It's funny, isn't it, how we music fans not only get songs stuck in our heads, but are able to internally conjure up a whole rack of tunes to see us through long mundane tasks or just a boring break in the day. I experience this now and then (not often enough, really), and it seems to happen when I most need it, like on a Friday, as my work week is winding down.
I am able to recall every note and nuance of songs that I know well and replay them in my head. Notice that I said "songs that I know well", meaning I can't recall an entire song after just one or two listens. It is through repeated listenings of a song that I absorb and retain all the fine details and can replay them in my mind. As though I'm hearing the songs, but not with my ears. Might sound weird or unbelievable to some people, but there it is. And I remember the music with this clarity years, even decades later.
I wish I had the ability to let that internal recording become external through my fingers as I play guitar, but if this is all I've got, I'll gladly take it. I did a tiny bit of research on this phenomenon and apparently not everyone has this ability. I can play an entire song, start to finish, in my head and it's even in the right key (or pretty darn close, I'd say). Even if I'm hazy on the lyrics, which I often am, the vocal sounds are still there, and in the right key (or really close, again). I may be kind of crappy at recalling written information, but I have a knack for remembering music vividly. Sadly, there is no use for this internal "talent", so it's not like I can profit from it in any way.
A quick Google search revealed a few different terms for this ability, though some of them may not apply. They are: Phonographic Memory (I think this applies to me), Audiographic Memory, Echoic Memory (though this is short-term memory), and Eidetic Memory (also short-term).
The reason I believe Phonographic Memory is the one is that I can still remember songs I listened to on records when I was young... and my recollection includes the occasional skip that occurred on those records. Isn't that crazy? Well, according to the researchers who wrote the articles I read about this, it isn't pathological, but is normal, if rather uncommon. Here's a link to one article: Phonographic Memory
Anyway, last Friday at work, beginning early in the morning, I found that a string of great old rock and metal songs flowed effortlessly in my mind. The day sure passes quickly when my personal internal radio station is playing, not disturbing anyone else, motivating and propelling me toward the end of my work shift.
This little playlist didn't last all day long, but along with some similar tunes on my phone during lunch and coffee breaks, it sure helped keep my mood up. At times, I had to focus more on work so the music went on Pause mode. So there were lulls in the entertainment department.
Oh, and strangely, the very first song, Sister Christian, by Night Ranger, kept playing over and over in an endless loop for far too long. A cool and catchy tune to be sure, but it began to drive me crazy after a while. That's when I forcibly cleared my mind and allowed another song, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC, to take over. Then that one flowed easily into Photograph, by Def Leppard. And so on. It truly felt like a 70's and 80's set of music programmed for a radio station tailored precisely to my tastes. Pure nostalgia.
Here are the tunes I enjoyed inside my head last Friday:
Sister Christian, by Night Ranger
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, AC/DC
Photograph, Def Leppard
Ain't That a Shame, Cheap Trick
Bastille Day, Rush
Night Train, Guns'n'Roses
Hot For Teacher, Van Halen
Love Me Like a Reptile, Motorhead
Symptom of the Universe, Black Sabbath
Big City Nights, Scorpions
Lay It Down, Ratt
Ain't No Stranger, Whitesnake
Live Wire, Motley Crue
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