I am a firm believer that everyone needs to have a memories playlist. This was an idea I came up with years ago—a certain song plays and creates a memory I remember for the rest of my life, then it gets added to a playlist.
In order to “seal the deal,” one could say, I put all the songs into a Google document and write down what that memory/moment was to solidify it in my life. Out of almost 250 songs, I had only done this for maybe half the songs.
I should’ve done it for them all; there’s so many songs on my playlist now, some are bound to be forgotten. Here’s a list of the songs that are currently on my own “Memories” playlist but I’ve forgotten why they’re on there, along with what I think of them now.
“take a hint !!” by Ty_Makes_Music
7/10
This song is the least popular out of all the songs on my playlist, with the artist only having 100 monthly listeners on Spotify. The song has an amazing instrumental riff in the middle of the song, and I could listen to that part over and over again. That still doesn’t solve why it’s on the “Memories” playlist, or where I had heard it. Maybe it was simply because it had a memorable part in the song?
“Eugene” by Arlo Parks
8/10
When I was scrolling through the songs on this playlist, I didn’t even recognize this song. Listening to it didn’t bring up anything either, so I’m starting to wonder if I added it by accident. Based on the date I added, the memory had to have occurred during Spring Break last year in Dubai, which makes me more confused. That being said, this is a great song. I’ve loved it from the moment I rediscovered it, and now it’s on my liked songs. So at least something good came out of this mystery.
“Mi Gente” by J Balvin
7/10
This song was added more recently, but I still don’t know why. I hear this song often and it’s become a staple dancing song, but I’m not sure what specific ties I have to it. I don’t listen to Spanish music that often, so it’s odd for me to have added it and then immediately forgetting why. This is still a good song, and it’s very fun to listen to. Maybe the next time I’m dancing to it, a memory will resurface.
“Devil Like Me” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise
9/10
This is my favorite song by Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and I have an inkling that I added this song because I liked it so much when I first heard it—the only problem is that I don’t remember where I heard it. I’ve been scratching the back of my mind for days (the lack of memory for this song is particularly bothering me), but no events have resurfaced. I guess I’ll never know how this song came about, but I can be thankful that it happened.
“Rivers and Roads” by the Head and the Heart
7/10
The Head and the Heart is one of my friend’s favorite artists, so there’s a high chance that I heard this song while I was with her. Still, usually there’s a specific moment I’m able to pinpoint (hence the whole reason a song gets added to the playlist), but I can’t think of anything. I do like “Rivers and Roads” a lot, and appreciated rediscovering it.
“At the End of the Day” by Wallows
8/10
At first, I thought I knew what memory this song was pertaining to—but then I looked at when the song was added, and it was a full year before the memory I had associated it with. I love Wallows and there are quite a few of their songs on this playlist, so maybe I was just getting things mixed up. While there is ‘technically’ a memory tied to this song, I’m still choosing to include it because it’s not the memory that contributed to its addition to the playlist.
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac
7/10
I’m usually not one for listening to older songs (and maybe someone just got offended that I even called “Dreams” old), so it’s confusing why this would be on the playlist. I’ve heard ”Dreams” before, plenty of times, but not while anything astounding was happening in my life. The song was added in the summer before I started college, which doesn’t help with any hints.
“Summer” by Calvin Harris
8/10
Totally non ironically, but this song is one of my favorite summer songs. It’s so energetic and makes me feel like I’m going on a crazy adventure in the warm weather. Despite my attachment to this song, I can’t think of any specific memories that are tied to it. Sure, I listen to ”Summer,” but I haven’t done anything meaningful in my life while it was playing (at least that I know of). Maybe next summer I’ll have to create a new memory.
“Flume” by Bon Iver
9/10
I haven’t listened to this song in years, but I absolutely love it. It’s beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt—the perfect song for writing on a rainy afternoon. I wish that I hadn’t forgotten why it had been added to the playlist, but at least it reminded me of a song I once listened to and loved. I guess that’s a memory now, isn’t it?
“The Night We Met” by Lord Huron
10/10
We end with the most embarrassing forgotten song—not because it’s a bad song, but because this is the first song on the playlist. That’s right, this was the song that started “Memories,” yet I never wrote down what the memory of this song was.
Lord Huron is one of my favorite artists and a few songs from his album “Strange Trails” are on my list of favorite songs of all time. While this song doesn’t make that exact cut, it’s still an amazing song. It’s soft and nostalgic, and I can imagine 50 different scenarios of how this song could’ve gotten on the playlist. Though there’s not a specific memory tied anymore, it’s certainly still a memorable song. Maybe, there’s so many memories that I’m unable to pick just one.
Although these songs may be ‘forgotten,’ that doesn’t make them any less special in my mind as the other songs in the playlist. I enjoyed listening to them immensely and knowing that they once played a part in my life. If anything, just creating this article has created a new memory for these songs. Hopefully this inspires you to create your own memories playlist!