I just finished reading “Love is a Mix Tape” by Rob Sheffield – it’s a book telling his personal journey of finding love and losing it. The experiences he has gone through are somehow reflected in a collection of mix tapes he made with his wife throughout the years. The book is a combination of a love tragedy and an exploration of the evolution of rock and roll through the last quarter of the last decade. It explores how music plays a big role in the psyche of some people that somehow it transcends being just a form of pop entertainment.

I could not relate to the book much because I am not a fan of rock and roll and I did not recognize the majority of artists and songs the author was talking about, yet I still managed to connect with the concept of how an old song can somehow transport you into an old experience or a feeling that you used to have while listening to that same song before.

I remember buying Alicia Keys album “As I Am” at the airport before traveling to Egypt and how I listened to it during the three days I spent in Cairo. I hated Cairo, it’s people, and everything about, but somehow I have this amazing memory of walking by the Nile at sunset alone and listening to the song “Tell You Something” and how beautiful the place seemed amidst all the chaos of Cairo. I still have that seem tingly feeling whenever I listen to this song and I can almost smell the polluted air of Cairo while looking at this canvas of orange and purple sky,

I also remember listening to Mya’s cover of “After The Rain” in Cardiff while walking under actual rain and how the background sound of rain drops in the song mixed with the real sound of rain drops, how cold and dark it was, and yet really felt good.

Another one that really gets to me is OneRepublic’s “Say (All I Need)” which I used to listen to all the time when I was in Southampton on the 20 minutes bus ride from the university campus to downtown Southampton, passing by the dorms, the university campus, and the parks, before getting off at the town hall bus stop. I remember how Ryan Tedder’s voice sounded haunting and add to the song have this dream-like quality, it was amazing.

I don’t think really cared much for Love is a Mix Tape as a novel with a storyline, but I guess I’m happy I read it because it made me go back to listen to my own old music and got  transported into all these experiences I’ve been before.