Flashback On A Film Reel…
We all have those favorite songs that can take you back into the exact moment you first heard them. It’s why music is so universal, yet powerful on an individual level. Someone else may listen to “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift and think back on a relationship that ended and still lingers in the back of their mind, but whenever I hear the iconic track 5 song, I remember driving down the main street of my small hometown on a fall afternoon of my senior year of high school listening to it nonstop, crying over a boy I wasn’t even dating. The point is, we all have experienced this phenomenon. But since I acquire a lot of my music inventory (like 80%) from the soundtrack of all the TV shows I watch, this affects me a little differently sometimes. Instead of relating on a personal level to certain songs, I get transported to the exact scene in which the song played in the respective show, and it’s forever tied to those fictional characters that I grew to love.
For example, I have a strong visceral reaction whenever the song “Looking Too Closely” by Fink plays because I’m immediately reminded of the scene where Sheriff Stilinski starts remembering his son Stiles in season 6 of Teen Wolf. As the song plays, the pieces of Stiles’ room (which was hidden when he was “taken” by the ghost riders and therefore forgotten by everyone he knew) slowly become revealed—from his lacrosse jersey on his chair to the iconic crime board with the red string.
And if you know me IRL, you’re familiar with my (former) obsession with The 100 and I can’t hear “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” without getting emotional because of the season 2 finale where Clarke leaves Bellamy behind with a hug and kiss on the cheek because she can’t face what she did in Mount Weather. (The only reason I’m not still singing its praises is because the writers completely ruined the plotline + character development in final season like Game of Thrones, but worse)
I also solely associate the artist Ruelle with Shadowhunters (RIP). Ruelle is one of those artists that has such a distinctive, delicate voice that can be recognized immediately—like Matt Berninger from The National + Dan Smith from Bastille—plus her music is very cohesive so the songs all sound very similar to one another. Beyond her literally singing the theme song for Shadowhunters, I swear every song in her discography was used across the 3 seasons it was on air. It’s definitely why I can’t hear her music without thinking of the series (+ Malec 4ever). Fun Fact: a lot of her music is also used in Scream the TV series + Love Island UK season 5 (Molly Mae + Tommy 4ever).
I’ve actually compiled a playlist you can listen to on Spotify that solely consists of these types of songs that give me this feeling, including these notable highlights:
Ava by Famy (from Teen Wolf 5x1)
Where’s My Love by SYML (from Teen Wolf 5x14)
Toluca Lake by Tep No (from The Magicians 4x4)
Colored Walls / Fly Low by SVIBES (from Four Weddings & A Funeral 1x6)
The Fall by RITUAL (from Eye Candy 1x9)
No One’s Here to Sleep by Naughty Boy + Bastille (from How To Get Away With Murder 1x4)