Listen Up

A walk down memory lane featuring some songs of my youth.

Jan 13, 2023

Happy New Year, friends! I’ve been thinking about theme songs a lot lately, and I’m clearly not the only one. The White Lotus has become known for the opening credits song (it’s an absolute banger) and the memes have been everywhere. I’m also obsessed with Succession’s theme song by Nicholas Britell — the perfect hodgepodge of hip-hop beats mixed with grandiose classical piano. Some other notable mentions over the years include Twin Peaks, Gilmore Girls, Friends, The O.C., New Girl, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Lizzie McGuire, Full House, Laguna Beach, The Brady Bunch, Friday Night Lights, Frasier, All That (yes, from Nickelodeon) and The Flintstones. I apologize in advance if you find yourself singing the lyrics “have a yabba-dabba-doo time” all day.

I’m hoping you’ll indulge me a bit with a walk down memory lane featuring some of my own personal “theme” songs — a handful of songs that shaped my youth.

Disclaimer: Some of these songs are very uncool, but I am who I am so here we are. 🙃

Mariah Carey - “Always Be My Baby”

One of my most vivid childhood memories is playing with the fancy sound system my parents had in the den. I was 8-years-old when Daydream came out and we had the cassette, so I obsessively played this song on repeat (manually rewinding each time) while reading the lyrics and trying to memorize every word. The whole album still slaps.

Avril Lavigne - “My Happy Ending”

This sums up feisty teen Elise so well. I worshipped Avril when she first came on the scene, and even had my mom drive me and a friend several hours to see her show in Atlanta. I was by the front of the stage for most of the concert and then became the crazy fan girl that reached out to her when she got near me. I was so nervous and accidentally ended up grabbing her hair. I’ll never ever forget how crunchy it felt from all her hair product. Those straight locks were definitely not effortless, haha!

Dashboard Confessional - “Again I Go Unnoticed”

I cried so much to Dashboard back in the day, lol. Chris Carrabba creeps me out now. Who remembers their MTV Unplugged live performance and album? I watched it probably a hundred times.

K-Ci & JoJo - “All My Life”

Funny enough, this is one of the first CDs I ever remember buying (along with Britney Spears, *NSYNC and Hanson). I played this song all day every day.

Fuel - “Shimmer”

A bit of a left turn with this one, but I have such a sharp memory of riding around in my older brother’s red Jeep Cherokee while he blasted this, and I felt like the coolest girl in the world.

Destiny’s Child - “Jumpin’, Jumpin’”

My friends and I adored Destiny’s Child and would record ourselves trying to harmonize together. We once choreographed and performed “Bills, Bills, Bills” at the local mall for a radio ticket giveaway contest (spoiler alert: we didn’t win).

Canon Blue - “Honeysuckle (Milwaukee)”

This is my husband’s music and a song of his that was released over 10 years ago. I was friends with Dan for many years before we ever dated, but I’ll never forget in late 2013, I was driving solo up the coast from Los Angeles to Portland and listening to his Rumspringa album. I started getting a fluttery feeling in my gut and was so surprised by it — I think it was the first time I ever considered I might have feelings for him. We started dating the following April. 🥰

Perfume Genius - “No Tear”

This album by Perfume Genius came out during one of my darkest and loneliest years. His pain and fragility was so evident in those early records, and resonated for me so much. I’m still a big fan.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - “Into My Arms”

This song makes my heart burst. Dan has gotten me into Nick Cave over the years, and back in the early days of our dating, he made me the most romantic playlist when we were apart for a couple of weeks. This was the first track.

Coldplay - “The Scientist”

I loved Parachutes, but A Rush Of Blood To The Head really stole my heart. I got to attend The Grammys one year, and I literally ran smack into Chris Martin (confession: I saw him coming but acted like I didn’t). He is somehow even more charming and effervescent in person.

Thanks for joining me on this comical little journey! Of course this is only a sliver of the songs that meant a lot to me, covering a relatively short period of time. But I’m curious, did this spark any of your own musical memories? Did I miss any favorite TV anthems? Have a funny music story? I’d love to hear about it — leave a message in the comments and I'll look forward to talking with you there.

Love,

P.S. Here’s a link to a playlist of all these songs compiled together.

NOTEWORTHY

—Two of my faves, Björk and Robin Wall Kimmerer discuss the consequences of living apart from nature.

—We apparently stop discovering new music around age 30. Do you agree? This made me laugh.

—12 questions to ask yourself when out in nature this year. So good.

PLEASURE

Jennifer Coolidge always brings a smile to my face. I loved her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes and this after-party entrance really got me.

I’m currently reading musician Nick Cave’s Faith, Hope and Carnage book, which I highly recommend. He’s had quite the wild past, and has experienced a lot of difficulty in his life — including the tragic death of his 15-year-old son. His wisdom and words are so moving.

I’ve been making 15 minute Spicy Peanut Noodles a lot lately (vegan and gluten free!), and it really hits the spot. I add some shredded carrots and red bell pepper. Yum.

CONTEMPLATING

How To Deal With Emotionally Immature People. Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris is such a great podcast, and this episode I listened to (via the Doing Well newsletter) was incredibly insightful and helpful for me.

The Secret Power Of The 8-Minute Phone Call. Such a fascinating piece about how brief calls a few times a week can reduce depression, loneliness and anxiety.

How Do We Come Back Together Again? I haven’t listened to this episode yet, but Katherine May’s conversation with Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens is in my queue for this afternoon’s walk around the neighborhood.

Photo Credit: Erwin Blumenfeld, The Eye of Male Mortality, 1947.