Tracking Down Tunes: Oh, Nostalgia

We're back for Tracking Down Tunes! Lindsey of Bring My Books & I are teaming up on this collaboration, inspired by our mutual desire to broaden our musical horizons. Basically, we both listen to music the same way: we find a favorite artist or album or track and listen to it nonstop. In an effort to diversify the music we listen to, we decided it would be fun to go out of our way to listen to new songs - and that it would be even better if we could recommend stuff to each other. So, every month, we'll be sharing our monthly playlists (for the previous month) with all of you!

I'm one of those people who hoards ticket stubs and birthday cards, photo strips and little notes; I love collecting mementos and sifting through them to relive a moment, a feeling, a relationship. While I'm all about living in the present, and planning for the future, I also find that it's important to look back at all that's happened in the past. How is this connected to today's edition of Tracking Down Tunes, you may ask? Well, it's simple - this month, Lindsey and I are going to be sharing a playlist filled with songs that remind us of specific moments in our lives. 

Wherever You Go / Coco Lee - When I was a kid, right before my family moved back to the Philippines, my sister Mel and I went on a day trip to King's Dominion with my dad. He always rotated between two CDs in the car in those days - one by Gina G, and the other by Coco Lee. I remember sitting in the car, hearing this song play and just watching the scenery fly by the window.

Sometimes / Britney Spears - In my younger years (right when I was on the cusp of turning into a teenager), my entire extended family had huge Christmas parties every single year... and all the young people were required to perform. Together with my siblings and cousins, I remember coming up with, rehearsing and performing a routine to this song. It was definitely fun, to say the least, and I was super excited to be able to do a number to a song I liked so much at that time.

Don't Say You Love Me / M2M - Don't ask me how or why, but I really have a random memory associated with this song. When I was still in elementary school, for one of my P.E. classes, we were required to come up with a group dance number. I believe this was around the time the first Pokemon film came out in theaters, and my friends and I were obsessed with the soundtrack. We chose to do a routine inspired by this song. While I don't remember the routine anymore, I do remember bringing in a CD with this song on it for our graded performance.

Uptown Girl / Westlife - I am still really, really obsessed with the Westlife cover of this Billy Joel original. I adored the music video (which is still one of my favorites ever), and I adored Westlife, so it's a no brainer that I obviously adored the song. There are two things I associate with this song: 1) seeing an ad on television for Westlife's Southeast Asian tour featuring bits of this song, which led to 2) seeing Westlife perform this song live at my first ever concert. Good times, friends, good times.

All You Wanted / Michelle Branch - I love, love, love Michelle Branch. While my aspirations to learn how to properly play guitar fell to the wayside, my deep love of her music is still around. This song, in particular, is one that is so memorable to me because it reminds me of the very first time I performed in front of a huge crowd. It was a school assembly, and a bunch of my friends played the guitar, and I sang in front of everyone. I was super nervous, but it turned out well (from what I recall and what my friends recall too!)

Ignition (Remix) / R. Kelly - Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I feel like most people have that one song they associate with their prom. Well, this is that song for me. While I did go to prom with a date (it was a family friend's son, and was totally orchestrated by our relatives), I mostly spent the night having a blast with my group of friends. This was a song that everyone just started dancing and singing along to, and I'll forever treasure that memory.

You Can't Stop The Beat / from Hairspray - This song takes me right back to my freshman year at university, where I was heavily involved in the newbie production of a theater organization called Blue Repertory. This production was my initiation into the org, and I served as the musical stage manager. I picked this song out of the many we featured because, fun fact, this is the song that first made Macky (who was the director of this show, by the way; it's how we met) notice me. There was a day when one of the cast wasn't at rehearsal and I ended up having to sing her bit of the song. He wasn't expecting that voice to come out of someone who seemed very reserved, so it definitely got his attention. (And the rest is history.)

The Man Who Can't Be Moved / The Script - It was summertime. The day was breezy and cool, hints of an impending thunderstorm looming in the scattered gray clouds. My friend Jaymee and I had just come off of a really filling buffet lunch at at Filipino restaurant, and were headed to Rumsey Playfield to see The Script live. The entire concert was incredible, an experience that can never be replicated. Hearing this particular tune, which is one of their most well-known and one of my favorites, was just so darn cool.

I See the Light / from Tangled - Macky and I got engaged in April 2012, which was also the year he decided to host a birthday concert where he, his family and his friends would perform just for fun. It was the first time I had ever sang in front of people I knew, and sang a song that challenged me vocally too - and there's a recording of it somewhere out there. I will always think of this song fondly because I have a specific memory of only seeing Macky while I sang it to him, even though everyone else was in the room with us.

Ever After / Carrie Underwood (Let it be noted that Spotify does not have Carrie's version, so I'm adding Jordan Pruitt's instead. But listen to Carrie's if you have the time, because hers is fantastic.) - I will always think of my wedding day (my third anniversary is coming up next week) when I hear this song. It captures the feel of our special day perfectly, joyous and blessed and wonderful and a dream come true. Plus, we ended up actually using it in one of our wedding video edits!