Songs of My Life — Unpublished

During these strange times of prolonged quarantine, I’ve turned to music as a way to cope with this sudden decrease of physical contact in my life. This collection of songs doesn’t really have a theme, it’s really just songs that I’ve fallen in love with over this past year or so. A year ago this month, I went home for the first time, because of Thanksgiving break, since moving to Los Angeles for college. All of these photos in this collection are taken on film from this past year. Throughout this process of creating a visual accompaniment to music that I love so dearly, it has been interesting for me to associate moments that I think fondly about and connect them to songs. The making of this photo essay made me recognize and appreciate why music is so powerful; songs are these little capsules of time and emotion that anyone can make their own.

Songs of my life:

1. Bags by Clairo - This song is probably my favorite song of all time. Not only do I feel every emotion when I listen to this song, but the way Clairo articulates the wavering feeling of being vulnerable with someone you like is the most beautiful part to me.

2. Best to You by Blood Orange - Blood Orange is a genius. That’s all.

3. Shawty By Remi Wolf - This song transports me back to freshman year of college, specifically the fall semester. Before I would go out to clubs or parties with my friends, we would play this song during our pre-games. This song is fun and lighthearted and makes me want to dance. Always a happy vibe when this song plays.

4. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers - I have been a Phoebe Bridgers fan since she released Stranger in the Alps. When Bridgers came out with her sophomore album Punisher during quarantine this summer, I became even more obsessed with her music. The title track of the album rips my heart out (in the best way possible) every time I listen to it.

5. Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves - My sister and I got really into Kacey Musgraves my senior year of high school, the same time her album Golden Hour was released. On our morning drives to school, we would play “Slow Burn” almost every day. It is the perfect song to begin your day with; it’s warm melodies paired with Musgraves’s silky voice makes waking up that much more pleasant.

6. Prom by SZA - One of the more prominent albums that shaped my teenage years was SZA’s album Ctlr. “Prom” is a song that instantly puts me in a better mood. It’s upbeat tone and steady percussion progression is juxtaposed with the song’s somber lyrics, creating a depth that SZA is a master at.

7. Loro by Pinback - Pinback’s “Loro” gives me a sense of grounding every time I hear it.

8. Lifetime by Yves Tumor - This song is honestly a masterpiece. The heavy emphasis on drums in the song makes me feel like I’m disappearing into a void. This is about the yearning for a past time in your life, missing people that you once were so close with like family or old friends.

9. Pink in the Night by Mitski - Mitski truly knows how to make a painful and heartbreaking song that leaves the listener hopeful at its end. This atmospheric love ballad centers around a visual of someone glowing pink because they are so in love and infatuated with their crush. What an honor it is to feel so intensely about another human being. May we all experience this in our lifetime.

10. Woods by Mac Miller - Isolation has been rough and has made me feel like my life has been in this weird groundhog-day loop the past few months. However, this song reminds me that life will go on and so will I. Quarantine won’t last forever.