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We’ve come to the end of Soundcheck's week of nostalgia for bygone eras of the New York music scene.
But one thing we haven’t tackled yet: Why do we get nostalgic in the
first place? And why does music seem to conjure up such strong feelings
of it? Maybe it’s time to ask an expert: Clay Routledge, an associate professor of psychology at North Dakota State University who has conducted research about nostalgia and music. "
We have a desire to stay connected with our past," he tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer, "and to be reminded of the experiences in our past we cherish the most."
But that doesn't mean we necessarily cherish the songs themselves that trigger our nostalgia. John's own story of musical nostalgia is a case in point:
We have a desire to stay connected with our past," he tells Soundcheck host John Schaefer, "and to be reminded of the experiences in our past we cherish the most."
But that doesn't mean we necessarily cherish the songs themselves that trigger our nostalgia. John's own story of musical nostalgia is a case in point:
"There's an Elton John song called 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.' In the summer of 1975 this song was all over the place. I had a summer job as a parkie — one of those guys with the big stick and the bag and you pick up the garbage in the park and put it in the bag — at Flushing Meadows Park here in New York.
"And the little building where we would go every morning to get our assignments, they had this little radio. It seemed to constantly have this Elton John song playing. I didn't like the song! But 30 or so years later, if I hear that song I am immediately back in that kind of sitcom experience of weird characters that I spent that summer working with."
Guests:
Clay RoutledgeRelated
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