© Scott Adelson
I've just discovered this satellite radio channel called 1st Wave. It plays alternative '80s rock that's mined right out of my undergrad years. The Cure, REM, The Smiths, Pretenders, The Clash. I guess it's kind of like my oldies station. (Guh. I can't believe I even have an oldies station.) I drive around listening to this stuff and the memories pour in. Not just where or when I heard a song (read: what party, with whom and how wasted), but deeply visceral sensations, echoes of entire swaths of time and their accompanying gestalts - i.e., that summer of love or that winter of discontent. It's about memories, yes, but it's more than that. These songs actually reproduce a mood. It's an odd sensation that I've chalked up to some kind of clinical nostalgia.
But maybe not. My editor just sent me this story from the
BBC: "Study to develop 'musical prescriptions' for patients."
Turns out these scientists at Glasgow Caledonian University are using a "mixture of psychology and audio engineering" to see how music can elicit specific responses. The plan is to analyze everything from tone, to pitch, to lyrics and even "associated thoughts" to accurately chart listeners responses and perhaps one day create music regimens that can take care of emotional needs. The potential here is to write music prescriptions to "help those suffering physical pain or conditions like depression."