My memory is best stimulated with sound. Listening to a game's soundtrack brings back the same feelings as when I was actually playing the game, if not stronger. Whenever I listen to a particular artist or album, I'm brought back to the point in my life when I first discovered it and spent a lot of time listening to it.
For example, I was attending a summer program at Carnegie Mellon when MapleStory's Time Temple update came out, so whenever I hear music from that area now, I feel like I'm in that dorm room playing the game. Once I'm there, everything else about that experience comes up too - the two classes I took, the awful cafeteria food, and most importantly my emotional state.
Similarly, the first two Hitomi albums I listened to - Angel Feather Voice and Angel Feather Voice 2 - as well as the Mushishi soundtrack take me back to my third year of college when I lived in a single dorm room and spent most of my free time lying in bed and watching anime. KOKIA reminds me of the summer I spent living at school while working at a local company.
I can turn this association backwards, too. Whenever a special moment comes up, I try to attach a particular song to it to add more emotional power to the moment. Sometimes it's a recurring moment, other times it's a special once-in-a-lifetime event that should never be forgotten.
When it rains, I like to stare out the window while listening to "Listen to the Rain" by Enya.
When it snows, "雪のひとひら" (yuki no hitohira) by Hitomi Kuroishi.
Finally, I augmented my visit to Panorama Point on Mt. Rainier with "fly high", another of my favorite Hitomi songs, which I can't find online.
What are your special songs?
For example, I was attending a summer program at Carnegie Mellon when MapleStory's Time Temple update came out, so whenever I hear music from that area now, I feel like I'm in that dorm room playing the game. Once I'm there, everything else about that experience comes up too - the two classes I took, the awful cafeteria food, and most importantly my emotional state.
Similarly, the first two Hitomi albums I listened to - Angel Feather Voice and Angel Feather Voice 2 - as well as the Mushishi soundtrack take me back to my third year of college when I lived in a single dorm room and spent most of my free time lying in bed and watching anime. KOKIA reminds me of the summer I spent living at school while working at a local company.
I can turn this association backwards, too. Whenever a special moment comes up, I try to attach a particular song to it to add more emotional power to the moment. Sometimes it's a recurring moment, other times it's a special once-in-a-lifetime event that should never be forgotten.
When it rains, I like to stare out the window while listening to "Listen to the Rain" by Enya.
When it snows, "雪のひとひら" (yuki no hitohira) by Hitomi Kuroishi.
Finally, I augmented my visit to Panorama Point on Mt. Rainier with "fly high", another of my favorite Hitomi songs, which I can't find online.
What are your special songs?
