Magnificent - U2: This song always takes me back to car rides with Dad before soccer games. It was one of his "ultimate pump up songs"—naturally it became one of mine. It's funny how it can take me back to the nerves I always felt before games, the fear of not wanting to mess up, and ultimately the comfort my Dad gave me when trying to get me in the "zone." While he definitely loves U2 more than I do, I think a lot of my varied music tastes come from the songs we'd hear in the car growing up. They were definitely a generation apart, but the genres were as quirky and unique as they are today. From Dad's "chill" radio station, which consisted mostly of 80s/90s "edm" as I'd describe it, to Safety Dance from Men Without Hats; we really listened to all kinds of weird but good songs. I think he still appreciates music just as much as I do these days, and I love finding songs that I know he'd like if he'd just listen to them lol.

I Miss You - blink-182: I didn't REALLY listen to this song until freshman year of college at our PhiDE bid night. That was such a fun night and I'm really glad Rory and I stayed after most the new members left. I got to get to know some of the older members a little better early on, and many of them ended up becoming some of my best friends throughout college and even now. I remember Syd played this song as people were getting drunker and people screaming/singing along. I remember Harsh being outed as 1-beer Harsh and thinking it was an exageration (it was not—damn enzymes are nowhere to be found in that man's body). Ultimately I remember being excited for college experiences much like these; with weird, fun, and very close friends. I miss these people and the connections we had, however brief, and coincidentally this song also always evokes those same bittersweet emotions. Missing different people and relationships, particularly those that I associate with this song. It does make me cherish the people I'm with the next time it eventually comes around though, like when Jon strummed it on his guitar while camping and all of Gabe's family sung along.

Language - Porter Robinson and Late Night - ODESZA: I mentioned this in my other post so here it finally is. These songs I associate really strongly with Michigan/camping with close friends/family and the joy that brought. Other than just being good edm songs, they take me back to a time when I was anxious of getting out of my comfort zone (one of many). Don't really feel the need to dive into that more; they represent exactly what they sound like. Usually that's all music needs to be.

Friends - Flume, Empty Room Cabu Remix, Carry On - Kygo/Rita Ora, Juliet & Romeo - Martin Solveig: These are just a few of the songs from Junior year living with Gabe and Chloe, but they were the earliest ones we listened to from his edm playlist. This is when Gabe really got me back into my edm/house kick and just immediately takes me back to the countless hours of chilling with the homie, smoking the bong, playing video games, getting him hooked on anime, and just generally raw dogging college covid life. It was a fun time and the songs still hit. Juliet & Romeo is an all time goat.

Big Bootie Mixes - 2 Friends: These hour long mixes basically encapsulate the first 2 years of college. Freshman year they were me and Gabe's pre game songs (ripping vodka shots/beers in the dorm and playng drinking games or smash/fortnite/apex) before going out to some shitty frat party for free beer (where they often just played these and pretended to DJ) and then inevitably Brick Street Bar and Grille baby. Undoutedly, we knew pretty much all of the best ones (15, 14, 10, 11). A lot of times they were my drive home songs because I got tired of skipping so many songs and it made the 4 hour drive go by faster. Honestly, it was exciting listening to the new one they'd drop twice a year for a while because they really are some great mixes. I mean seriously go to 5:05 of 17 and listen to that bit with Smells Like Teen Spirit because it goes crazy. I love em and fuck you if you say otherwise.

Please Tell Rosie - Alle Farben, Lost - Frank Ocean, OUT WEST - Jackboys, Travis Scott, Young Thug: Every time we went to Denver for our yearly trip there seemed to be a song that I'd associate with it. Please Tell Rosie being the most memorable as it was the first time I had tagged along with Gabe and Chloe and the first time I'd gone skiing. Besides being a great song, it really represents some of my favorite memories/the beginning of a tradition. Seeing the mountains up close for the first time and just enjoying the vibes that come with skiing was really special and hard to capture in words. It really doesn't get much better than smoking a joint with your best friends outside the cabin on a snow mound under the very visible stars. This song just kinda cements that in your memory, and it brings the joy of those memories every time it plays.

I must have lived under a rock but I didn't really hear Lost until we played it while running errands in Denver before heading up to the mountain. I really love this song tbh, but it also just captured the mood of this vacation because I really had no obligations, no stressors, nowhere to be—just enjoying the freedom with my friends. I didn't have many vacations like that weirdly. This woulda been Dec 2023, so my first year out of college and working a lame ass job in the south (blegh), so it was especially nice not having the stress of a super strict itenerary. For some reaon, that kinda shit just stresses me out a lot of times. I enjoy being on my own time and doing what I want—getting "lost" if you will heh heh.

I think OUT WEST was the same trip, but we played it more for whatever reason because it was just kinda funny and fit the tone. We were slangin' out west baby.

There's a lot more songs with a lot more memories but I don't really feel like looking through my spotify for them and I'm getting kinda bored of this post plus y'all probably get the gist. Music's dope; memories are cool. Peace