BY MIKE PODSEDLY                                         Published in Smoke Signals July 2020 Issue

“THE GREATEST MUSIC OF OUR LIFETIMES” is our slogan that is backed by science.  Studies show that music can be a particularly effective cue for bringing one back to sights and sounds of events from across our life spans.  These have been labeled MEAMS, Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories.
The link between cues and associated memory have been demonstrated in several controlled settings with a variety of participants.  Favorite songs are typically listened to much more frequently over one’s lifetime than films or books. 

Our preferred music is rooted in adolescence and early adulthood.  Research revealed songs released when the participant was 10 to 30 years old are preferred, better recognized and elicit heightened emotional responses compared to songs from other periods.  There is also a bump in ages 40 to 50 years old.  For example, if you are 70 years old today then the music from 1960 to 1980 would be called your favorites.  There might also be some favorites from 1990 to 2000.

The average study participant listened to music 30 min to 1 hour per half day.  The number of MEAMS reported was positively associated with the volume of music listening in total.  MEAMS can be effectively evoked most often in situations where your attention is not explicitly focused on music.  Most MEAMS were experienced during background listening. They can occur while driving/traveling, doing housework, at work, relaxing, socializing, etc.  MEAMS were reported as involuntary rather than deliberately retrieved.  Another finding I found interesting was that there was no significant difference in the occurrence of MEAMS between musicians and non-musicians since I fall in the latter group.
Older adults reported more positive emotions in response to their MEAMS as expected.  They also reported having more vivid memories.  MEAMS are a relatively common everyday experience which serve to transport us back to life events that are often highly vivid, positive and social in nature.  MEAMS have a role in maintaining one’s life narrative and evolving sense of self.  This might also explain why people tend to reject the music of younger generations due to the lack of MEAMS experienced by them.

Personally, I have been constructing a timeline of significant events during my life as defined by me.  I have then noted what songs bring the sharpest recall of each of these events.  The process is not this clean because sometimes the music suggests the events and other times the events might lead me to the selection of the music. 

If you haven’t listened to our station yet, do what our loyal audience does:

• Listen to Inside The Gates Radio daily
• Let the memories come to you without forcing them
• Note the details of the events the music evokes
• Enjoy the positive experience.
• Repeat

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Please visit our website insidethegatesradio.com for information about connecting options, download apps, live show schedules and station news.  Send us an email to ITGRadio@bigcanoepoa.org to express your questions, comments or suggestions.

Survey Research Naming Most Popular Artist / Bands by Decade
Mentioned On "Looney's Tunes" Show December 29, 2019

Artist
Rank    1950"s                   1960's                         1970's                        1980's     
  1         Elvis Presley         Beatles                       Led Zepplin             Michael Jackson     
  2         Little Richard       Rolling Stones         Eagles                        Prince              
  3         Chuck Berry         Bob Dylan                Fleetwood Mac        U2      
  4         Buddy Holly         Beach Boys              Elton John                 Madonna              
  5       Ray Charles            Jimi Hendricks       Pink Floyd                 Bruce Springsteen   
Artist
Rank          ​1990's                             2000's
  1               Garth Brooks                Nickleback
  2              Mariah Carey                Eminem 
  3              Nirvana                          Usher
  4              Celine Dion                   Coldplay
  5              Whitney Houston       Britney Spears
 

What does that mean?  In short it is expanded genres, more familiarity, less obscurity but still with some hidden gems.
 
A lot of people remember where they were when “X” happened.  This represents a shared experience among several people.  From a music perspective however songs can evoke a more visceral personal response.  Music can be associated with our own life events – a single day to a longer time frame i.e. College Days.
 
Boomers are retiring at the rate of 10,000 per day.  Some of the additional time this affords is often spent contemplating the times of our lives.  Music can trigger memories of good times or bad, past relationships and choices made.  This phenomena is relevant not only to Big Canoe but to a much larger audience.
 
While we can’t program for each listener, we can create a playlist with a timeline that contains a wide swath of listeners together with a range of music to jog your memory. 

​1.It became common practice for companies to use rock music in advertising campaigns and this was one of the leading songs to hold such a distinction.  Microsoft paid $10 Million for the use of this one..
 
2.Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town in Omaha, NE in 1917.  The motto of Boys Town became a title for a song that was originally offered (and turned down) by Joe Cocker.  Another group made it one of their biggest hits ever..
 
3.This artist was bemoaning how difficult his life was while getting treatment for drug addiction and bulimia in 1990.  To get out of his bubble, he started doing things by himself...making his own phone calls, booking his own hotel rooms and got a dog to take care of...He wrote a song about it.  Who was the artist and song?
 
4.This artist got the inspiration for a new album a few days after the 9/11 attacks, when a stranger in a car stopped next to him, rolled down his window and said, "We need you now!"  Who was the artist and album?
 
Battle Of The Bands! Fooling Yourself by Styx  vs  Delta Lady by Joe Cocker
 

1.Start Me Up Rolling Stones   2.He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother Hollies
3.Simple Life  Elton John    4.The Rising  Bruce Springsteen
Listeners picked Joe Cocker by 1 vote in the Battle of the Bands

NEW LINE-UP OF LIVE SHOWS
CATCH THE SATURDAY/SUNDAY SLATE STARTING JULY 28th, 2019 All Times Eastern
*6:30 - 8:30 Dinnis Keefe's  "Saturday Serenade Show"
Sunday
* 4:30 - 6:30 Shiraz Alikahn's "San Francisco Nights"
* 6:30 - 9:15  Craig Looney's  "Looney's Tunes"