I was exercising the other day in my family room. For some reason, I’m still attending Jazzercize virtually, partly because I’m too lazy to get in the car and drive ten minutes. But that is not the point I want to make. A Pointer Sisters song came on – I’m So Excited—and it brought me back to my NYC days when my law school friends and I would go to a hole-in-the-wall bar in the meat-packing district (before it was trendy) and dance the night away after feeding the juke box.
So many songs bring back great memories, and they come at me in everyday places like the grocery store or DSW or my IPod. Next thing you know I’m singing along to Fallen by Lauren Wood (from Pretty Woman-one of my favorite movies) or Ooo Baby Baby by Smokey Robinson which reminds me of high school oldies dances or Disco Inferno by The Trammps which takes me to my disco days in Manhattan as well as my hometown.
While I know I love to dance (thus the only exercise I like is dance-y through Jazzercize), I also love to listen to music and sing along. I have to stop myself from singing out loud when I have my air pods in and I’m passing people on the street because no one would want to hear that!
Although none of my books are about music except “A Song For Another Day,” music makes an entrance in at least one scene in most of my other books. In “Dancing In the Sand,” Ava and Brian dance at a NYC club to “Yeah!” by Usher. In “Sworn to Forget,” Nicki runs in the park to “This Girl is On Fire” by Alicia Keys. In “Sworn to Fly,” Alyssa dances with Gabe to “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. In “The Blueberry Swirl Waltz,” Ava teaches Chaz to waltz to “Blue Danube.” (I guess dancing makes an appearance in my books as well as music. Not surprising.)
MY QUESTION TO YOU
If you were to pick a song that elicits a great memory (and I know how hard it is to pick one), what would it be and why? (email me at mimbalzano@aol.com)
I’LL GIVE YOU MY ANSWER
“What I Like About You” by the Romantics. Back in the late 80s my husband and I would dance to this song at The Parker House in SeaGirt while pointing to each other and singing along. My daughters will cringe if they read this. Lol!
And when you’re listening to The Eagles or Peter Framptom (I know I’m dating myself) or Luke Bryan or Jason Aldeen (I love country music too), I hope you smile at the memories their songs elicit.
