One of the downsides of being a music nerd is that there’s literally music everywhere. I am not talking about having my iPhone and headphones with me all the time: What I mean is that everyday noises often trigger my memory to think of a certain track.

I experience this effect quite often, and even though it somewhat amuses me, it can also be a little weird when rhythmic hammering turns into a Techno beat. Rhythmic noises that I interpret as beats is actually the most frequent manifestation of that effect, but there are other examples.

Sometimes I think of a certain track when I hear the sound of a train leaving, a dog barking or a glass clinking. It’s hard to explain what exactly triggers this, but I have an example that might make it understandable:

I have an old battery-powered electric shaver. I don’t use it very often, but I usually take it along when traveling since it is relatively light and robust. However, when I plug the shaver in after I haven’t used it for a while, it first charges its battery and then switches on the motor while the battery is charging.

The effect sounds like this:

When I hear that sound, it always reminds of Fatboy Slim’s “Rockafeller Skank”. Skip to 2:00 in the video below and you’ll hear what I mean.

Have you experienced that effect, too? Please feel free to share your own examples in the comments!