Years ago, I made a list of my Top 50 songs of all times. That list reads like my teenage diary, man, it's awesome. The theme was very clearly "memories" rather than actual connection some actual artistry. In the last few years, I've added many memories. Not all of them should be remembered. But the songs that went through it with me are imortalized in a Spotify "Liked Songs" playlist I don't pay for. Time to revise this list, then.
- Haerts- Wings The best song in the world for me for 15 years standing. Never heard a better one. Underwhelms everyone else lol
- Alphaville – Forever Young Even without the nostalgia, this song s such a God damn masterpiece!
- Bronski Beat – Small Town Boy (Acoustic) Every time I listen, I see myself driving into Vaalserquartier, home, a place that will never not be awesome.
- Beach House - Space Song The ultimate Hawaii song. Imagine sitting on an island in the pacific, at night, with a million stars, listening to this.
- Luca Wilding - Wales I was in love once. And this song is what it felt like.
- MGMT – Electric Feel This is on the list because it's a song that doesn't remind me of any other song.
- Lord Huron - The night we met One night at a wedding in France I couldn't sleep. The thought of someone I liked kept me up, I listened to this song 20 times until I fell asleep. "Like" is the wrong word, too.
- Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love My most listened to song 2020 by an easy mile. What a year. The memory is actually believing in love after the experience from song #5 & #7. Ouch!
- Frank Ocean – Thinking bout you In my old list, it says this reminds me of summer 2013 which was awesome but I don't even remember summer 2013 now. Now it just reminds me of Frank Ocean and how awesome he is.
- Christmas Canon - Childhood memories which are probably not even about Christmas.
- Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards After I returned from the lockdown in Germany, I was cycling through London on a sunny Saturday, stopped at a pub for a pint and sat outside when this song came on. I don't think I realized then how backwards the next two years would be.
- The Staves - In the long run - One more for heartbreaker from earlier who I in fact saw again in the long run (see #18)
- The shins – New Slang Another one going back to puberty. Maybe it's "Garden State", but it just reminds me of my hometown. VQ forever.
- aHa - The sun always shines on TV My early Alexa days were a happy time. I would play this song at the office to annoy my colleague Richard who acted like I annoyed him but I don't think i really did.
- Lion King – Kann es wirklich Liebe sein Key change at the end gave me goosebumps at age 4.
- Gigi d’Agostini – L’amour Toujours I want to walk down the aisle to this in my techno wedding one day...
- Sam Cooke - Bring it on home to me Somewhat ruined by a guy I dated who knew this was my favorite song and played it on our first date to show me "he listened". He didn't...
- Neil Young - Harvest Moon Like I love this song but it wouldn't make the Top 50. But I was very, very painfully in love once (have I mentioned it yet? 🙄). I was walking through Bristol one day trying to get "distance" from that shit and some busker sang this. "But I'm still in love with you" made me, you know, feel the expected. I saw the man I was in love with again a few years later in a hotel lobby and coincidentally this song came was playing. Like, it never does ever. But then it did! It's a literal anthem for my heart getting broken.
- Keane – Try again On my 18th birthday I was driving home through the countryside at night when it started snowing and this song was on. One of the best moments of my life. The song stuck...
- Band of Horses – The Funeral In October 2008 I have a memory of walking through Denver on a very sunny day listening to this song and feeling deeply happy.
- Broken Bells - Shelter I don't know how this got here but this song makes me feel and most things don't.
- Cigarettes After Sex - Heavenly This was playing as my plane was touching down in Hawaii in January 2020, the moment I realized I had just flown across the globe to see a man... again!
- Kygo - It Ain't Me My breakup hymn when I was miles away from letting go haha
- Muse - Bliss I'm a huge Muse fan and when they played this at the 2019 Manchester show I think I lost it.
- Mumford and Sons – Below my Feet This song is a prayer!
- UB 40 - Red Red Wine This is a song that reminds me of my friend Jake who I love. I went to see him in London one time and he only had this song on a CD so we put it on and listened to it all night.
- Paolo Nutini- Jenny don’t be hasty Who could have known that the lyrics of this song will become so relevant to me when I saw Paolo in March 2007? These days, I'm Jenny...
- The Radio Department - Strange things will happen I was obsessed with this song from the day I heard it in a hostel in Iceland. A day later Richard told me he would be leaving the job, being my only friend there. It started off a very weird time in my life that would probably count as "trauma" these days
- Billie Eilish - Ocean Eyes Driving through Dorset in summer 2018, it was hot, it was relaxing. I'd been through some stuff (see earlier positions ha).
- Regina Spektor – Samson "You are my sweetest downfall, I loved you first!" Before I was second, I was first, once.
- Burning Hearts - Into the Wilderness I mean, I relate...
- David Gray – This year’s love Have you heard the lyrics to this song? Unreal!
- The Panics – Don’t fight it My first week in Dundee I was hanging out with this guy one night after a party and we were talking for like 7 hours. Then he put this song on. I was in love (with the song but later, obviously, with him as well)
- Braveheart – Sad Theme Perfect song set in the perfect country!
- Paolo Nutini – Autumn Another bad memory. After my dad passed away this was my alarm clock for weeks, resulting in me having a casual cry to start the day with every day.
- Blümchen – Herz an Herz Memories & Masterpiece
- Mumford and Sons - Winter Winds This song came on when I was driving to my friend Tina's funeral. It fit the day like a glove.
- Coldplay - Paradise This was my favorite song when I first started dating my ex-boyfriend. The beginning of that experience was pretty awesome, I love to think back to that.
- Fun. - Some Nights In Summer 2013 a boy I liked came to visit me from Scotland. One day, my friends Conor and Becca also came to visit from Brussels. The day we all hung out in my hometown was one of the best days of my life. It was super sunny, warm and we were driving to a party with the windows down, shouting along to this song. Sweet, sweet memory!
- Aqualung – Strange and Beautiful This was an early favorite when I first moved to Hanford. I didn't have a phone and it was before the internet so I couldn't very often listen to it.
- Coldplay – Swallowed in the Sea For some reason I'm reminded of getting a Starbucks in Laguna Beach in October 2005 which only a song brings back.
- REM – Let me in Another summer lover of mine left back home without "letting me in". However, I love to think back to this guy, still one of the best guys I ever met and another one I didn't marry because he was too far away
- Lana del Rey – Bel-Air One of the few songs I get negative memories with. I was hardly ever feeling as bad as I was in December 2012 when I was in Israel. The Newtown shooting had happened a few days prior. I was sitting in the old city of Jerusalem, listening to this song, and had to start crying.
- Kings of Leon – Closer My only choice on here because it reminds me of a sexy incident hehe
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – Road Trippin’ I mean this shit was my life for my twenties
- U96 - Heaven Fuck, it's so much energy, and so good!
- Ich & Ich – So soll es bleiben In April 2008 I was driving home from an awesome party, this song came on and I realized that everything in my life was perfect and should in fact stay like this forever. It didn't but one day I hope I'll feel this song again.
- Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime After I came home from Ibiza I had post-holiday blues to the max. This song was torture!
- Incubus – Kiss to send us off
- Labrinth - Still Don't Know My Name I think I just love this song so much because I love him so much. Kentish Town memories.
