built in 1968.  I traded for that in 1973 etc.  Today, I’m listening to music at least ten decades!  

Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

What a hoot.

It is funny how I chase sonic purity over volume now. My setup can go over 110db without strain or distortion. But it's no enjoyable, a good 80-90db is enough to enjoy. In my youth I definitely felt the music differently then I do today, as well as my interpretation of the words. 

In the mid 1990's I was in the Navy stationed in Alameda, CA. The Cranberries were very popular and played on the radio a lot.  Any time I hear "Linger" I'm 20 years old again, driving my Lancia over the Bay Bridge with the roof open, listing at high volume. I love this memory, try to stay in it as long as possible. It was my kid also listening to them that is creating a new memory, sharing my old memory. 

Music has been part of my entire life, it fits into chapters, each chapter tells a story, some good some sad, some changing. It always opens a door, most of the time I choose to walk through it.