Time Machine for Memories

“Sometimes it takes only one song to bring back a thousand memories. Music is the closest thing we have to a time machine.”

You’re driving along, not thinking of anything in particular, when a song you haven’t heard in years starts playing. And suddenly, you’re no longer where you are. You’re back in a moment. A place. A feeling.

That’s the power of music. It doesn’t just take up space on a playlist — it time-travels.

Neuroscience has backed it up: music and memory are deeply intertwined. A familiar melody activates the emotional center of the brain, lighting up memories long tucked away. It’s why we remember the lyrics to songs we haven’t heard in decades. It’s why the soundtrack of our youth feels like a permanent part of us.

For me, it’s “Night Moves” by Bob Seger. My mother played Seger often. I can still see the 8-track cassette, pushed into the car stereo of my Granny Ruth's 1970 Green Dodge Coronet. The smell of those leather seats. Me perched on the car door armrest. Every sensory detail floods back. That’s the moment I realized music wasn’t just background noise. It was the archive.

So now I ask you: What’s your “Night Moves”? What’s the one song that takes you back — instantly, completely, unapologetically?

Leave it in the comments, or reach out if you’re ready to start building the soundtrack of your life. Because memory fades. But music? It plays on!