Associations

[Tomtentp]

What is an association?

Wiki says:
"An idea, image, feeling, etc., suggested by or connected with something other than itself".

I got the idea for this thread when I saw newalizeefans post in the omfg. alizee thread. He was talking about his feelings towards certain songs and how they induced certain memories and feelings from the time when he first discovered Alizée. It got me thinking how funny our memory work and how wierdly it can play around with our feelings.

The reason I found this so interesting is because I've found some of my own associations to be quite humorous or just plain wierd.

Like when I feel the smell of dust I immediately think about radio cars and BMX bikes, probably because these two kept my lungs constantly filled with dust during my entire childhood.

I found that music is a very good tool for these kind of emotional references. For example is my associations with a certain album from the band Aqua. When I play this record I get immidiate flashbacks to a certain video-game I used to play during the same time I got the CD. This game, Ascendance be the name, is about conquering galaxies as an alien speices in a very dark and emotional-less universe, making the reference kind of wierd considering the childish and "unserious" ways of the music.
Click here to see what I mean


And another perhaps more relevant example is my associations with the odor of a certain shampoo. This is a shampoo that members of my family were using during the time I discovered Alizée (my sister takes ridiculously long showers). I recently discovered that by taking a sniff at a bottle of this stuff, I could instantly conjure the same feeling I had during this time. All the excitement and all the happiness that I were feeling then, I can now re-live whenever I wish.
This completly fascinates me.

In this thread I want YOU to post your associations. It doesn't neccesarly have to have anything to do with Alizée, just describe any kind of feeling or emotion you have associated with a certain situation, smell, music, other feeling, anything at all. Of course it's favourable if it's a wierd association, like a connection that is completely irrelevant or doesn't make any sense at all.

Hope you guys got anything to share or else I'll feel like a retard for sharing this

[dreamer]

And another perhaps more relevant example is my associations with the odor of a certain shampoo. This is a shampoo that members of my family were using during the time I discovered Alizée (my sister takes ridiculously long showers). I recently discovered that by taking a sniff at a bottle of this stuff, I could instantly conjure the same feeling I had during this time. All the excitement and all the happiness that I were feeling then, I can now re-live whenever I wish.

You're weird, Tomtentp...

No, seriously I know what you mean. It's called the Proust effect BTW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntary_Memory

[mavsluver41]

This is an awesome idea, T, I know exactly what you're talking about . It's impossible to explain, but I've definitely experienced this phenomenon. For me, whenever I hear some of the songs I was listening to during last summer (which is when I discovered Alizée), I get this weird feeling that I'm back in that period. Also since I was studying for the Chemistry SAT II test when I watched my first video of her, every time I crack open an SAT study book, I get a fleeting feeling of the extreme joy (no joke!) I felt in those first few weeks .

As for non-Alizée related associations, there's a certain smell (I have no idea what it is exactly) that recalls my time spent in Kindergarten in a Montessori school. That's the only one I can think of at the moment, I am certain there are more though.

Originally Posted by dreamer

You're weird, Tomtentp...

No, seriously I know what you mean. It's called the Proust effect BTW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntary_Memory

Wow, there's actually a term for this? That's awesome, thanks Dreamer! By the way, what exactly is your line of work/educational background: I've noticed you know a great deal of interesting stuff, and I'm curious .

[JimmyDean23]

I have a ton of associations but I cant remember them until I experence them. When I hear 99 Red Balloons I think of drifting. I seriously cant listen to it while driving or I will crash. This is why.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dbge-y9jMJg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dbge-y9jMJg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Also when I smell mud, I think of the cave my dad owns. I pretty much grew up in that cave and it brings back a lot of good memories.

[Srbski-kralj]

Originally Posted by JimmyDean23

I have a ton of associations but I cant remember them until I experence them. When I hear 99 Red Balloons I think of drifting. I seriously cant listen to it while driving or I will crash. This is why.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dbge-y9jMJg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dbge-y9jMJg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Also when I smell mud, I think of the cave my dad owns. I pretty much grew up in that cave and it brings back a lot of good memories.

Hell nearly fliped the car the other day, didnt realize i was going just a little bit to fast inot a corner drift. Man can anyone say adrenaline rush.



Hahaha man 2 great minds think alike, yeah same goes for me to. Love drifting but at least i try to do it when noone is near me lol, dont want to take someone out drifting. For me also burning rubber, i remember peal-outs and drfting of course.

[Ruroshen]

I can't really think of an Alizée-related one, but the Foo Fighters' second album The Color and the Shape was pretty much the soundtrack for my first year of university. Anytime I hear even a few notes from one of those songs, I'm immediately taken right back to that time in my life. I saw them live at the Virgin Festival last summer, and the wave of mixed emotions that came over me when they played My Hero was almost overwhelming--it was almost like reliving that entire year again in the space of four minutes.

