I was listening to Radio@Netscape's '90s Alternative channel tonight while at work and heard a couple of songs that really took me back a bit in time. These two songs really affected my life in distinct ways, and I can still remember the circumstances under which I used them -- and, in true form, I will always associate those songs with the moments they were used. Collective Soul - "Shine" One summer during my college years, I drove up to Boston to visit some friends, and I didn't stay the end -- I ended up driving back to my parents' place that night. I had thought I'd be fine -- just under a 2-hour drive, I was used to staying up late, no problem. Except that when I was about 10 minutes away from my parents' house, I nodded off behind the wheel. The only time I've ever done that. It was only for a few seconds, thankfully. The guitar chords that open the chorus to "Shine" came on the radio and woke me up. And if they hadn't, I wouldn't have navigated my car around that curve coming up, and I would've impacted on that concrete overpass support at 70 mph and died. Gin Blossoms - "Found Out About You" This is the song I used to audition for the first group I ever sang with -- my a cappella group in college. It was definitely a pivotal point in my life, getting into that group, because I wasn't the cool kid in high school. I used to sing along to the radio and I'd always be told to shut up, but once I got into that group, my singing voice was suddenly appreciated by those around me. And I was talented -- I had a quality that people admired and looked up to me for having. And the fact that my group was popular around campus made me popular -- you should have seen the crowds packing the coffeehouse when we performed, and all the people in the audience who were screaming for us. And I was accepted within the group as an equal. It was a real confidence-booster for me. It made me who I am today, and it taught me the lesson of going after something you want and being able to attain it. Without it, I probably would not have attempted a lot of things, and I'd probably be some mediocre nobody with no personality still living in Boston and working at some dead-end job I hate.