Memories bring back memories bring back you - Sophia Shao - Week #5
This is the music video for "Are You Bored Yet?" by Wallows.
I don’t like Maroon 5. I think their songs are overplayed, but I think I really liked it when this song first came out, before it was everywhere on the radio. It felt quite nostalgic for me, as if I was yearning for somebody who didn’t exist.
I do like certain songs, though, because of how they remind me of certain moments in my life. I remember that song called Old Town Road, and when it first came out, I was in the second semester of my fifth grade. On the last day of fifth grade, my teacher played that song for my class; the heightened emotions of the time charged the song with extra meaning. I was crying my eyes out because my best friend was moving to a different school for the next school year. We aren’t in touch anymore. I don’t really like the song, but I still remember that time fondly. Every time I hear it, I think of the pre-pandemic era, that Friday afternoon, and the best friend I lost that day.
Another memorable song for me is “Numb Little Bug” by Em Beihold. In the summer of my 9th grade, I visited Los Angeles and participated in a summer program there. It was the first time I lived outside of my home by myself, and I made some really nice memories there in those two weeks. One of the assignments at that program was to make a music video, and I filmed, directed, and edited one to the tune of “Numb Little Bug.” I had to listen to it so many times when editing, so I know every lyric. Every time I listen to it, I think about that summer.
My favorite song is “Are You Bored Yet?” by Wallows. For me, it holds the memory of my soul-searching time in high school and my memories of young love. I love that song dearly. What’s a song that you associate with a memory? What do you like about it? I want to hear about what you have to say. Thank you for reading my blog!
Hi Sophia. I really like your blog about the song memories by Maroon 5. I personally love the band and have been a fan of theirs for a long time. I remember when the song came out I couldn’t believe how emotionally moved it made me feel, something I still feel to this day about that song. I completely agree with you on the fact that songs can truly hold a world of emotions with them and they can cause people to feel all sorts of emotions, just like how a song can get you to start crying your eyes out another could get you to be in the happiest mood you have ever been in. I also like the song called “Numb little bug” too, it was a song that I think totally resonated with my music taste. You also wrote about how you like the song “Are you bored yet?” I haven’t heard that one yet, but as our music tastes seem to coincide I think I will give it a listen, maybe I might find it as invigorating as you did.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophia! It is genuinely fascinating how songs can be a symbol of how we felt during a specific time of life, preserving our memories between choruses of songs even if years pass by. This reminds me of how several people say they want their summer to feel as if they are listening to albums released in 2016. A song that once caused your ears to bleed can suddenly feel so precious when you attach a special memory to it, or a song that you once loved so much loses its value when a traumatic event is parallel to the lyrics. I believe that while music is entertaining, it is much more popular among the audience for its ability to push us back into any time of life. Music is not just a bunch of sentences put together as different rhythms and instruments play in the background, it is about who you were, what you were doing, or where you were when you first listened to it. Music just shapes the trajectory of how your brain recollects either nostalgic or hurtful events, and that is why it is so personal. This blog made me think if I am so attached to my Spotify playlists because they remind me of moments that I do not want to forget about, or is it about the fact that no matter how many decades pass I can always come back to a playlist to remember a certain period of my life.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophia! I think it is a crazy coincidence that I had just read Hein’s blog about the relationship between memory and music in which he mentions our ability to recall lyrics from songs. And then I immediately see the title of your blog which are lyrics to a song from Maroon 5. I like how you went in depth into the lyrics of this song because when I listen to music, I rarely ever listen to the words that are being said and focus more on the melody of these songs. There are many connections I have made with certain songs as well. In the way that songs such as “Old Town Road” remind you of past experiences, some songs remind me of people or moments that have made me who I am. I think that one of the best parts about music is the fact that it can help you understand your emotions. For example, when I listen to a sad song, it sometimes reminds me of an experience where I did not necessarily feel sad until I went back and thought about that moment. An instance where this happened was March 13, 2020. This was the last day of school before the quarantine was put in effect. I was extremely happy that day because online school for 2 weeks sounded amazing. Fast forward to 2023, I was listening to a sad song on the radio and I began thinking about that last day of elementary school. Although I did not feel sad about the situation at the time, I realized that I missed out on graduating from elementary school and other fun experiences as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophia! I really enjoyed the direction you took with this week's blog, focusing on the musical aspect that comes with memory. I really enjoyed reading about how you associated different songs to different memories, especially because I also seem to have memorable associations with those songs, although my memories are completely different. For example, "Old Town Road" reminds me of this one time my teammates and I secretly did a little 'performance' for our coaches after practice to the song, as we spent the entire practice trying to figure out choreography and coordination when the coaches weren't looking. With the song "Memories," I remember how one of my neighbors used to be obsessed with that song. She was a good friend of mine who lived across the street, and we used to play outside our houses together more often than not, until we both ended up moving out of that neighborhood. Although I have no way of contacting her now, it's still nice to have those memories. I find it really interesting that while we both share songs that we can attribute to certain memories, the dramatic difference between them shows how one song can have a completely different effect across multiple lives!
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