Nostalgia: What is Your Trigger?

[Feydakin]

Wasn't sure where would be the best place to post this, but since it was a television show that prompted me to think about it, I thought I'd post it here.

What do you think is the strongest force of nostalgia? Seeing something? Sound? Smell? More and more I feel like sound is my strongest trigger... music in particular, whether it be a movie soundtrack, TV show or a favorite artist.

What made me ask this is when I heard the intro for the TV series Masters of Horror it gave me rush of nostalgia, and it made me wonder if that wasn't my main trigger for it.

[ghostdogg]

man, i just love that sound!!

To me, the first guitar is what triggers the nostalgia. That sound is all too familiar and comforting to me, personally. That being said, a lot of the other sounds (synths, effects, vocals even) are familiar so the whole production feels this way to me.

In terms of the strongest force, in general - I'd say smell is a powerful enough trigger that it could override even sound but the sound trigger can pin-point where the nostalgia comes from the best. That's what I think it is for me...

[Feydakin]

I mean, every sense can trigger nostalgia, and I've experienced it strongly from each of the senses and multiple senses at once... I also feel like nostalgia as a force gets stronger the older you get. That might just be a consequence (or a quality?) of age.

[ghostdogg]

I like that agreed.

[Feydakin]

Like for instance when I was visiting my hometown last summer and stayed at my grandmothers old house; I woke up early and went outside, and just the combination of familiar place from my childhood, the sounds (church bells, the town clock bell ringing, boats on the lake), the clean smell of the air, birds chirping, etc... it all added to this overpowering sense of nostalgia for my childhood and why I love my hometown and can't wait to return for good. I just sat there for an hour with a cup of tea soaking it all in.

[ravenrussell]

https://www.youtube.com/6hQH8DyEbko

^^^^This^^^^

song always gets me nostalgic.

[Feydakin]

Moved this to Random...

[Skywalker]

I used to think that it would be going back "home" after moving back home, nope. It was never the place, sure I have the memories, but many of the places no longer exist. I can damn near go to every house that we rented from Elementary School to High School, two have burned down and now woods, one was torn down to make way for duplexes. One was gentrified, as in the poor folks living there was moved out and those receiving military housing benefits have since moved in. The final straw was when I went back to my grandad's house, I damn near was raised in that house, instead, I saw a place that I did not know. It is now owned by my uncle, who refuses to speak to me because I am my dad's daughter (it is odd, how fast family leaves you once your dad passes away).

That is when I found out that I can never go home, as home does not exist in a place. It only exists in my memories. That is not as bad as it sounds. I have my memories and no one can take that, like a house. her

As I drive around and go, I remember when this was that, and now it is that. Like there used to be a store called the Pak A Sak, great place. I used to get Animal Crackers or HandiSnaks (they sold them for 25c). Sometimes it would be my parents that bought them, the other would be my grandad. I still get HandiSnaks just to remember walking to Pak A Sak with my parents or my grandad.

[Feydakin]

That's why I love my hometown. Town council won't let anything into town that takes away from the small town feel... which does have it's downsides, but they are outweighed by the good by far IMO. Nothing much has changed overall since my childhood there. Yeah some of the buildings and many of the businesses have changed, but for the most part it is still that quaint little lakeside town it's been forever.

[Gwenno]

For me it's smell, that would be the strongest sense that brings back memories.