Music exists in a nonlinear space.
It may play from start to finish, but the ways it can transport you to a specific moment in time with just a few notes (or several), is magical. Music that comes into your life at just the right moment, like a gut punch to the stomach, is magical. Music is magical.
It's almost eerie how music just pops in like that. I mean, I could probably attribute it to Spotify's algorithms knowing what kind of music to suggest by noting which playlists I've been listening to recently, but I'd rather see it as magic.
Music has always been an important part of my life. My music tastes change so rapidly and I have new favourite songs every couple of weeks. It can be a bit annoying sometimes, to always be changing what kinds of music I like, but it also means that my playlists act almost as diaries. I can go back to any point in a playlist and tell you what was going on in my life when I added it. Well, almost any playlist. The ones that drive the most emotional responses, yes. The one with just Disney songs, not so much.
I could tell you when I fell in love for the first time just by going back in my playlists. I could show you in my playlists when I got my heart broken (numerous times), when I was super stressed about school, when I was finding my niche music genres, and when I was homesick. I know that Spotify tells you when you added songs to your playlists, so just pretend that's covered up while I'm doing this. Songs become embedded in my life. They become the soundtrack to the various chapters of my life.
Music isn't just how I process and cope with life, it's also how I express my feelings. You'll know I really like you if I make a playlist just for you. These playlists aren't just songs I think you'll like, either, they're curated. They are stories — maybe even our story — and they are trying to send a message. Maybe that message is, "I miss you," Maybe it's, "I love you." Either way, the order of the songs is very important. Always listen to those playlists in the order they're arranged (although sometimes it's just a matter of moving a few songs around just so it doesn't jump from a dance beat to a slow acoustic guitar — I like transitions to be smooth).
I don't know where I would be without music. There have been so many instances where I discover a new song and it just fits so perfectly with where I am at in life, almost like it was meant to be. And sometimes listening to those songs affect my perception of what I'm going through. Maybe the lyrics offer a new perspective, a new way of thinking about the problem or the feelings, or maybe they resonate so clearly and it comforts me to know I am not alone.
And, because I am weird, I sometimes listen to songs from the perspectives of other people, almost as if they were the ones saying it to me instead of the artist. And in those instances where you are lacking answers or closure or anything like that, it kind of helps to pretend that they are the ones singing to you. It's as close to an answer as you may ever get.
My playlists are time capsules. They are essentially diaries in a more digestible format: music. They are musically curated moments of my life in one convenient location. And if you ever what to know how I'm doing or what I'm feeling, just take a look at which songs I've been listening to.
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