Last weekend I had this wild flashback to teen-Jen’s high school bedroom…
Walls painted midnight blue. A black-and-white Ambercrombie poster of a heartthrob holding a football, taped next to the window. My parents’ collection of vintage vinyl’s lining the top of each wall. Glow-in-the-dark stars scattered across the ceiling; a letterman jacket tossed on the bed. Me, praying to God he would give me lips like Topanga Lawrence…
And then like it was yesterday, Goo Goo Dolls, Dizzy Up the Girl, track five, breezing through my stereo speakers. Is it weird I remembered it was track five?
Baby’s black balloon makes her fly
I almost fell into that hole in your life
And you’re not thinking about tomorrow
‘Cause you were the same as me…
That moment, that memory, that song…it was a total time machine. Music does that, right? It takes us back to a person, a place, or a moment in time.
Hearing the Beach Boys or Johnny Cash will always remind me of my dad. “Brown Eyed Girl” or songs by Matt Wertz spark flashbacks of being a Young Life camp leader in my twenties. And still to this day, a certain church hymn makes me break out in cold sweats remembering that Sunday I totally botched it on the piano in front of the entire congregation. Sixth-grade-me still gets red-faced at the thought…(shiver).
Songs plunge us deep into their endless waves. Sappy, swoony, or gym-worthy. Breakup-perfect, road-trip-cozy, dance-party-inspo. Pump you up…or completely slow you down. That’s the magic of music.
So as I get ready to release my new book, Do These Sweatpants Make Me Look Single?, I knew I wanted to create an accompanying playlist to set the stage, journeying through each chapter.
People, Moods, and Moments: The Inspiration for the Songs
I picked these songs to follow each chapter in the book, starting with the Prologue. Except for chapter 18, which gets two songs as it ties up several important story lines for the reader. I couldn’t choose just one!
Some tracks are anthems, like “This’ll Be My Year” by Train, reflecting the determination I feel in Chapter 2 as I ramp up for a one-year quest to transform my health, my finances, and my faith. And of course, the kickoff to a comical dating competition against my extroverted sister.
“Hold On To Me” by Lauren Daigle provides all the feels for the deep heartache rising just a few chapters later.
Andy Grammer’s “Don’t Give Up On Me” and “Get Out The Map” by Indigo Girls are idyllic songs to represent the relationship between me and my sisters, Emily and Lisa, who are hilarious & heartwarming characters in the story.
No dating book is complete without love interests, so “Brown Eyes” by Andy Davis and “A Drop In The Ocean” by Ron Pope are entire moods for those juicy plot lines.
And then there’s faith: a deepening relationship with God is a central theme. There are songs that play like prayers – “For All My Life” by TAYA and “I Found You” by Andy Grammer are two.
But if there’s one song that makes me laugh every single time, it would definitely be “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls. If you read the book, you’ll know why…
Check out my free Spotify playlist here.
And tell me, if you were going to curate a soundtrack for your life, what songs would make the cut? I’d love to know!