Juliana Moves

On the way to the gym this morning, I decided to take a short break from Christmas music and shuffled my ‘liked’ playlist on Spotify instead. I first started my Spotify in 2011 (I think), and the variety of music on my liked playlist reflects that. At some point I stopped using my account and mooched off of Erica’s Spotify Premium. Eventually I grew up and went back to using mine. Because of this, there’s a musical gap from roughly 2016-2020. Regardless, it’s amazing how I’ll be casually going through my day listening to music and a new song starts and suddenly the fabric of time and space has ripped and I am back in 2015 doing data entry in the basement of a nutrition building at UT.

In the car, the song Hallucinogenics by Matt Maeseon came on and I could feel myself running on gravel roads in Loudon with Patrick a few years back. It was so cold. I was so stoked to be running 20 miles.

Trees by The Oh Hellos makes me feel the Mexican sunshine tanning my arms as I sit in the square near my homestay when I was teaching English in Queretaro in 2015.

Save Your Scissors by City and Colour puts me right back in my old Jeep, driving around Magnolia and Tomball all summer in 2011. This was also the summer I watched a number of the Harry Potter movies for the first time, so it will always remind me of that too.

Promises (Skrillex & Nero Remix) by Nero reminds me of an extremely specific weekend in high school when I got weirdly into making tiny apple pies. I felt like such an adult going to Kroger and baking something from scratch!

Silhouettes by Of Monsters and Men feels like the cold December air during winter break, freshman year of college. It was the first time I spent a lot of time running in Magnolia. I was having such a good time getting stronger and more confident in my running, but was feeling despair from an unraveling relationship. Honestly? This song has the perfect drama for navigating all those feelings.

Wasting My Young Years by London Grammar is the song that brings me back to doing data entry in college. One semester I was taking a million hours, was doing more and more triathlon training, and had signed up for this extra lab credit to assist a grad student. I was tired all the time. Fortunately, the work was really easy, if not monotonous, so I explored a lot of music and relaxed as much as possible.

Old Pine by Ben Howard makes me feel the pain you love to hate from foam rolling your calves. It was included in the playlist for a Peloton foam rolling video that I did at least 100 times back in 2021. For a while I was good about foam rolling every single morning, so it brings me peace that only being up early can provide.

Steal the Light by The Cat Empire calms me down and lifts me up, just like it did back in 2020 when I’d listen to it on my way home from a rough day being a medical social worker at a nursing home.

King by Florence + the Machine is a slightly harder listen. I’d say it reminds me of the beginning of the end at a toxic job. Listening to it made me aware of the anger I was quietly feeling due to the mistreatment and emotional abuse happening around me.

Welcome to The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses will always bring me to the glorious feeling of running down the street, feeling strong during the Richmond Marathon. How can it not?!

Life in Technicolor by Coldplay will always remind me of sweet Bear. When he passed, Patrick and I agreed that it reminded us of him. It both makes me want to cry and also so grateful for our time with him. 

Lastly, Swim – Reprise by Valley makes me feel awe and inspiration and like the world is full of possibilities. It’s how I was feeling when I listened to it a ton in spring of 2021. Patrick and I were exploring the trails and parks of Virginia, I had just started a new job, and I couldn’t wait to see where life took me!

I danced throughout my entire childhood, so music has always been special to me. I’ve always listened a little closer, both for dance inspiration and for the joy music brings to my life. 

Love,

JN