In the category of Scientific Studies That Prove Things We Already Knew: Two University of Kansas researchers have discovered that songs can call up vivid memories and emotions from long ago periods in our lives. The surprising outcome of the study? For a surprising number of us, those memories are tied to Vanilla Ice and Coolio.
The study involved 124 subjects between the ages of 18 and 20 who were asked to create lists of songs from various periods in their lives. Maybe because of the closeness in age of those questioned (although we’re just guessing. We haven’t done any studies of our own) respondents reported strong memories and feelings associated with many of the same songs: Vanilla Ice’s Ice, Ice Baby triggered memories in 26% of subjects; 36% got all nostalgic about Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise. What’s more, respondents didn’t actually have to hear the music – just thinking about the songs was enough to stir up old memories and feelings.
Results from the study were published in the Psychology of Music. [via UPI]
I hated "Gangsta's Paradise." "Ice Ice Baby" on the other hand was great. I don't have any memories associated with either song except a few years ago I remember Diplo played "Gangsta's Paradise" at the end of his set. I later read that he put this on to get people to go home, it had the opposite effect.