ruined songs

ever listen to a song on repeat so much because it was just that good, only to ruin it and never be able to listen to it again with the same enjoyment?

or, have you ever had a song set as the soundtrack to a past memory in your life (either because it was actually playing at that moment or only you played it in your head), and now whenever the song is played, it brings a clear flashback of that memory? car rides seem to be pretty perfect for these memories. there are more than a handful of songs that fell onto the list from being in the car with a good friend and the radio (or iPod), like Juvenile's "Slow Motion". a few more songs that made the list with just me and the radio in my car. (The car is the perfect place to turn up the music and belch those lyrics out with all your soul!) unfortunately, there is also a list of songs that bring me back to the days of high school dances, like Lil Jon's "Yeah!" or Fat Joe's "Lean Back". of course those were awkward moments! (...tried hard to erase those from my memory, but to no avail. heh, guess it's a piece of my past i can't escape!)

today, i'm trying to decipher how i feel about this one. i have a playlist of "Slowjamz: R&B" on my iPod. now this list isn't exactly exclusively slow jams or R&B, but rather, a list of songs that evoke deep, deep emotions. the melt-your-heart, gushy, deep soul-wrenching songs. Nick Lachey does a good job of making it on the list a few times, mainly with 98 Degrees. i'm too embarrassed to name specific songs, but a few other artists who made the list include Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Usher, and Ne-Yo.

defs tops the list of guilty pleasure status. several of them made the list because they came by way of recommendation from certain "influential" people in my life. well, in this case, individuals who were deemed "influential" only because they happened to be present during certain defining moments of my life, whether they were intentionally welcome or entered in by way of self-invite.

sooo I'm not sure how i should feel about this list. it's definitely a list of all-time favorites at one point or another in my life, and also my most listened-to playlist... most of which show at least a minimum of 70 plays on my iPod. i could probably rename the songs in iTunes with the name of the individual associated to the track and still know which song it is. at the same time, listening to this playlist brings me through a play-by-play (no pun intended) of past seasons in my life. not that it was or is a bad thing, but sometimes i wished i could just enjoy listening to the music without the nostalgia, ya know?

anyways, while i won't disclose any of the other songs on this list, i'll share one with you that's been on the top of list for years now since it's appropriate for the season (and now officially POST-thanksgiving so we are allowed to listen to holiday music)... enjoy! :o)