Brad Johnson
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Song recommendation: “Don’t Make Plans” by Ducktails.
My fourth year at Cal Poly is coming to a close, and I’ve been reminiscing more and more about my experiences here. I have so many fond memories of the fine dining at Chick-fil-A, frequently programming until 3 a.m. on Friday nights and falling asleep on the legendary couch in KCPR’s lobby. But when I look back, I don’t just see these moments — I also hear the albums I came to love during my time here.
Music has such a huge impact on our emotions, and when you really get into a song or album, it can become the soundtrack of your life — or at least that moment. Since I’ve been at Cal Poly, there have been albums that served as the soundtracks to my life and helped keep me sane through each 10-week sprint we call a quarter.
My freshman year was juxtaposed by the peak of my obsession with Toro y Moi, starting with the album “Underneath the Pine” and then the compilation, “June 2009,” that was released a few months after. Whenever I hear the funky hook of “Still Sound,” it brings back memories of feeling claustrophobic in my triple dorm room and debating whether I felt sick from eating at VG’s or Metro.
Despite the mediocre food options and cramped living space, the year ended on a high note because the dream pop duo Beach House released its album “Bloom” just before summer began. Victoria Legrand stole my heart once again with this album and left me anxiously awaiting my next year at Cal Poly.
I joined KCPR my sophomore year and was overwhelmed by new music. I felt like a kid in a candy store the first time I was allowed to explore the stacks in KCPR’s studio. I became obsessed with albums like “Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Kurt Vile’s “Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze.” In a matter of weeks, I added about 1,000 songs to my music library and was drowning in new music, which I fell in love with.
After sitting in on the old KCPR show Megalopolis, I discovered a 17-year-old chiptune artist who went by the name WMD and became enamored with his album “This Was the End.” WMD’s minimalistic approach to ambient electronic music ended up being exactly what I needed for all of my late nights spent programming that year.
When I reminisce about the quarter I took the roller coaster ride from hell called CPE 357, I can’t help but think of “The Money Store” by Death Grips. The chaos Professor Staley created in my life that quarter was matched by the insanity Death Grips achieved with this album, and somehow the two fit together perfectly.
The soundtrack to my life this quarter has been “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I’ve always been a sucker for psychedelic rock bands from Australia, and King Gizzard filled a void between Tame Impala and Pond that I didn’t even know existed. “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” has a raw, garage-rock sound mixed with in with several unpredictable psychedelic jams. This seven-piece band has been gaining a lot of attention after releasing two albums a year for the last three years, and I think it’s safe to assume Gizzard will release another album before the school year ends.
When we listen to our favorite albums or songs from the past, we’re essentially looking through a scrapbook. Listening to music allows us to remember where we were in our lives and how we felt when we first discovered it. We all tie our own memories and meaning to the music we love, and in effect the music becomes significant to us.
So next time you decide to listen to one of your favorite pop-punk records from middle school, take a moment to appreciate all of your memories of teenage angst associated with it and embrace the fact that at one time, it was the soundtrack to your life.