It’s Van Halen Weather!!!

Windows down... volume up... GO!!!

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Suburban Baltimore. Senior year. When school was winding down and the opening riffs of summer were tickling the air, everything was in the air. The yearning and desire to just go, wanting to be free and letting it all out – testosterone… hormones… whatever you want to call it – we were ready to explode. The flowers were blooming. The girls were blooming! We wanted (needed?) to just go. And the music! The vibrant soundtrack of burgeoning adolescence blaring through newly installed cassette decks through speakers that were way-too-big for sedan square footage. (Did we really know what woofers were?) By 6th period on the last day of school you could start to collectively feel it… subtle movement like a wasp’s nest slowly awakening. Your feet could not stay still during algebra. You couldn’t stop looking at Angela’s Jordache jeans during study hall. The day dragged on and on and on and on. Finally… the bell rings. The halls fill like a hundred rush hour subway cars just opened their doors. Suddenly, high schoolers with purpose! And through the crowd I see Ricky. As we merge together and head for the student parking lot, his eyes focused, his heart beating through his ‘I Want My MTV’ t-shirt, he says to no one in particular… “It’s Van Halen weather!” Windows down… Volume up... We go!

As schools are letting out and I see kids with backpacks smiling and bouncing down the street, I can still recall that feeling. There was nothing like the end of school and the beginning of summer, right? I bet you can still recall that feeling, regardless of how many 10s of high-school reunions have passed. (Anyone of a certain age still feels that rush when you hear the opening guitar riff from Alice Cooper’s School’s Out.) And what else takes me back to the carefree days of summer? The music!

Music prompts memories, takes us back, and makes us feel something. Listening to Van Halen takes me right back to those important people and the times we shared. And every early summer, to this day, when the sun is out, and the windows are down, I think… it’s Van Halen weather! and I pull up my playlist and go. I think of Ricky. I think of my youth. And I think about the good times. And I feel sooooo good!

As I ease out of the cul de sac, and EVH’s guitar kicks off ‘Ain’t Talkin Bout Love’, I accelerate onto the highway and the shot of dopamine explodes in my brain. I feel youthful. I feel carefree. I feel the wind running through my… uh… over my head. As I hit 4th gear and pump up the volume I feel like I’m ‘Running With The Devil’...

Bonus! - Here’s my ultimate Van Halen Playlist!

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What music brings you back to your carefree days when the windows are down and the volume is up? Let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

The healing power of music…

(The stories presented in this newsletter ARE based on actual accounts or experiences.)

Raymond Leone, MMT, MT-BC is a board-certified music therapist based in Northern Virginia and writes extensively about music therapy and music and wellness.

Did you know that if you hit the heart at the top or the bottom of this email you will make my day and it will make it easier for others to find this publication. Thanks!