The Unexpected Songs That Shape Our Lives

At one point in the not-so-distant-past, the ultimate gesture of romance was a mixtape. Later, it was a carefully burned CD, or now, a bespoke playlist subtly slid into your texts with a title just cryptic enough to feel like a secret. They’re tokens of longing, little love letters disguised as tracklists. They’re proof that someone has not only thought of you, but has done so with a passion that can only be conveyed through loaded lyrics.

But let’s be honest — while receiving a mixtape may be enough to make you melt into a puddle, the act of making a playlist is rarely selfless. It's part romance, part performance. You're not just saying, “this is how I feel about you,” you're also saying, “this is who I want you to think I am.” The rare demo, the clever deep cut, the moody indie ballad: it's as much about curating your own identity as it is about connection.

And even with all that introspection and careful curation, the truth is that the songs that really stay with us are rarely so polished. They arrive by accident: overheard at a party, played on repeat in a childhood kitchen, tied to someone you didn't plan to fall for. They stick not because someone chose them for us, but because life did. They're messy, unplanned, sometimes cringeworthy, sometimes transcendent.

And even despite this lack of poise and intention, there’s an undeniable, gritty romance that comes with the accidental soundtrack to one’s own life. Far from the heart-wrenching and horny playlist you’d craft for someone special, or even the bangers you’d share with your closest friends, we each carry with us an honest, deeply authentic track record (and record of tracks).

Some Songs for Your Consideration:

Everyone’s playlist will be unique—this much is undeniable. However, when it comes to reflecting upon your own curation, I’d like to throw out some themes for your perusal:

1. The track blasting from those blown-out club speakers the first time you used your fake ID, your heart beating so fast you swear you could levitate.

2. The song you played every single time a plane took off, half good-luck charm, half mantra.

3. The song you listened to on repeat after a breakup, walking laps around your neighbourhood as it gradually became dark.

4. The weirdly emotional ballad from the home insurance ad that made your dad tear up, even as he insisted it was just something in his eye.

5. The classical swell in the first movie that made you cry, the strings you still can't hear without feeling your throat catch.

6. The song you avoided for years, only to rediscover it one night and realize it didn’t hurt anymore.

7. That one song your mum used to dance to in the car, the one that makes you wish you could time-travel and meet the 25-year-old version of her.

8. The track you always put on before walking into a big meeting, as if it were armour.

9. The emo anthem you screamed into your pillow, convinced no one in the world understood you.

10. The track that became the anthem of that carefree, sweet road trip through Texas.

11. The song you couldn’t believe was on someone else’s list, too.

These are the songs you'd never put on a first date playlist. They're too specific, too revealing, too tied to moments that only make sense to you. But they're also more honest than anything you've ever carefully curated. They're proof that the most meaningful soundtracks aren't chosen, but collected along the messy way.

Of course, no playlist stays private forever. Songs have a way of leaking through the edges of our lives, stolen from the people we love: a sibling who claimed the aux cord, a friend who forced their favorite chorus into your head until you couldn't hear it without smiling, a lover who sent you something at midnight that made every lyric feel like a secret note.

Over time, their music weaves itself into your soundtrack, and yours into theirs. The lines blur: what started as my playlist gradually becomes ours, a collage of inherited melodies and shared memories.

Maybe that's the quiet magic of it all, that we don't always get to decide which are the songs and the moments and the people that define us. Instead, sometimes the songs are collected through the simple friction of being alive. No algorithm can predict the way a random Tuesday will tattoo itself onto a three-minute track, or how a stranger's playlist at a house party will rewire your brain. The most important songs in your life will always be the ones you never saw coming.