The one thing I love about music is that everyone has their own story to tell – the musician, the lyrics, the way the fans decipher them and also the way a song can also create a memory or a meaning to someone. That is what this new article is all about. Each fortnight, we will take a look at a different song and I will take you as a trip down memory lane as to what it means to me. Welcome to Music Memories.

Track: Dice
Artist: Finlay Quaye
Original Release Date: 16th March 2004

I find that there are some songs that when you hear them, bring you back to an exact moment in a television series or a film because that is where you first heard it. Well, today I am going to talk about a song that whenever I heard it I have two slow down dramatic scenes play in my head and it is all because the same creator worked across both of the shows and decided to use the song in both for similar reasons.

Let’s talk about the first time I heard this song – I was pretty late to the OC party, I was still in college but I was not interested in shows like Dawsons Creek so I didn’t have any interest in really watching the OC. However, when I was getting ready for college one week (some days I did not have to go in until the afternoon) I had T4 on in the background and the OC came on and I started to enjoy it. I think it was the episode where Seth falls off the roof and has an upside down kiss with Summer. That stands out in my mind so I think that was the first one I saw. After seeing that one episode I wanted to watch it more. Back in 2007 you could not just stream episodes so I bought the first season and maybe the second at the same time and ended up watching it all like that.

The first time I came across the song Dice by Finlay Quay was in the OC in season 1 episode 14 where the term ‘I love you’ is returned by a thank you. Ryan rushes across town on New Years Eve to rush to Marissa’s side to kiss her and finally say the three little words. In this dramatic moment the song is played and everything is slowed down to create this drama of him getting to Marissa in time. It was a nice moment in television and I ended up liking the song.

Another show I was late to the party was Chuck – a housemate at university introduced me (i think in 2010) to it and since that first episode I watched I was addicted and it is one of my all time favourite shows and watched it many many times since. The show is created by the same person as The OC so in some ways it is not surprising that the song is used again. In season 1 episode 6 – Chuck has to race across town after doing his secret spy work to get to his Halloween party so that he does not let his best friend Morgan down so that he can be the other part of their traditional sandworm outfit. If you watched them side by side the clips – you will see that the music is used in exactly the same way – to create the tension, the drama, and whether he will make it in time.

I mention these because the other day, I listened to Dice for the first time in years and as soon as I heard it these two shots ran simultaneously in my head and made me smile. It is a fantastic song and it is one of those tracks that can both chill me out and make me smile all at the same time.

Facts About Dice

•  The segment of the song sung by Beth Orton is sampled from “Roll The Dice”, a song which originally appeared on her 1993 debut album Superpinkymandy. 
• It was written with Beth Orton and recorded by William Orbit.