Soundtrack to our Memories
Music can be a time machine. Source: Rosie Leishman.
Music evokes nostalgia and holds a sacred space in our minds. It’s like a comfort, something universal but equally personal and unique to us. We all have those artists that take us back to times when things felt a bit easier.
Whether it was during childhood, high school, or even our first year of university, there are songs, albums, and rusty Spotify playlists that take us back down memory lane when we press play. Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a song that takes you back in time.
In January, Atlas Records published an article arguing that what makes music so nostalgic are the following components: emotional connection, memory recall, cultural and generational identity, and temporal context – meaning the period of time.
This is definitely true for me. My artist is Taylor Swift, and like many members of the 2000s cohort, Ms. Swift’s many albums across her various genres represent distinct eras of my life so far.
But this fond feeling of home differs for each person, artist, and generation, as music genres change through the years.
For Liam Donnelly, Program Director for RDU and two-year Canta Editor, it’s The Killers, Coldplay, and Queen. “I was raised on Queen,” said Donnelly.
But it’s the song “Human” by The Killers that really brings him a sense of nostalgia. “I remember me and my cousin dancing around to that song. I don’t know why I so distinctly remember it but I must’ve really enjoyed that moment… I think of it so fondly.”
Donnelly describes music like “a time stamp on your life”.
“If the song instantly takes me to a stage in life… that is nostalgia,” he said
He visualises it as being like an episode of That’s So Raven. When she has a vision, Raven sees the future – but in the case of nostalgic music, it’s like we go back to the past.
Skipping a generation or two, I asked my mum, Jo, who her special artist was and where that music transports her.
She said “Peter Frampton” – an artist I haven’t even heard of.
Listening to Frampton’s music reminds her of hanging out with her schoolmates in late 1970s Timaru on a Friday night.
“It fills my heart with joy and a whole lot of fun memories,” she said.
“Nostalgic music reminds you that you had many happy times with great people. It takes me back to a special age when I kept wondering what was coming next in life for me, with so much curiosity for my future.”
Taylor Swift’s fanbase is one of the most passionate in the world. Source: Supplied / Emma Holland.
Studies have found that when we listen to music, the brain’s visual cortex lights up, causing us to connect the sound to visuals and memory – like “sensory snapshots” to hold onto.
Music is the soundtrack to our best memories, and shapes our lifelong musical preferences.
There are also psychological benefits, from greater social connection and encouraging a sense of optimism to improving our moods and relieving stress.
Samuel Mehr, Senior Lecturer of Psychology at the University of Auckland, said “people have very precise memory for music.”
Mehr is the director of The Music Lab, an international research group focusing on the psychology of music.
In his work with The Music Lab, Mehr found that even when other cognitive abilities are substantially impaired, for example in Alzheimer's disease, “music perception is often preserved.”
This proves the special relationship between our favourite nostalgic singalongs and the memories attached to them.
Fellow UC student and Swiftie, Emma Holland, 19, also describes Taylor Swift as “by far” her most nostalgic artist.
“Thinking about the music I’d play on my stereo brings back great joy. I had stacks of CDs from artists including One Direction, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, but most prominently Taylor Swift… she was so eye-opening to seven-year-old me.”
But unlike Queen or Peter Frampton, Taylor Swift is still making music. “My love for Taylor’s music never really faded out,” said Holland.
“With her recent releases, I have reconnected with that niche fandom I had when I was seven, and am openly proud to be a Swiftie!”
This new music will soon become nostalgic for kids listening now as they make their own childhood memories. Even as students and young adults, it’s strange to think the music we’re listening to will become nostalgic in years to come.
Whether it’s what we turn on when we’re with our mates at pres, or anthems we belt in our cars, or songs we study to, the music around us at this moment will remind us of this chapter in our lives – taking us back to these good ol’ days.