Have you noticed how many songs are about being 17? I love the Sharon Van Etten one, Seventeen - and played it to my daughter when she was 17 every time she got in the car. I guess 17 is a liminal time, truly between teen and adulthood. The age 14 has a similar energy for me. Lovely piece. Thank you for sharing the intimate nature of your playlist.
I'd forgotten about that one! And When I Was Seventeen by Saint Etienne. There's another one I have in my mind that I'm not sure I've got right. An old one that counts through the ages, 17, 21...
Totally get what you mean about both 14 and 17. I was most definitely still a child at 13 (the age my eldest is now) but 14 felt very different and life changed. 17, too. Even more significant than 18 in many ways.
I’ve made a playlist for each year since 2019. Mostly they’ve been made up of songs I like that were new to me in that year, but 2025’s is shaping up to be more “classic” mix tape - so far it’s songs that make me feel a particular way. I think I might be subconsciously building a playlist to help me get into the frame of mind I need to work on my memoir project.
I've tried this, Ellen, as in getting to the end of the year and considering making a playlist of all the songs that have touched me in some ways, but then I get overwhelmed and abandon it! Yes to building the playlist over time for your manuscript -- so glad to hear this! We'll be sharing this sort of stuff in a few weeks in MIAM too!
I have a playlist called hip hop I like. I put it on to get me in a flow. Sometimes I listen to it to do readings. I rarely tell anyone I listen to hip hop in case it comes across as trying be something I'm not but to be honest, being a gen X I feel like I grew up with it. I love it. It gives me confidence, energy and soul.
Yes yes, the music that tells the stories of our lives, I’ve been thinking about this so much lately. What resonates, what transports me, what moves me. I’m not a Coldplay diehard but there’s a line that’s been running through my mind on repeat lately, as I’m thinking about the “what’s next” of it all…
Oh, love this Ingrid. What song are these lyrics from? I've got so much affection for Parachutes. The whole album just takes me back to being 17 and at art college. SO dreamy, actually, those songs. In my mind, I pair that album with Travis's The Man Who which came out the year before. Lots of melancholy!
Have you noticed how many songs are about being 17? I love the Sharon Van Etten one, Seventeen - and played it to my daughter when she was 17 every time she got in the car. I guess 17 is a liminal time, truly between teen and adulthood. The age 14 has a similar energy for me. Lovely piece. Thank you for sharing the intimate nature of your playlist.
I'd forgotten about that one! And When I Was Seventeen by Saint Etienne. There's another one I have in my mind that I'm not sure I've got right. An old one that counts through the ages, 17, 21...
Totally get what you mean about both 14 and 17. I was most definitely still a child at 13 (the age my eldest is now) but 14 felt very different and life changed. 17, too. Even more significant than 18 in many ways.
I’ve made a playlist for each year since 2019. Mostly they’ve been made up of songs I like that were new to me in that year, but 2025’s is shaping up to be more “classic” mix tape - so far it’s songs that make me feel a particular way. I think I might be subconsciously building a playlist to help me get into the frame of mind I need to work on my memoir project.
I've tried this, Ellen, as in getting to the end of the year and considering making a playlist of all the songs that have touched me in some ways, but then I get overwhelmed and abandon it! Yes to building the playlist over time for your manuscript -- so glad to hear this! We'll be sharing this sort of stuff in a few weeks in MIAM too!
I have a playlist called hip hop I like. I put it on to get me in a flow. Sometimes I listen to it to do readings. I rarely tell anyone I listen to hip hop in case it comes across as trying be something I'm not but to be honest, being a gen X I feel like I grew up with it. I love it. It gives me confidence, energy and soul.
OK, I'm going to be very honest here and tell you there's a hip hop chunk in the Liked Songs playlist. Late 90s, really bouncy tracks. Mace, Q-Tip...
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1N89jy3CllyoYn1OK5pHvH?si=up_vwGf-SR-a4zJ5dcEKKQ&pi=YlXBzuY6SCKXM
LOVE a hip hop playlist! I’m a gen y and feel I grew up with it too.
YES! Run-D.M.C, Beastie Boys!
Oh God yes! Sabotage.
Yes yes, the music that tells the stories of our lives, I’ve been thinking about this so much lately. What resonates, what transports me, what moves me. I’m not a Coldplay diehard but there’s a line that’s been running through my mind on repeat lately, as I’m thinking about the “what’s next” of it all…
“I'm not looking for somebody
With some superhuman gifts
Some superhero
Some fairytale bliss
Just something I can turn to
Somebody I can miss
I want something just like this”
Oh, love this Ingrid. What song are these lyrics from? I've got so much affection for Parachutes. The whole album just takes me back to being 17 and at art college. SO dreamy, actually, those songs. In my mind, I pair that album with Travis's The Man Who which came out the year before. Lots of melancholy!