Songs that Remind You of Certain People...

Great thread. My list forthcoming.

"500 Miles" --My mom, because it's like her favorite song and she once had a mix tape of that song, over and over, both sides. 120 minutes of the Proclaimers!

Anything by Sean Paul --Justine, because she's insane for Sean Paul for some reason.

"Secret Agent Man" --Robert, because he sings that song for me

"But Not for Me" by Chet Baker = Teddy. There was this tape of Chet Baker Sings floating around in the back house of a restaurant we worked at. Everyone liked it, but none so much as Teddy and I.

"Mama Look a Boo-Boo" by Harry Belafonte = Dieter. He bought the Live at Carnegie Hall album on CD. He talked wistfully about how his Mom loves this record, and how he grew up listening to it. One afternoon in my living room, he sang "Man Piaba" to a group of people he'd never met before, just in the interest of sharing this funny song, totally convinced there was no reason anyone shouldn't love it as much as he does. That kind of enthusiasm is always infectious.

Anything by Simon and Garfunkle = Andrea. I bought her the S&G boxed set, just because. No birthday, no Christmas, no wedding Saturday within the month of June. And the really weird part is, she wasn't even my girlfriend. And I wasn't trying to make her my girlfriend, though I was strongly suspected of that at the time. People acted like it was the world's weirdest thing to do, to drop fifty bucks on a friend for no good reason. She told me it was like "a boxed set of her soul" -- exactly the kind of hilarious yet touching declaration she's good at.

Permanent Vacation by Aerosmith = Ryan. A tie with Appetite for Destruction, really. Ryan and I met in middle school because we were the two slowest runners in gym class. And yet, we rocked more than anyone. We're still in touch.

"Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" by De la Soul = Les. High school. The song that broke my hip-hop cherry. And Les was always there with more records to recommend.

"Poses" by Rufus Wainwright = Jessa. Loved this album, right about the same time she did. I always though I could separate out music and people, but i know that if I should ever lose her, I would never be able to listen to this record again. That's love.

This one is specific lyrics, not the entire song:

I could give a thousand reasons
I could live a thousand lives
I know I would always meet you
Underneath a summer sky
So come on tell me love is glory
Come on tell me love is real
Show me what your heart is made of
Show me what I need to feel

A friend of mine embodies this completely.

Tesla's "Signs" reminds me of my father because he used it as, in an attempt to get hip with the youth of the day (that'd be me), an excuse to tell me about Revelation and the End Times and suchlike.

The Kingston Trio's "Poor Old Charlie" (I think that's the title; the one about the T) reminds me of both my parents.

Everything by Marillion, and Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's," reminds me of a specific ex: she was a Marillion fanatic, with very specific associations for each and every song, and the DBS song played in the pub while we planned our breakup (and it summed us up pretty well).

Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning" reminds me of my friend Tucker, because when we were in high school, we were at this pizza joint, and the jukebox was playing it and got stuck. "How do we sleep while our beds are burning -- burning -- burning -- burning -- burning -- burning --" and that one damn word, over and over again, for two hours. We put up with it cause fuck, what were we gonna do, go home?

(Last I heard he was a park ranger, possibly because that incident put a fear of forest fires into him.)

Pink's "Don't Let Me Get Me" reminds me of a friend I haven't talked to in ages, possibly because the last time I remember talking to her for long, she mentioned the video.

The Eels remind me of my friend S.

Bruce Springsteen reminds me of my other ex, the good ex, especially "Atlantic City" and "Streets of Philadelphia."

"Stand and Deliver" --Otis, because of that day when the video came on VH1 and he was like, "You've GOT to come in here and see this, it's amazing".

In general, songs are much more likely to remind me of, well, me. There was a time when I could point to various lines in Shriekback's "Nemesis" to explain everything I ever wanted to do with my life.

I had one kinda like that too, but it's so fucking drama that I'd never admit it.

I was about to list another one until I realized the friend it reminds me of is the one who sings the song. (It's not Britney or anything.) She'd get a kick out of that, or kick me in the head for it, I don't know which.

The Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" -- my ex-bf Jeremiah. We were in a bar one night when our relationship was in its death throes. At one point the conversation turned so tense that we both got up and made individual trips to the jukebox just to get away from the gigantic fucking doom cloud hanging over our table. About ten minutes later, "Beast of Burden" came on.

Him: *quietly snickering*
Me: "Oh yeah, heh, this was one of mine."
Him: "No shit?! I picked this too."

We didn't say anything for the rest of the song. We couldn't even look at each other.

Dancing in Heaven - My beautiful friend, Gina - she will sing and dance to this anywhere, any time it comes on.

Down to the Nightclub - My friend Norman, because he bought me the album it's on for my birthday last year and calls me every time he hears it.

25 Miles - Susie - I was with her the fist time I ever heard it and we both love it.

Radio Iodine's "These Boots Were Made For Walkin" reminds me of The Good Ex, cause she's the only other person I know who's heard it, and we both bitch about it not being on CD anywhere.

