The M’s Playlist: Alisa’s April of Appreciation

Being asked to curate a personalized collection of songs for The M’s Playlist took me a minute to figure out. It made me realize how small a role music has come to play in my life since the days of my childhood and adolescence. I grew up surrounded by the arts, and at one point, I began to center my studies around concerts, albums, reading musical biographies, and the like. With time, I slowly stopped identifying with entertainers and, eventually, I learned to no longer depend on music to help me regulate my emotions or improve my mood. 

In 2022, I deleted my Spotify account, became less interested in watching music videos, and developed a preference for the mechanical wails of my car over Top 40 radio hits. Don’t get me wrong, though I now ardently prize silence and the mental space that it creates, I still admire music for all its beauty and power. I still value performers as much as anyone can, and I enjoy the fact that songs play everywhere—regardless of whether I’m actively listening to them or not.

So, in reflecting upon my experiences of this academic year as it ends, I brought these twelve songs together in appreciation of all the everyday moments and events that they were a part of. I think of the time when Chris Stapleton’s performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 2023 Super Bowl made me nostalgic for his bluesy vibrato on Justin Timberlake’s “Say Something.” I remind myself of the warm November day at Scotiabank Arena when I witnessed the salsa-king charisma of Marc Anthony, and when, just two weeks ago, I spontaneously attended John Mayer’s first-ever solo acoustic tour in the same Toronto venue. 

From New Order playing in the background as my best friend and I drove to the mall, to testing out my friend’s record player with a Harry’s House vinyl before we watched Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva—with our long-standing fondness of Indian movies—songs like “Blue Monday,” “Cinema,” and “Kesariya” bring up simple memories, too. 

“Ay-Yo” by NCT 127 is the one song I can’t ascribe to a memory because I’m unexplainably in love with K-pop. The way that the song seamlessly mixes music genres, its tastefully garish aesthetic, and its angular yet dizzying choreography… K-pop is a love on its own.

With that, welcome to this month’s mix!