Saving It for the Jewel Box
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A few weeks back, I was listening to music in the car with a friend of mine. We have a relatively varied taste between the two of us, the soundtrack to our car rides and hangouts ranging anywhere from John Prine to the Melvins to Bob Dylan. But no matter where we roam, we always seem to come back to the Beatles. Our love for them runs deep. I’d venture to say the two of us could take just about anyone in a few arduous rounds of Beatles trivia. In what was likely another one of our Beatles binges, George Harrison’s “Something” played and my friend immediately skipped it. Upon further questioning, he told me that some songs you just have to, “save for the jewel box.”
This was a new description of a concept I am very familiar with. I love collecting nice things that I never seem to use. I stash away fancy lotions, take weeks to light a new candle and rarely go out in my nice jewelry. I found it interesting to liken listening to music to these practices, so here are a few songs that I plan on keeping in my “jewel box.”
“1979” by the Smashing Pumpkins
This song will forever sound like high school. I spent countless nights in my hometown’s Cook Out drive-through with this song just beginning to swell in the speakers. It’s the perfect montage music for hazy memories of school dances, first boyfriends and summers at the neighborhood pool.
“Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles
This is the song that my dad sang to me as a lullaby every night as he tucked me into bed. There was a while there where I couldn’t even hear the first few notes without bursting into sentimental tears. I really still can’t. It reminds me of bedtime stories and the feeling of growing up.
“Graceland” by Paul Simon
Aside from being what I would consider one of the most beautiful songs lyrically and compositionally, the subject matter of this song is something that I want to remain poignant and emotion-inducing for me. It tells the story of a trip to Elvis’s Graceland that Paul Simon took with his son after his divorce from Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher. As a child of divorce, this one gets listened to very sparingly.
“Us and Them” by Pink Floyd
This song is less sentimental and more for the sake of appreciating the art. I adore Pink Floyd, and I believe this song to be one of the best ever written. I try to listen to it sparingly so as not to lose the magic of the song’s haunting vocals and wailing saxophone. It still hits every single time.
“Stella Blue” by the Grateful Dead
Last, but definitely not least. This is the song my hippie parents named me after. A beautiful song, and one of my first childhood introductions to the Grateful Dead. This song opened me up to a world of new music.
The best part of keeping nice things is finally getting the chance to use them. Smelling good after using your nice lotion, the first time you light a new candle or wearing your good jewelry to a special occasion. I cherish every chance I get to experience these wonderful pieces of music again. To take them out of their box and give them a spin and experience the emotions they evoke all over again. That’s the benefit of “keeping things in the jewel box” – they’ll always be special.
Strike Out,
Stella Turner
Editor: McKenna Edwards
Athens