A few weeks ago, the wonderful day came upon us when everyone’s Instagram stories were filled with colorful Spotify Wrapped summaries of their music listening over the past year. I am an Apple Music user (I’m in too deep and I’ve gotten too used to it to switch now), so I can never fully get in on the hype of Spotify Wrapped, but I did have a super interesting summary of music that I was listening to this past year. Since I heavily associate music with specific periods, I thought it would be interesting to look back on this past year of music listening and the memories that went along with it, especially since this year was my first full calendar year as a Yale student.
Most Played Album: Pride and Prejudice Movie Soundtrack
I was really surprised that this was my most played album, but upon further reflection I realized that this was the album I listen to when I’m studying. While I don’t have any specific memories associated with this album, this does remind me of all the late nights I’ve spent in Starr Reference room finishing a paper or studying for an exam.
Most Played Song: I’m In Love with You by The 1975
For the past few months, the album Being Funny in a Foreign Language by The 1975, has been on repeat for me and this song has clearly been one of my favorites. Since this album has been a staple for me in the last few months, it reminds me of what I’ve been up to recently which has mostly been running around between different theaters and rehearsal spaces since I’ve been casting one of my shows and been in tech for the other it’s been pretty busy theater-wise. All this to say, this song reminds me of theater which is a really wonderful thing.
Most Played Artist: Taylor Swift
Once again, I was surprised to see this result in my Apple Music Replay. However, the memory that I associate most with Taylor Swift at the moment is listening to her new album with a bunch of my friends in Erica’s Room, a lounge space in Morse. This happened over October break and so it really reminds me of traveling to New York City with my friends and relaxing before classes started again. When I listen to these songs now, they make me think of early October and all of the wonderful memories I made with my friends at that time this year.
Associating music with memories has been one of my favorite tools for making certain moments in time special and this year has been no exception. Looking back at my year in music was a really fun way to reflect on my semester and I’m really looking forward to seeing what this summary looks like and what memories it is connected to next year.
