Back in the beginning of 2022, I wrote a piece called My Memories Playlist as an ode to some of the songs that I had specific memories associated with. This playlist has followed me throughout much of my life, and it’s been interesting to see what random events I remember specifically because of the song that was playing.
Now that I’m about to graduate, I wanted to look back at the songs that I’ve added during college and reminisce on what I’ve forgotten and what still sticks with me to this day. Here’s just a snippet of songs and their meanings — I’m excited to continue adding to this playlist for more years to come.
“Redbone” by Childish Gambino
I had been walking around a store or something when I heard this song, and while I recognized it, I didn’t know the name of it. The song changed before I could pull out my phone and Shazam it, so I thought about this song for days until I was climbing with some of my friends at the University of Colorado, Boulder rec center. I sang part of the song to them, and one of them said both the name and author of the song right away. It was the biggest sigh of relief.
“A Moment Apart” by ODEZA
I was heading to play mini golf with my boyfriend at the time and a couple of his friends, but we were meeting them separately. We walked up to his friend’s car when we arrived in the parking lot, and I heard this song being blasted from the speakers as they took swigs from a handle of vodka. It was certainly an interesting experience, but the song fit the moment pretty well.
“hoax” by Taylor Swift
During the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I read the book Where the Crawdads Sing for the first time, then read it two more times that summer. I listened to this song almost exclusively on repeat during the first read, so now whenever I hear it, I think of the characters and feel like I’m on the coast of North Carolina.
“Golden Hour” by JVKE
I was driving up to Fairplay for a student government retreat with two of my friends, and we had created a shared playlist to listen to on the drive. We were heading down the mountain, speeding heavily, and this song came on. I had never heard it before, and the piano excerpt at the beginning almost made me cry as I thought about how special it was to be with my friends in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
“Titi Me Pregunto” by Bad Bunny
This song was the clubbing song in Milan while I studied abroad. I knew that Bad Bunny was popular, but at least five of his songs were played each time I went out with friends or my roommates. This one was most memorable, since my three roommates would sing along to this as we got ready together in the living room, and then they’d sing it again just as loudly in the club.
“Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan
When I was abroad, my friend and I took a trip to Malta. One night, we were laying in the bed and talking about our favorite songs and playing them for each other. She told me that her favorite song of all time was “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, who at the time hadn’t blown up in popularity, so I didn’t know it. It’s interesting to see how much influence she has now.
“Cinderella” by Future, Metro Boomin and Travis Scott
It was after a party and subsequent McDonalds run with my friends that some of us decided to head back to one of our houses to hang out. This was when Metro Boomin and Future’s album We Don’t Trust You had just come out, and one of my friends was dying to show me this song. Their house was equipped with high-quality speakers, so I had one of the best first-listening experiences with this.
“Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter
During my summer internship, there was a lot of time when my teammate and I were procrastinating or waiting for further instructions. She had told me about Sabrina Carpenter’s new song, but I hadn’t listened to it yet. We had a call in five minutes, but we went into an empty workroom and watched the music video together. I was definitely not expecting Barry Keogan to participate in the way he did, if you know what I mean.
“Boys Taste Like Drugs” by Cailin Russo
My roommate and I were heading to her parents’ house to pick up her laundry (our house doesn’t have a washer and dryer), and the two of us were trying to find new party songs since we were going out that night. Due to our obsession with “Girls” by The Dare, we found a playlist with similar songs and this one came on. My roommate turned up the volume as loud as it went and felt the bass through our bones.
“Sleeping on the Blacktop” by Colter Wall
I was driving to Vail for a formal with ever-changing weather; one moment it was blizzarding, and the next the sun was out overlooking the canyon. I never liked country songs, but this song came on and the person I was with said that this was one of his favorite artists. I gave it a chance, and while I now like the song, I can still safely say that country music isn’t my thing.
“it boy” by BBno$
My sister and I are big fans of BBno$, which is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice. I hadn’t been listening to him recently since I usually had to be in a silly goofy mood to enjoy him, and I was drowning in work for my senior year classes. While I was in the car heading back from a bar during winter break, my sister recommended we play his new song, “it boy”. The moment it started I let myself go a little, appreciating the unseriousness of the moment.