With the passing of several notable people in recent years I’ve noticed a phenomena I fall prey to.

It occurs just after a favorite musician, actor or celebrity passes away. I can only describe it as a sudden reoccurrence of “fandom” where the sudden urge to re-indulge in their works occurs.

I most recently noticed it just after the passing of a favorite vocalist. The band for which he sang, Soundgarden, has been a personal favorite since high school.

Tracks from their seminal album, Superunknown, received extensive playtime.

To this day that album, and pretty much all others featuring vocals from Chris Cornell, are part of my music collection.

But I have to admit, until the announcement of his passing last week, it had probably been years since I intentionally played each album from first track to last.

Over the past week, that changed.

Thinking back, it was the same way when Robin Williams passed away. Prior to his death, I hadn’t watched a movie of his in quite some time.

But shortly after I read the news, I searched the movie collection for any title featuring one of the funniest guys ever to grace the screen, in my opinion at least.

So, why is it we take greater interest in someone after they die? The same is true with family and friends.

We take for granted they will always be there, but when that day comes and they aren’t, we start searching for anything that will bring back long lost memories.

I’d like to say things will change, but know for sure that if a change occurs it would be toward those I know personally.

Otherwise, albums will get played when the random function on the mp3 player reintroduces a favorite and movies will be re-watched only when I get the urge.

That is until another celebrity passes.