World Alzheimer’s Month 2024 Theme Mix Tape (Side A)
The Remember Who I Was: World Alzheimer’s Month 2024 Mix Tape – Side A can be found on Spotify. Listen in-blog below for a more rich experience, or on Spotify for uninterrupted music. Please note below each song is a link to song lyrics for accessibility. Check out more details on how to best enjoy mix tapes.
Good day! Welcome to the Remember Who I Was: World Alzheimer’s Month 2024 Theme Mix Tape – Side A on KMTJ-DB – Your Mix Tape Journey – Denver, Colorado.
I begin this mix tape with a content warning. Our topic today is very sad and the songs are even sadder, especially if you have a personal connection with the devastating diseases of dementia. There is no shame in sitting this one out if you don’t have the capacity today; I completely understand – nobody will fault you and I will see you next month. 🥰
September is World Alzheimer’s Month, and September 21st is World Alzheimer’s Day. One of the fantastic organizations tackling the problem of Alzheimer’s is the Alzheimer’s Association.
With their Fall Match Challenge, your gift can be matched 2 times, up to $200,000, to accelerate global research and provide much-needed care and support.
Follow this link to donate to the mission of the Alzheimer’s Association.
My great grandparents suffered from dementia in their last years, and it was devastating to watch their minds slowly slip away. I hope someday we can rid the world of this terrible illness.
In this exclusive “I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying” Very Special Episode – the first of three themed around the subject of Alzheimer’s and dementia – I attempt to capture what is feels like to lose one’s self to memory loss. I tried to select tracks that reflect the confusion, moments of clarity, and emotional struggles faced by those dealing with cognitive decline.
In 1999, British electronic musician Leyland Kirby began recording under the pseudonym the Caretaker.
He first explored memory loss in 2005’s Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia, a three-hour-long album portraying the disease of the same name.
2008 saw the release of Persistent Repetition of Phrases, his first record to deal specifically with Alzheimer’s.
Inspired by a study about Alzheimer’s patients who were able to recall detailed memories about music they listened to when they were younger, the album An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (2011) samples pre-World War II ballroom records.
From 2016 to 2019, the Caretaker continued to expand this theme of Alzheimer’s represented through music into six more albums with the critically-acclaimed Everywhere at the End of Time series.
These albums use progressively degrading loops of sampled ballroom music to portray the experience of the progression of Alzheimer’s disease from onset through death.
Here is the first track from the Everywhere at the End of Time albums by electronic music artist the Caretaker, called “A1 – It’s just a burning memory” on KMTJ-DB – Your Mix Tape Journey – Denver, Colorado.
Following his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in late 2010, music legend Glen Campbell, joined by three of his children, embarked on a final “Goodbye Tour”, performing his last show on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California.
After the tour concluded, Campbell entered a Nashville studio to record his final album, Adiós, which, per his wishes, was not released until five years later. In January 2013, Campbell recorded his final song, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, during what would be his last recording sessions.
Director James Keach followed Campbell on his farewell tour collecting footage that resulted in the 2014 documentary film Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, centering on Campbell’s struggle with Alzheimer’s.
Campbell and close friend Julian Raymond (the film’s executive producer) won a Grammy Award and were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for our next song.
Without further ado, here is the Grammy-winning theme to the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me – Glen Campbell with “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”, on KMTJ-DB, Denver.
Leave it to Glen Campbell to show off his musical genius while suffering from a terrible illness by co-writing a song about it that is simultaneously heart-wrenching and a little bit funny too.
While Campbell pokes fun with his tongue-in-cheek line, “I’m not gonna miss you”, the narrator of our next song is transparent about how scary it is to feel your memory slipping away.
Here is Chicago artist David Kushner with his 2022 song “Mr. Forgettable”.
When your mind begins to betray you, it is imperative to have people around who love you and you can trust to take good care of you. The protagonist in our next song begs his loved ones to please remember him as he begins to forget himself.
With his 2015 track, “Remember Me”, here is Chris Mann on KMTJ-DB – Denver, Colorado.
If you or someone you love are dealing with the ravages of dementia, the Alzheimer’s Association has a 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-272-3900.
That’s 1-800-272-3900 to access 24/7 resources for those suffering from dementia and their families.
Our next song was written from the perspective of the songwriter’s grandmother, worrying that she will, “lose her children”, and “lose her love” as she succumbs to Alzheimer’s in the final years of her life, eventually losing her children and her love as she “[sits] in silence – [lets] the pictures soak”.
Next, Daughter with “Doing the Right Thing”.
“Doing the Right Thing” by Daughter.
I’m DJ Ponyboy and I’m not crying; you’re crying. It can be hard to know if you’re doing the right thing, but I believe that which is done in love is the right thing.
I have tried to keep all the songs on this mix tape strictly from the first-person perspective of the person suffering from dementia, but I hope you’ll forgive me for slipping in this one song narrated by a third party, as I think it still does a fantastic job of describing the experience of a dementia patient, although from the outside in.
Here is Cat Stone with “Who I Was (Montana Memories)” on KMTJ-DB – Your Mix Tape Journey – Denver, Colorado.
The protagonist in our next song describes losing their memory as trying to work a puzzle that’s missing pieces.
Dan Mangan and “Basket”.
“…My memory doesn’t get me very far / I can’t remember my name or exactly who you are / And I don’t know why / No I don’t know why”
Amy Macdonald shares, “When my nan was still alive, my mum would always say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not your nan anymore, she’s left that body.’ That made it easier for me to deal with.”
Here is “Left That Body Long Ago” on KMTJ-DB – Denver.
It is important to remember that, while we often think of old people, especially in the context of Alzheimer’s specifically, people of many ages can develop dementia.
While this next song is not specifically about dementia, I think it’s important in the context of how powerful music is in treating some of the pain and upset Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients feel.
Trisha Yearwood reminds us how music can bring back memories we didn’t even know we still hold on to in “The Song Remembers When”.
“The Song Remembers When” by Trisha Yearwood. The fantastic power of music is the reason I created this blog, and I hope the power of music is what keeps you listening.
I’m DJ Ponyboy; thank you so much for joining me today.
Remember our opening track from electronic artist the Caretaker, the first in a six-album series?
Our next piece is the last track in the series. From Wikipedia, “The final stage consists of drones, portraying the emptiness of the afflicted person’s mind. In its last 15 minutes, it features an organ, choir, and a minute of silence, portraying death.”
While I don’t expect everyone to stick around for the entire twenty-minute track, please appreciate a few minutes of this next piece before you go.
This has been a rough week – I have spent more time crying while creating this mix tape than all the others combined. If you’re feeling drained after this episode, please indulge in some self-care.
Hug your loved ones, snuggle your pets, drink some water, look through some photos, and revel in the memories you have made and shared throughout your lifetime.
Until next week, I’m DJ Ponyboy on KMTJ-DB, Denver, asking you to stay gold.
If you stayed all the way to the end, you deserve a gold star – and a hug (with consent of course).
Thank you for joining me today to listen and cry together here on KMTJ-DB – Your Mix Tape Journey – Denver, Colorado.
I’m DJ Ponyboy asking you to stay gold.