Soundtrack 2 My Life

I love music. I listen to it on my runs, while I work, while I shower, while I cook, while I drive — literally all the time.

I love music so much that my ideal dream job is to actually create the soundtracks that live in movies, television shows or even video games.

This has been my dream job before I even knew it was an actual career.

The official title, I believe, is Music Director, Music Supervisor or Music Coordinator and they are in charge of creating the atmosphere.

A scene can be wonderfully done — perfect script, perfect line delivery, perfect body language and facial expressions, perfect set, perfect camera angles, perfect lighting. But what completes it, is almost always the sound.

Sound and music control how an audience feels.

When I’m not thinking about what song would pair perfectly with when the two main characters finally spot each other across a crowded room or when the camera pans to a lone car driving on an empty highway, I’m thinking about what songs would play in the background of my life.

The soundtrack to my life.

Well I don’t have to speculate. It’s not just a (brilliant) song by Kid Cudi anymore.

That’s because I’ve actually been making monthly playlists since August 2016 (#TeamSpotify). In total, I have 56 playlists specific to each month spanning from from my senior year of high school to now, while I’m in my senior year of college.

To help summarize that time period and possibly share some great music with you all — here are some highlights:

D-D-Dance by The Royal Concept Featured in Sutton’s December 2k16

I’d play this song over a montage of me and my entire high school friend group playing a game called “Hostage.” Getting dropped in the middle of nowhere in Raleigh and having no GPS to communicate to our teammates where we are to get picked up is a core memory from this time period. This is what kids who live in the suburbs do for fun.

All My Friends by Snakehips (feat. Tinashe & Chance the Rapper) Featured in Sutton’s September 2k17

The only place this one can go is behind a slow-mo scene of one of my first college parties at Carolina. That period in my life was short-lived and by short-lived I mean probably just about a month. But just because it got old for me quick doesn’t mean I don’t have fond memories!

Blind by brother sundance Featured in Sutton’s August 2k19

I think this was the month where I broke up with my college boyfriend AND I found my first gray hair. But sad memories can make for some great tunes.

arrow by half•alive Featured in Sutton’s May 2k20

This song is about trying to be comfortable in the present — whatever your present may look like. It’s also about how this can be especially hard when the future is so pressing. During this time, I was trying to get used to the concept of school coming to a close in the next year and not yet being completely sure of what I’d do after. I also happened to go camping and get poison ivy on my butt this month. But that wasn’t a “present” I wanted to get comfortable with.

I guess that only covers about the past four and half years.

So if you need me, I’ll be working on playlists September 1999 through July 2016.