I thought, by the time I turned 21, someone would have made me a mixtape, stood outside my window with a boombox, or serenaded me with ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ at school. I’m saddened to say that, with 4 months to go until I’m 21, none of these have happened and the only musically-romantic thing I’ve ever experienced was a boy (badly) singing ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ over Snapchat in Year 12. Needless to say, the experience ruined any of the chances he thought he had and any positive feeling I have towards that song. Either way, between me, my friends, and Hollywood, it seems that declarations of love nowadays are lacking a soundtrack.

“The process of thinking and choosing songs, each one loaded with sentimental meaning, was a labour of love”

In the 80s and 90s, it was common for people to make a mixtape for someone they admired. A collection of songs that reminded them of the other person for multiple reasons: the way they made them feel, the way they saw the other person, or a song they loved so much they wanted the other person to experience it too. The songs also weaved together emotions that could only be communicated through the poetic lyricism of an artist. The process of thinking and choosing songs, each one loaded with sentimental meaning, was a labour of love. The mixtape might even be decorated with notes or drawings inspired by the deep emotional connection between two people and their music.

As technology has evolved, the cassette tape and recorder have become redundant in a world of Spotify and Apple Music, and a rising return to physical media has prioritised LPs, not cassettes. However, creating a musical experience for someone, adorned with further expressions of love, has gone nowhere. Rather than a cassette tape with a paper note, the Spotify playlist, with its cover photo and caption takes its place on the modern stage as the messenger of musical adoration. And yeah sure, it is easier to add songs to a Spotify playlist than making a mixtape, but surely it’s the thought that counts? In sharing some of the most significant music in our lives, we’re giving parts of ourselves away to someone else. Carefully crafting a listening experience to take someone on a journey of emotions, reflecting the same feelings the other person brings out of us, is one of the most personal gifts you could give. Having made a playlist for some of my nearest and dearest, I think it’s just the modern-day mixtape, proving that the sharing of love is still alive and possible.

“I may not know how to describe exactly how I feel about someone, but I’d say Noel Gallagher’s ‘If I had a Gun’ comes pretty close”

Say what you want about the quality of music nowadays, and the problems of no longer owning our music, but it’s undeniable that it still carries an intense purpose and meaning in people’s lives. Otherwise, why would you pay for your Spotify subscription? Paradoxically, there’s something deeply personal about music. How can something feel so personalised and individualised to the way you feel, yet be relatable to millions of listeners around the world, and be written by a completely different person about their own experience and life? Lyrics convey different meanings to different people, illustrating the beauty of interpretation. Music communicates the message when words fail, through lyrics and even in a guitar riff or drum solo. I may not know how to describe exactly how I feel about someone, but I’d say Noel Gallagher’s ‘If I had a Gun’ comes pretty close.

There’s so much talk about your love language. Is yours physical touch, acts of service, or words of affirmation? Instead, I’d argue the most heartfelt and loving language is ‘this song reminded me of you.’ There are songs that remind me of people, even people I’ve only met once or twice. Give me a person and I’ll tell you what song and why. It becomes a dangerous game, having a song synonymous with a person, god forbid they ruin it for you for life. But I think this just shows the importance and strength of love and music; being willing to risk your favourite song for someone shows love is innately intertwined with music.

Ever the lover girl of both people and music, I refuse to believe that music has lost its place in those dramatic moments of realisations of love. Rather than a mixtape being passed down a row of classroom seats, now, the soundtrack of love is sent through a link to a carefully cultivated Spotify playlist, nonetheless showcasing music endures as a wonderful expression of love.

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