March 6, 2007

The Back Door of Rosa's

Last August, in a post titled Both Sides, Now, I mentioned about my Pavlovian response to country music . Some country music makes me sick. Literally sick. Headache, Nausea, Dizziness. For the longest time I figured I just had a great dislike for this music.

Sometime in my twenties I figured it out. The only music that made me sick was the music my Mom played when she drove me across town to nursery school before I was 5 years old. With being small and seated on the seat, I couldn't see out the windows, so I often become car sick. My mother's radio was always tuned to the local country music station playing Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, are a few of the names I remember of the music on the radio. The country music I heard years later did not have the effect on me. I've never liked country music much, but there some country artists that I like and respect, Willie Nelson being one of those. I also enjoy authentic Bluegrass music, but even now, over 40 years later, when I hear those songs that were played on the radio when I was getting car sick, I still become physically ill.

Where did all this mental conditioning took place? "Out in the West Texas town of El Paso........"

Steve Martin version: El Paso (spoof)

Now if I can only stop drooling everytime hear that song. This is another freaky thing about me. When I lived in El Paso, my mother often took us to this German Restaurant, Augusta's Stube, and the owner would play that Marty Robbins song over and over and over again while we dined on Schnitzel and home-fried potatoes. That song makes me hungry for German junk food. Until today, it had been years since I heard that song. Weird! Because I avoid junk food these days. DAMN IT!

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow! we are lucky today and it's not even Friday... ;-)

I don't mind country music but what I just can't stand is Opera sang by women. You know that screechy voice that goes up and you can't understand a word of what they are saying... aaahhhhh makes my skin crawl.. literally

Love that pict... ;-)

Have a great day... it's -21 C today and with the wind chilld -38 C but don't ask me what that is in F.. I can only tell you that Honey didn't even want to go down to do her business... there.. not TMI ;-)

Love ya!
XOXOXOOX

Pam said...

I'm lecturing on Classical Conditioning in my Intro Psych class today. Mind if I use this as an example?

I will also be conditioning my students to salivate in response to a clicker, using pixie stiks as the Unconditioned Stimulus.

What Fun!

pissed off patricia said...

I'm not sure but I think in some states a child having to hear that music might be considered child abuse


;)

Evil Spock said...

Did you listen to the Neko Case song I posted? A lot of hipsters call her style gothic country. I love her stuff, but typically stay away from the country music thing.

FreakyNick said...

In "Evil Spock" style, I will comment on the comments.

Nancy - I hope you get your blogger problems solved. We miss your posts.

I find opera music funny.

It sounds cold there, stay warm.

XOXOXXXXO

Pam - I'd be honored to be an example of how conditioning can turn good people into freaks.

CLICK CLICK

PoP - I think country music is the cause for all of the therapy I now require.

Evil - Yes, I did listen to the music Sophie posted. I become woozy, then had a craving for Thai food.

BBC said...

You are weird, maybe there is a bad transistor in your head.

I'll bet Pam couldn't get me to do anything with her clicker.

Those shrinks are just making the world more crazy.

Malnurtured Snay said...

I think it would be neat if car radios came equipped with hand grenades that would go off if someone tuned to a country radio station.

Me said...

As my much-loved Asylum Street Spankers call it, Country & Western Murder Ballads.

azgoddess said...

wow -- great analysis there...i love figuring out the 'whys' of why i do stuff...

has it made life any easier to live?

love the dog pic!! smile

Blueberry said...

I have problems with Opera too, and some Broadway show tunes, depending on how they're done. I love country but only the *real* stuff, not that "NEW COUNTRY" crap on the clear channel radio. I think everybody has memory triggers from music. It's not something you can remove, although sometimes you can alter it, let it grow into something else. I used to have really bad reactions to some music that I love now because I've made some progress on the things I associate(d) with it.

supergirlest said...

it's pretty amazing, what gets set into us without us even being aware, no? i think it's awesome that you made those connections can trace it back to the root. sorry - you are no freak! :)