*that should be fiRst time I heard it. Oh dear.

Currently, Moloko's new single "Familiar Feeling" reminds me of someone who has been a close friend/sortof boyfriend for the past 6 months, and now he's saying everythings weird and avoiding me... I heard the song in a shop today and had to try real hard not to cry. I hate it when songs get soiled like that :-/

i've always been sort of lucky inasmuch as individual songs rarely get too strongly associated with someone else to the point where they provoke a direct reaction like that..

that said, i associate the band Marion (and Placebo too) with a particular ex. But no particular song from either..

An odd aside - "Safari" by the Breeders appeared to cause some weird-ass reaction in a couple of my exes because they had connected it to some ex of theirs. Now the song just bugs me.

Ah, you're lucky - I still have trouble listening to some Red House Painters songs thanks to bad associations... shame really because they're a damn good band.

Ti Amo - an Italian I'm in love with who likes that song. How obvious.

Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling reminds me of Sean Crudders.
Regina by the Sugarcubes reminds me of my brother.
Anything by Bread, especially Baby I'm-A Want You, reminds me of my Dad.
Nickels & Dimes by Nana Mouskouri reminds me of my Mom.

The Steps cover of Tragedy reminds me of my ex-boyfriend who knew the entire dance.. with the "Tragedy Shock" and "Stop the Traffic" dance moves

Without You I'm Nothing (Placebo): This reminds me of my detestable, shit-faced ex. We shared a very long kiss during that song at an October 2000 gig by the band. I really wish I hated it, but unfortunately I still like it. Grrr.

Many of the songs that explicitly remind me of people are karaoke numbers, which is terribly obvious but no less true. Jerry the Nipper and White Wedding, for example.
I strongly associate my mum with lost of songs, because growing up the songs I mainly heard were the ones she'd play at top volume on a Saturday. Whenever I hear Surfin' USA, or Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, or The Drifters, or Elvis, I think of my mum.

Though not as much as if I ever hear It Doesn't Matter Any More by Buddy Holly, which is the song she'd sing for me every night when I was tiny. Produces one hell of a Pavlovian reaction, that one.

I think there are hundreds, literally, that remind me of some of my oldest friends. Dave, for instance: I've known him since I moved to the same school as him when I was 14. He introduced me to a lot of music that I hadn't heard before. We both went to Cambridge after school, ended up back in Bristol and started a magazine together, and saw each other most weeks between 1973 and 1989, when I moved to Leicester - we've stayed in touch, but see each other myuch less often. But in 16 years there were countless songs or acts that I'd immediately associate with him. There are a few other people where there would be nearly as many, including Andrew L of ILX, who I've known for 22 years now.

Okay, so, imagine you & another person have a song that is kinda "your" song. Now, imagine this is the sortuv person who makes plans to go out with you on Saturday night on Tuesday night, but come Saturday night is MIA and doesn't answer their phone & doesn't return calls etc. Now imagine that the song in question is ironically enough Jill Scott's "Do You Remember Me?".

Is it inappropriate to (while very drunk) leave the ignorer a voice mail of nothing more than the chorus from that song played very very loud on that same Saturday night when they were out doing lord-only-knows-what in lieu of the plans they made with the ignoree? Am I becoming creepy? Am I becoming that guy?

I wouldn't advise it Nick, or is it too late for advice?

Hey Jealousy My ex - it came about the time we met, and I listened to it a LOT back then - also, the part 'if you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down' reminds me of something he used to say all the time.

The Lady In Red - see the slow-dancing thread

That old Appalachian gospel-y traditional song "I'll Fly Away" reminds me of my grandma who has been singing it since she was a little girl.

Ween's "Freedom of '76" reminds me of these three girls I was very good friends with about 6 years ago; it was like the theme song to our getting trashed and getting into mischief, and it talks about freedom, and we were at that really-obsessed-with-freedom stage of young-adult life.

There was this mix-CD me & my son's mama used to listen to a lot on road trips, and now of course I think of her when I hear any of those songs. Among them were Beck's "Sexx Laws", Kool Keith's "Make Up Your Mind", Phish's "You Enjoy Myself", and War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?". It was a mix-CD she made, btw.

"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond always makes me think of my dad coz he always used to play it when I was a kid - in fact Neil Diamond records make my think of dads in general.
"Safe From Harm" by Massive Attack makes me think of my first love.
"Love Man" by Otis Redding reminds me of an old schoolfriend who devised the most comedy dance routine for this particular song... also he once walked into a class with a cupboard door under his arm, while wearing a rubber swimming hat and singing the theme tune to Hawaii 5-O very loudly - funny guy...

"Wish You Were Here" reminds me of a boy named Dave and I don't want to talk about it really but I felt the need to say it anyway.

I will never again hear "Panama" without thinking of my friend Teabag.

I will never again think of Jody's friend Teabag without thinking of... well, you know...

Bowie's "Seven Years in Tibet" allways reminds me of my friend who last visited me 4 years ago and i haven't seen or heard from since he got back to California(THAT BASTART!!!!!)