You know how a song will bring you back to a specific moment in your life? My 2024 was full of those kinds of moments, and listening to my wrapped is like a time machine to them.
This is a little different than my usual posts, but it’s my blog and I do what I want 😜. I’ve linked my playlist here, so feel free to listen along!
Scared to Start takes me back to my trip to Sydney, particularly the rainy days I spent in the blue mountains. This song was my top song for 2024, and reminds me that while the future is unknown, I am able to define my own path – something I feel grateful for every day. Getting to move to Australia, not knowing what I was getting into, has turned out better than I could have ever imagined it.
my friend’s toyota takes me back to the beginning of my road trip in New Zealand, as I was driving north from Christchurch and saw snow for the first time in a year and a half. I could not stop smiling and was so overcome by my missing of Canadian winter that my eyes watered up. My camper van was a Toyota on this trip, and it felt only fitting that this song allowed me to feel totally free to adventure and explore.
The first time I listened to I Had Some Help I was in a car with Lucas and Sydney, en route to the Grampians for a weekend excursion. I was so hyped up for the release of this song, but I recall my initial reaction being somewhat underwhelmed. It’s certainly grown on me! Now, it makes me love my friends for all the support they give me, from near and far.
Caves is the first occurrence Noah Kahan, my 2024 top artist, had on the playlist. Caves doesn’t take me to a particular place in New Zealand (probably because it was on repeat for the majority of the trip), but pulls me back to my Southern Hemisphere winter camping adventure.
My favourite lyrics in Stargazing are:
They say you know it when you know it and I know Promise that you’ll hold me close, don’t let me go Take my heart don’t break it Love me to my bones
This song gives me all the feelings that come with having close and meaningful friendships. While friends may come and go in terms of physical proximity, my friends are people I carry in my heart always. I cherish the intersection our lives get to have, and all the joy and shared experiences that come with. Getting to develop the trust to support each other in times of hardship, and to be there to celebrate our wins. Sydney and I are going to see Myles Smith in May, and I cannot wait.
Murder on the Dance Floor (the remixed version) brings me right back to the Duelling Piano Bar in Byron Bay. Sydney and I spent the evening being treated to the two pianists’ take on many popular songs, including a Miley Cyrus-inspired “Party in Byron Bay”.
SILENT FILM was one of the songs on the soundtrack of my East Coast trip during the April school holidays. Sometimes, I “wish I could tell you I was proud of myself, but I just don’t know how”. My travels in Australia have allowed me to see who I am in isolation of my known environment, and have allowed me to try new things and really figure out who I am. I hope I never stop seeking out new experiences to see who I am and decipher who I want to be tomorrow.
She’s so Mean is a song that pulls me back to stargazing in Outback New South Wales (then driving back in the following thunderstorm!), during the time I spent in Broken Hill in autumn.
Weezer’s Pork and Beans is the anthem I had while starting my job. One day I was invigilating exams and for two hours I had the chorus ingrained in my head:
I’mma do the things that I wanna do I ain’t got a thing to prove to you I’ll eat my candy with the pork and beans Excuse my manners if I make a scene I ain’t gonna wear the clothes that you like I’m fine and dandy with the me inside One look in the mirror and I’m tickled pink I don’t give a hoot about what you think
Now that I read those lyrics, I realize the meaning it has to me and the growth I’ve experienced this year. I’ve really come to terms with the fact that this is the only life I get, and I have to live with myself for the rest of my life. I am choosing myself, and making decisions to curate a life I hope to look back on with pride.
Green Green Grass (Sam Feldt Remix) is a song I discovered through Jess, my housemate. It is a high-energy tune that I love to play when I’m at home in a great mood.
Godlight is another song from my New Zealand trip that evokes feelings of independence and peace.
Free takes me back to when I arrived back in Melbourne from New Zealand, and was having an existential crisis. For six months, my plan was that I was going to be finishing up in Australia, going to New Zealand, then flying back to Canada. It didn’t hit me until I was back on Australian soil that I was staying. I felt paralyzed, in turmoil, lost and directionless. I went for a walk around Richmond and was listening to this song when I found a playground with a zipline. While waiting for Sydney to join me, I had this song on repeat as I played (forever a child at heart!) and felt the lyrics in my soul:
I’m free Right where I wanna be
I am free. I have the agency and autonomy to decide what I do with my life. I’m liberated by this feeling and still paralyzed by it sometimes (the ‘what’s next?’ thinking still gets me on occasion!). At the end of the day, I have the freedom to choose and I had made the decision to stay. This song helped me see that if it doesn’t work out, I can change my mind! I’m not committed to any one life track, and I have the capacity to continue to experience new things, learn and grow.
Burning Down is a song that Sydney and I had on our Stuart Highway Road Trip playlist. We had many hours together in our Rav4, and this is one of the defining songs of our trip.
Ophelia – Sped Up is another high-energy song that just makes me feel good. It transports me to my East Coast trip, traversing across from Broken Hill to Sydney on my train ride.
Pasadena by Quinn XCII has been my latest discovery of the songs on this list. This song makes me feel alive, giving me permission to embrace the meandering path I’m on through life. Each day, I make choices and collect data, evidence, about the person I am and want to be. It asks me “why not?” when I’m thinking about trying something new. Do it for the plot! It reminds me to enjoy the little moments, and not to wish my life away.
I don’t wanna waste another minute wishin’ That we were somewhere else As far as I can tell No one’s telling’ us we gotta stay and do the dishes Yeah, all that sh!t can wait Got too much on our plate We can’t make a little more time The way we can make money, so Let’s spend the rest of our lives Why wait, why wait, why wait when We could make breakfast for dinner Walk the beach in mid-December Drunk for no specific reason Say “I love you” if we feel it
Yes, there will always be more work to do, but time is finite, so go live a little. Be present enough to feel your feelings with your whole heart, and soak up every moment. It’s my life, and I’m going to own it.
The last instalment for this post is Dog Days Are Over. This song plants me back in Lake Tekapo, sitting by a fireplace post-sauna and pre-stargazing tour. I was so cosy, sitting and writing in my journal about my trip so far.
All the places my 2024 music brings me to
So there you have it, the songs that will forever bring me back to some of my favourite moments in 2024. What songs do that for you?
