Rock Ramblings: Certain tunes bring back favourite summer memories

By Medicine Hat News on August 17, 2017.

You know how you can listen to a song and it takes you back to a specific moment in your life? It seems to be happening to me a lot lately. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m getting older, or maybe I’m just becoming more sentimental.

I was getting ready for the morning show this week when Offspring’s “Pretty Fly for a White Guy” came on. I yelled at Poncho to crank it up and it instantly reminded me of cruising in my friend’s black Suburban driving 30 minutes into Estevan so we could load up on Slurpees and Nibs from 7-Eleven. That song came out in 1998 and I was only 15 years old. My friend Sarah was 16 and was the only girl in our class who had her driver’s licence. We would pool our babysitting money together for gas money just to enjoy a little bit of freedom.

Fast forward to 2001. I was working as a lifeguard at the Kenosee Superslides (an amazing waterpark in southeast Saskatchewan). That summer there were quite a few rock songs that roared over the loud speakers. Aerosmith’s “Jaded” was popular along with “Breakdown” by Tantric (Do you remember that one?). For me, the track that really sticks out was Staind’s “Outside” Featuring Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit. The live acoustic version of the song was recorded during the 1999 Family Values Tour and released as the second single from Staind’s “Break the Cycle” record. I still remember every word to that song.

It takes me back to living at my grandparents’ cabin for the summer, cooking Ichiban noodles and Kraft Dinner for lunch and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in my red lifeguard hoodie at night. It was a carefree time in my life where I had very little responsibilities. Oh, how I miss those days!

In the summer of 2003 I was working at a movie theatre in Regina. At that time they had TVs blaring in the lobby playing movie trailers and popular music videos. It was mostly pop music that drove me crazy, but thankfully they would play the odd rock song. That year Audioslave’s “Like a Stone” was a massive hit. I remember hearing Chris Cornell’s voice and falling in love with the band’s debut studio album.

I wonder what song will make me reflect on the summer of 2017? Will it be Foo Fighter’s “Run?” Or maybe Imagine Dragon’s “Believer” will take me back to this extremely hot summer we’re enduring. Another one of my favourite tunes right now is “Everything is Alright” by The Glorious Sons. The five-piece band from Kingston, Ont., just announced a Canadian tour in support of their brand new album “Young Beauties & Fools” which is out this October. They will be making a stop in Medicine Hat at the Esplanade on Nov. 7. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. You don’t want to miss out on this show. It will be one that you’ll never forget.

Cassie Donnelly is the morning show co-host at 105.3 Rock. You can reach her on twitter @cass_1053rock.