Another one for me is walking in the...well, not exactly rain, but you know when it's not quite spitting, and the water's sort of hanging in the air, all misty-like? Takes me right back to a simultaneously awful/awesome night I spent walking downtown with "the girl who got away", as we tried to track down her best friend who'd stormed out of a club on us after making a huge scene. We walked for what seemed like hours trying to find her, through the barely-rain, talking the whole time...I mean really talking...and it was one of those really bittersweet moments you read about, or see in the movies, where I realized that a) she was "the one", and b) that it was never gonna happen. Probably one of the most profound moments of my life, and oddly one of my fondest memories, if that makes any sense.

[TheBarrett]

I have so many associations.

Football/Soccer fields: reminds me of my childhood from age 7-11
Shredded cheddar cheese: reminds me of my toddler years when I had a profound obsession with dairy products.
Antique Grand Pianos: reminds me of a moment when I was around 1 year old when I banged away on a dusty piano belonging to my grandfather.
The Letter 'v' in Blue: reminds me of my father who used something similar to such as a logo for a company he was attempting to start.
Short Bald Men with Moustaches: reminds me of my grandfather

Aside from that, music does indeed take part of many of my associations.
In fact, there are songs that associate themselves with moments in time so that when I listen to that song, I access the memories from when I associated the song with. It's like a never-ending data bank!

What is and What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin:
Reminds me of the earlier periods of my now-dead Alizée super-obsession.
No Quarter - Led Zeppelin:
Reminds me of a time when I compulsively worked on my artistic abilities.
Victoria's Secret - Sonata Arctica:
Finding heartfelt love at whatever occasion. This one's fairly recent.
Surfing with the Alien - Joe Satriani:
One long convertible drive a couple years back.
Mana - Equilibrium:
My WoW days.
Dancing in the Street - Van Halen:
Any form of world travel.
Shamandalie - Sonata Arctica:
Heartbreak and resurrection of emotion, a rebirth reminder, that all is never lost when love is lost.
Halo - Porcupine Tree:
Big cities and fast cars.
Nurega - Organic Audio:
Fast cars and fast cars.
The Moor - Opeth:
Reminds me of the powerful domination love and affection can hold on us.
Last of the Wilds - Nightwish:
The loss of innocence and naivety, and the realization of how life is harder than the playground we all have made it to be.
Ambivalent - Nevermore:
Reminds me of how anger can lead to reckless and catastrophic results.
Rebirth of the Nemesis - Melechesh:
Reminds me of my trip to the Middle East a few years back.
Ghost Opera - Kamelot:
An angry reminder of rejection from someone's life.
Bloodbound - Hammerfall:
Reminds me of the importance of friendship.
Smoke on the Water - G3 2005:
Reminds me of Tokyo. xD
Babylon - Edguy:
Reminds me of when I loved the Sega Dreamcast.
Living Dead Beat - Children of Bodom:
Erm, losing "it" if you know what I mean.

[Tiwaz]

Cigarettsmoke reminds me of my dad. I don't live with him and have not seen him to many times but he smoke a lot.
Police siren = football/soccer, mainly derby days.
Music vs game. Ensiferum (the album with lai lai hei) and Kent's album vapen och ammunition = Tibia. And I have partly destroyd Psychédélices with to much Diablo 2.

[dreamer]

Originally Posted by mavsluver41

Wow, there's actually a term for this? That's awesome, thanks Dreamer! By the way, what exactly is your line of work/educational background: I've noticed you know a great deal of interesting stuff, and I'm curious .

Hey, thanks! I study philosophy and history. Let me return the compliment by the way, I really enjoy reading your posts. I think there are quite a number of people on this board you wouldn't expect to find around here. I mean let's face it, in a way we're all fanboys, suckers for a sexy french popstar, but don't let us be reduced to this cliche.

[Fish]

Rock on dreamer, I'm a student of philosophy myself.

One for me is the music of Sufjan Stevens. It makes me really sad to listen to, as it reminds me greatly of the past 2 girls that I fancied. The first one was about a year and a half ago, and because we live about 200 miles apart we spoke a lot online. Anyhow, I introduced her to Sufjan and she loved it. We had grown really close, and were supposed to go to the same school in August. We didn't and she got a boyfriend. She is, as Ruro said earlier, the one, and the one that was never gonna happen.

The other is a much less involved story, but with a much greater impact on the association. We were in the same class, and we talked a lot over the course of the semester. I asked her to hang out, she gave me the kindest "no" I've ever heard, and she was wearing a Come On, Feel The Illinoise shirt. Since that day I've only listened to that particular album once. Its great music, but I just don't enjoy feeling down like that.