Music is inseparable from memory, so you better hope it’s good music you’re listening to!
By Sam Santos
Human memory works in strange ways, none more intriguing than how music can impact it. There are certain moments in our lives that we attach to a song, even if insignificant or seemingly mundane.
As I write this intro while waiting for my international literature lecture to start, a girl I don’t know got up and played Ghost by Justin Bieber on the piano, much to everyone’s surprise. I’m not the biggest “Belieber,“ but I know the next time I hear the song I’ll remember this particular moment.
Music has the power to transcend time and space. It manifests itself in our memory, sometimes subconsciously. For me personally, there are certain moments in my life that are inseparable from a particular song or artist.
Imagine a collection of songs you despise greatly. Now imagine listening to them on repeat during the course of a 10-hour shift at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), a fair that takes place over 18 days in August and September every year in Toronto, in the sweltering heat of August. Unfortunately, I don’t have to imagine!.
I ran a carnival game by myself with no coworkers nearby, so taking in the sights and sounds was the majority of the job. There were rare positives in this regard, like when an Amy Winehouse tribute concert was held within earshot. Most of the time though, I was subject to a loop of the same songs over and over. I don’t remember all of them, but here are some notable examples.
Girls Like You (feat. Cardi B) by Maroon 5
Some people like it when a Maroon 5 song includes a random rap verse for help on the Billboard charts. I am not one of those people. I thought I didn’t like Cardi B before, but after hearing this track on repeat, that disdain has grown to heights I didn’t think were possible.
I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
I admit I am biased enough to give this song a pass. One of my earliest memories of music is dancing to I Gotta Feeling at my friend’s 4th birthday party in 2010. No complaints here.
bad guy by Billie Eilish
Eilish’s vocal technique is very unique and I happen to really enjoy some of her stuff. When it comes to bad guy, something about the xylophone-like refrain throughout the song just makes me want to fill my ears with cement.
Cha Cha Slide by Mr. C The Slide Man
This is another musical memory within a musical memory, because most Ontario Gen-Z kids will recall hearing this song at some point in their journey through the public school system.
However, by no means do I ever want to listen to it on repeat again, no matter how sweet it was to hear as a kid. Hearing this song upwards of 10 times a day was truly akin to being waterboarded with Kool-Aid.
Cold Heart – PNAU Remix by Elton John, Dua Lipa, PNAU
I will not stand for this crude bastardization of Rocketman… enough said.
Baby Shark by Pinkfong
The most egregious inclusion on this list by a wide margin has to be this children’s hit. There are very few songs that could even dream of competing with the repetitive abhorrence of Baby Shark. The fact that it was even included in the playlist boggles my mind.
I have much more positive memories of songs that I listened to willingly. The Morning by The Weeknd, from his 2011 mixtape House Of Balloons, has an ironically misleading title. The dark synths and cold lyrics are more reminiscent of a drunken Friday night bleeding into Saturday, certainly not anything bright or cheery. At some point during the summer of 2022 though, I began listening to The Morning to start my day.
I’m not sure if someone put the idea in my head or not, but that was my wake-up soundtrack for quite a while. That song, and by extension, the entire mixtape, contains themes of heavy partying, self-destruction and regret. I think that in addition to those main themes, it symbolizes the breaking down of walls and having to confront reality eventually. Something about the brutal honesty of that has always been appealing to me.
I bought a House Of Balloons vinyl from Sonic Boom Records on Spadina Avenue that same summer. It was the only copy in the bin and I felt like I had just won the lottery. The two friends who were with me that day didn’t quite grasp the magnitude of me randomly finding that record, but it was one of the highlights of my summer. That day was extremely hot, into the high 30s, and we explored the dimly-lit malls of Chinatown to escape the heat.
Record collecting is an expensive but rewarding hobby. Not only do you get to physically own music you love, but you get to tell the stories associated with acquiring that music.
The folks at Sonic Boom Records were kind enough to let me take some pictures in the store for the thumbnail of this story. While I was there, I found a signed copy of Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled Unmastered. Turns out, even writing about musical memories can lead to making more of them.
The last memory I want to share also relates to the CNE (and Kendrick Lamar), but thankfully is more positive than the previous story. Before the fair itself, my job interview took place at the Exhibition grounds. I was, admittedly, quite nervous.
The interview went well and I was hired on the spot. I remember walking away with a silent fist pump before popping in my AirPods and shuffling my playlist. No More Parties In LA by Kanye
West and Kendrick Lamar was the song that came up first. An unconventional celebratory song? Absolutely. But sometimes unconventional is exactly what you’re in the mood for.
When it comes down to it, you can’t avoid some less-favourable songs from seeping into your mental hard drive every once in a while. I’m thankful for that, though. It makes the good musical memories all the more enjoyable.
