Music affects memory, research has shown again and again, though exactly how depends on whose studies you read. I've been going through a period of long-dreaded nostalgia lately, listening to cassettes I made as far back as before I was teenager, and it's amazing to realize that I still know every word to pop songs I'd forgotten about for more than a decade-- and how their very familiarity can make them sound more inviting. No, I don't remember when rock was young, but I can see how Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" would've charmed 1970s listeners not only for its own sake, but also for the reminiscences its 50s-style piano pop sound and references would've evoked. On the sophomore album by Leeds, UK, indie-poppers the Lodger, life is often sweet, but the memories are usually sweeter.