I will always square down bits by bits of my life with songs, and tonight, i thought i’d write about those that really defined some moments in my life. Im not a melancholy, i am though, a nostalgic. These are some climacteric songs in my life, how it defined me, and how i know, one day when im old enough that i forgot what youth feels like, i would play these songs, just for the hell of it. And maybe, i would play this in the car when im with my special someone, or even my kids, to tell them each story from each songs and how precious it is to have a living visual motion in your head when you listen to something.
Tove Lo’s Queen of The Clouds was my first ever physical copy, it was 2015, and its still very much defining, Got Love would always be that one song i’d play, not that often, but was there for me through everything.
We The Fest screams Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1, Slide, Feels & Rollin to be exact, i heard Tame Impala’s The Less I Know The Better once, but its not that significant. Also went to Snakehips’ set and heard Cruel (featuring Zayn) live, the crowds were drowning in the song that it felt so ethereal. Djakarta Warehouse Project is definitely Cash Cash’s Surrender, and How To Love stands somewhere between WTF and DWP.
Uni is Lights Up from Harry Styles & Late Night Feelings from Mark Ronson, it was Olim 2019 and i’d go back at 11 every single night after all my shift (was a documentation staff for the sport matches, my favorite one was table tennis)
2017 & 2018’s New Year in Dubai was Fast Car, Friends, By Your Side & Anywhere, it was a ‘calling’, i was so depressed cause of high school and getting out of the country after a dreadful semester was heavenly. When i went back this year for my so long — but so fast uni break, those songs were still relevant, but i’d add SZA’s Hit Different X Good Days Acoustic, The Business by Tiesto, Heartbreak Anniversary by Giveon, I Miss U by Jax Jones & Looking For Me by Paul Woolford. I was driving the whole time, and so the streets & the skyline with the music fuse together like karak & biscoff.
Japan was Tokyo Nights & Sunflower, cant think of any for Croatia, I saw Daniel Shaw performing outside of Melbourne’s GPO singing Used to Be before he enters X Factor so it was my Australia’s soundtrack, also cant think of any for Europe 19 except that 2 street guitarist i saw in Catedral de Barcelona.
On my 17th birthday, it was Side Effects from The Chainsmokers. And this one is weird, but on my way home from Plaza Senayan one particular time, it was Flight of The Stars from Zayn. Firebird by Galantis was also one of the most defining, i could rewind my life to the time where i first saw the city lights from my roof.
My Friendship with 3 of my closest is Let Me Love You by JB (we took a trip to Pulau Bangka one time) and All My Friends by Tinashe. There’s only so much Latin & Arabs songs that i could list, but all that belongs to my family, cousins to be exact.
La Isla Bonita & I Will Survive is a go-to karaoke songs with my big family, Bali Mornings always sounds like Mambo no. 5 from Lou Bega cause the open villas, the sun rays, the pools but also Bamboleo when we would have dinner at Menega, i’d like to call Jimbaran as the Lil Greece of Bali (looks like it at night, have never went to greece though, saving it for my honeymoon one day lol)
Lazuardi Days are Its Time by Imagine Dragons, Still Into You by Paramore, Pompeii by Bastille & Shut Up & Dance by Walk The Moon, all courtesy of our music room and the school bands, but also my senior year where every morning i would check the weather and listen to End of The Day by 1D. Halsey was also big in my junior-high school life, Colors was the backsound of 2015 where i would swim every night.
Wrong Move was my #1 song for 2 years now, at first i would just listen and dance through it but now the lyrics are tattooed in my blood, im sure theres a drug in this song, just like Galantis’ Runaway and Krewella’s Alive. Some of the huge artist i love like Raye, The Weeknd, Nicki and so many more are not in here, not because they’re not major in my life, but you cant pick a song for a moment, the songs are just there whether you realize it or not, and when you pass through those moment, you’d look back and you discover that it was one of those movie scenes with a song playing behind.
If you do get my idea of life squared in songs and actually have a list of one, i think you are lucky.