An Impressionable Mind – The influence of Music and Travel

I was in the car this morning on my way to work, ipod plugged in and all of a sudden a Nirvana track came on. Wow – I haven’t listened to Nirvana in a long while.

In all honesty my love for music has slightly deteriorated over the last few years, although a trip to the Glastonbury festival last year did reignite that passion for a time.  I still struggle to find a band as inspiring as those that influenced my youth. And yes, I can definitely say they did influence me from an early age, bands and artists such as Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Roxette, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi – everything our parents subjected us to on numerous car journeys. This continued to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Guns and Roses and then into the Brit-pop era of Oasis, Blur, and Feeder… I think you get the idea.

Of all this music, there were very few that really resonate Wandering Memories such as Nirvana. This was because they were the rebellious, ‘anti everything’ band that hit the right chord with me at a very influential time. Granted I have more memories of gigs and bands whilst I was of an older age but the melodic verses and teenage angst that came with Nirvana was unsurpassed. I was unfortunately unable to see Nirvana live in concert before the tragic demise of Kurt Cobain.photo credit: Kurt Cobain via photopin (license)

Such influence should never be ignored… As such I had a huge desire to visit the Home of Grunge, and see where my icon Kurt Cobain grew up.

As such I have been to Seattle 3 times now, and really enjoyed two of those visits. Although not there just for the link to the band that influenced my perception of music, I did get to visit the EMP museum which contains an exhibit on the bands of the era. On top of that I have been able to visit a few of the venues in which Nirvana played and visited his unofficial memorial bench just outside the house in which he took his own life. But the most vivid Wandering Memory I have was upon visiting Aberdeen, the city/town in which he grew up. Upon sitting under the vandalized bridge, alleged to be the place he lived, whilst being homeless, I felt a real sense of my story being interwoven with the Nirvana story (my Nirvana story that is).

photo credit: DSC_0009 via photopin (license)

photo credit: Kurt Cobain’s House via photopin (license)

I know it sounds a little bit obsessive, but such is the influence of music on the impressionable mind. The songs gave me a sense of self, a sense of being, a sense that someone else felt like I felt.

As I started the post with, music has become less of an influence on me now I am older, however it is still a very important part of who I am… Most of these posts are written whilst listening to music, and most of my travelling stories seem to have a soundtrack accompaniment.

Let me know what music influenced you – made you travel, or change…!

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