Since the beginning of my teenagehood, music has consistently been a central part of my life. Music found me on train rides to school, occasionally on a record player at home, at the gym, and of course at the computer. Music not only serves as entertainment, but also as a means for me to connect with the past. I find listening to music to be the easiest way to evoke memories. Music can also be seen as a reflection of oneself, as proven by my ever-evolving taste in tunes. Therefore I have assembled a timeline of my music-listening career.
One aspect of music that has always interested me the most is for sure the beat or instrumentals of a song. I tend to gravitate towards songs with interesting/unique beats that could be considered "ear candy". Lyrics have never been an important part of music for me, don't get me wrong I do appreciate lyrics, however the beat takes higher priority. I love, rather, the perfect combination of a unique experimental beat with a catchy verse. My two favorite artists (MF Dom and TV Girl) sum up this taste in music quite well: from Madlib's addicting beats combined with Doom's endless rhymes to TV Girl's hypnotizing instrumentals paired with a lyrical story.
Since music has a lot to do with memory, I wanted to chronologically sort my favorite songs by the date that I discovered them for the first time. This I have done, and I have named the playlist "maudlin melodies". Now, probably just like you,
I did not know what "maudlin" meant before embarking on this musical adventure.
So here's the internet's definition of the word:
maudlin - (of a book, film, or song) highly sentimental
Sentimental is probably the best word that could be used to describe my relationship with the songs in this playlist. I grew up with these songs, and they shaped me into the person I am today.
The transitions in my music taste over time correlate with changes in my life. Therefore, I associate certain groups of songs with specific stages of my life.
Listening to older songs on this playlist sends me on a bittersweet trip down memory lane.
If you would like to follow along you can access the playlist below or by clicking here.
I'll be summarizing the playlist "maudlin melodies" with a timeline of sorts. Within this timeline I'll highlight, and explain the grounds for, distinct changes in music taste.
For your convenience, I have provided the index range (unsorted) of the songs referenced under each event in the timeline, so you can follow along!
So, without further ado, let's check out my
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Before 2021 I did not have a concrete taste in music, I pretty much just listented to those chart playlists on spotify featuring the current top 50 songs, and I'm not fond of any of those songs anymore.
#1 - #6
This all changed in 2021 where I finally started listening to my own stuff. I mostly listened to mainstream rap, specifically
Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, $NOT, and Trippie Red.
My most listened to albums from 2021 were Luv is Rage 2, Whole Lotta Red, Playboi Carti, and Tragedy.
Most of the songs from this era don't really get listens anymore, but I definitely still listen to carti & kendrick from time to time.
#7 - #15
In 10th grade, I made new friends who possesssed a vested interest in music unlike me at the time. We created a group chat called "music rec" to share songs with each other. This was the moment when my musical palette really exploded. I was recommended plenty of songs that I still consider outstanding to this day. Listening to these songs also exposed me to new genres of music that popped up in my discovery weekly playlist.
#16 - #33
As previously mentioned, listening to various new genres of music expanded my music taste to new horizons. For the first time, since I started using spotify, my discovery weekly was a reliable source of good music.
I found these songs in late spring/early summer 2022, this was also the start of me getting into bodybuilding. I still remember doing home workouts on my hard wooden floor listening to these songs on repeat.
My self-confidence began to take a turn for the better as I started becoming more athletic, and I started going out with my friends.
These songs mark my first time going out to parties, drinking alcohol, and living a more adventurous life. good times.
#34 - #48
Towards the end of 2022 I discovered my two favorite artists of all time because of my friends from the aforementioned "music rec" group. I knew about MF Doom before, but I had never taken the time to actually listen to some of his songs. However after listening to Operation Doomsday, Madvillainy, and MM..FOOD; I was hooked. I currently own those three albums as vinyls, and listen to them regularly. Due to MF Doom I also discovered Sade and Westside Gunn, and I have included a song of each in the mix, as well as a japanese rap song. The unique instrumentals of Cigarettes out the Window initially roped me in, and as I've branched out to lesser-known songs from the band I have found so many hidden gems!
#49- #53
In the Spring of 2023, after 4 months, I broke off a confusing relationship I had with a girl, in a poorly manner. This led me to have feelings I had never felt before in my life, and I coped with these feelings by reading books and listening to pop music. Despite being used as a coping mechanism, the music stuck with me. Beabadoobee was the artist I chose to help me through the month that followed.
#54 - #66
'Twas the sweet hot summer of '23, and (little did I know it at the time) I met the love of my life on a fateful summery sunday evening. There was a sudden shift in my music taste when I met Tully; her music flooded my playlists. At this point I was getting quite tired of listening to the same music over & over again, thus Tully's music was a gift to my ears. I vividly remember listening to her favorite songs, on a speaker, in her apartment while we cooked together. There's something magical about those memories. It was the summer of first-love for me, and the summer of adventures.
#67 - #68
In the middle of 2023 I unfortunately contracted what I think was mono (mononucleosis). I was literally bed-ridden for a week, and to pass the time I listened to a lot of music. So much that I even made a dedicated playlist whilst my body fought off the virus. I featured two of my favorite songs from this playlist on "maudlin melodies". Mono was probably the most sick I have ever been, so I had to put it in here.
#69 - #71
My 2024 summer was an amazing experience, and the music that went with it was phenomenal as well. First I graduated high school, and went to Croatia for a week with my entire grade. Then I flew to Barcelona with my friends, slept on a beach at midnight, and found some dope clothes. Next, I road tripped with my family in America, and I had a reunion with my childhood friends. (check out my instagram)
#72 - #82
Due to complications with my University application I did not manage to get into University, and I had to take a half gap year. In this time I worked a 6 month internship as a full stack dev for a company in Berlin. I had distanced myself from some friends, and my other friends had gone off to university. Though I had plenty of opportunities to spend time with Tully; my social life practically fell apart. I fell into a tiny depression during the winter, as my work became more and more monotonous. My coping mechanism, seeing a pattern now, was books and music. I went back to my roots and listened to the new TV Girl albums, and I branched out a little into shoegaze/emo music.
#83 - #88
In 2025, I started relistening to my old music which prompted me to make this timeline in the first place. I searched for songs from my favorite artists that I hadn't discovered yet. My friend introduced me to another rapper with infectous rhythm known as Big L. Other than that I've been kind of lost recently when it comes to music. My discovery weeklies have been all but helpful as of late; since I've only been able to extract a couple good songs in the last couple months. However I know I will stumble across some musical gold sooner or later.
#89 - infinity
I threw in some songs that didn't make the playlist despite being quite good, since they didn't really fit in anywhere.