Last night at the Rio Nido Roadhouse, an intimate outdoor venue on the banks of the Russian River, pre-eminent Eagles tribute band the Illeagles took to the stage. I was blow away by their musicianship and how faithfully they recreated the music of a band that is an integral part of the lives of  so many people of my generation. I looked around the crowd seeing all of the joy on people’s faces and hearing all of us singing along to every song and realized that these aren’t just songs, they are the soundtrack to our lives.

These are the songs we grew up to, these are the songs we made love to, at the major signposts of our lives these songs were there, these are the songs that were played constantly on the radio, when radio was all there was, these songs are so deeply embedded in our souls that they have literally become part of us. We know these songs by heart, my generation has a collective memory of every one of these songs, we know all of the words and sing along at the top of our lungs not caring if we’re singing in tune or not. The melodies are so familiar to us, we hum them while at work or at the gym or in the supermarket, heck one of these songs may even be playing over the speakers while we’re in the store. The song and the memory that is associated with it are one and the same, over time the two have been inextricably linked to the point where song and memory have become one. These songs lift us up and we are filled with joy and hope and love whenever we hear them. Of course some of these songs can also bring us back to sad or trying times, times when we had no direction and didn’t know which way to turn. But they’re just songs; chords and words and melodies written by songwriters who want us to feel something! The magic of music is a mysterious alchemy, once we are moved by a song there’s no turning back, it has become indelibly etched into our consciousness. Like it not the song and us are in it for the long run.