They say that smell is the sense that can most vividly unlock memories, but I have always thought of music as the medium that divides my life up into its own unique chapters depending on where, when and who I am. When I’m feeling particularly nostalgic, I go back and look through my Apple music replay or Spotify wrapped from previous years and I’ll listen to songs I haven’t even thought of in years. Going through the old songs instantly takes me back to certain times, points and periods in my life and reminds me of the friends I was with, the activities I was doing or what my priorities were at the time. In a way, these songs act like a time machine taking me through memories that I forgot I even had.
Sometimes I’m transported back to Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life album that I listened to on my way to work on the ferry in my old car that had no air conditioning. I had to drive with all the windows down so as to not sweat to death and my car was so old it had an aux cord that functioned through the cassette player.
Sometimes I’m transported back to 12-hour road trips to the beach in my family’s minivan. I’d listen to Hillary Duff and The Cheetah girls CDs on a pink CD player I got for my first communion.
And sometimes I’m taken back to the time I was in full obsession with the Twilight series and would listen to the soundtrack, specifically “The meadow” until I was able to play it by heart on the piano. That’s another aspect of music that I’m grateful for; my parents put me in piano lessons as a child and during the covid lockdown I got back into it. My parents even let me take our old keyboard to my apartment where I live now.
Music holds a lot of memories throughout a lifetime and for me it seems to be one of the few things that has stuck as a constant no matter where I am, what age I am, or what I am doing.
As I’ve gotten older and started making friends with different people, I’ve come to realize that you can tell a lot about someone depending on the type of music they listen to. Like myself, a lot of my friends listen to a wide range of artists and genres and appreciate different types at different times. But there always seems to be one artist or genre that clings to the top of their list.
For example, one of my best friends, Annie (who I often refer to as my human Spotify) makes playlists for every occasion. Getting ready for my sister’s wedding: made a playlist. Driving to the beach: made a playlist. Pregaming while we get ready to go out in the city: absolutely made a playlist. But I would bet $1,000 at any moment that her all-time favorite artist is Taylor Swift. And it reflects the aspects of her personality like her extensive pop-culture knowledge, her obsession with literature etc.
Similarly, but in a different light, my friend Abbey is a big fan of indie/folk music. I often go over to her apartment for dinner or drinks and it is decorated as if Anthropologie made an apartment. Bohemian/eclectic furniture, cute incense holders lining the windows, baking equipment lining her cabinets: how wholesome! The music she listens to and usually has playing completely compliments the entire aesthetic of her apartment and her personality.
It’s really amazing the weight that music can hold. So many memories are intricately intertwined with them. You select a tune to use as your ringtone. You pick a song for your first dance at your wedding. You listen to music in your car, on a run, in the shower. It’s in the background of any restaurant or shop you go into. In some way, shape or form music is always there. And if you take a minute to think about it, it’s really inspiring to think about some of the favorite memories you have that are set to a song.