IS NOSTALGIA A TRIP OR A TRAP?

Nostalgia. It’s a helluva drug. Like the sharp edge of a broken vinyl record, it can cut both ways—bringing warmth and familiarity or slicing through our ability to see things as they are.

Once upon a time, "nostalgia" meant "longing sickness," the Greeks' way of saying homesick blues. Nowadays, it’s been rebranded as a sugar-coated yearning for yesteryears that weren’t necessarily all that great. We love to claim the past was brighter, music was louder, and the vibe was just better. But here’s the rub: unchecked nostalgia isn't just a harmless glance in the rearview mirror. It’s a fog that can cloud our vision of the present and manipulate our sense of progress. And trust me, it’s a slippery slope toward rewriting truths and distorting how we’ve actually gotten here.

Music, of course, plays the lead role in this nostalgia game. Science backs it up: the jams we love around age 20 burrow deep into our brains and set up shop for life. They’re the soundtrack to our identity, our stability. When life gets messy, we retreat to these musical comfort zones. But let’s not forget—music’s plastic, just like our brains. We’re constantly linking tracks to new memories: lovers, road trips, heartbreaks, first gigs, last calls, all the juicy chapters. Sure, we cling to the songs of our youth, but the thrill of discovery doesn’t have to stop. Unless you’re stuck in a “nothing new could be good”  feedback loop. And let’s be real—that’s just sad.

Case in point: this week, we’re witnessing a bit of sonic time travel. “Natalie (Redux)” is back, reborn after 40 years. It's the story of love at first sight—the kind that sticks with one party and ghosts the other. You don’t just dust off a memory like that without giving it a fresh spin, right? Reimagined and rearranged, the track now exists in a space where the past and present collide. Nostalgia isn’t the destination here; it’s the jumping-off point.

Big props to Aaron Badgley for giving this timeless tune a new platform. Catch the premiere on CFRU 93.3 FM Guelph, January 16, 2025, at 7 AM EST on his show Here Today. Because as much as we love a good trip down memory lane, it’s the road ahead that matters.