Do you remember the first time you really clicked with music? I remember being on a family vacation at 9 or 10, getting some sort of random Beatles “Hits” cassette tape at whatever gas station, and playing it nonstop in my off-brand Walkman. That was the first time I really felt music in my bones, and to this day few things are as exciting as finding a new song to love.
I honestly don’t remember a time before music was tied to emotions and events. Even as a baby I had a clear preference for classic rock over other genres, and if my parents couldn’t get me to stop fussing they would put on the Eagles, Tom Petty, or America to get me to calm down. My tastes grew and evolved as I got older, but music has always been as much about the feeling I get from a song as it has been the quality of the song itself.