Sometimes, even though we really, really love our current musical tastes and the acts we’re into now, and possibly cringe at the things we listened to years ago, you can’t help but go back to some old favorites. Sometimes it’s just to see how far you’ve come, how different you were and what kind of feelings you were feeling back then. Sometimes it’s just to take that nostalgia hit for the sake of.
DJ Jam Alas’s Friday Picks for us is unabashedly, unapologetically that: a kick to your heart and soul, courtesy of all the memories you had all those years ago.
“To be honest, I just kind of wanted to put down Chance the Rapper’s entire Coloring Book or My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge… or maybe even come up with a playlist where I enumerate all the songs that take up space in my head (hint: they’re mostly jingles and catchy ads), but they told me I couldn’t do that… so I came up with this instead!
“This is a whole bunch of songs and a whole bunch of feelings I felt a long time ago. It’s been a hot minute, but they feel about as familiar as a coat you often put on when the weather gets too cold. I was sitting in my childhood friend’s bedroom singing to each of these songs when we put this list together (hey thanks Ina. Thanks Michael.) How ‘bout some nostalgia, ey?”
(She did actually try to send in a playlist full of jingles, “Beat Energy Gap” included. We had to put our foot down.)
1. From First to Last – “Emily”
“Before he was Skrillex, Sonny Moore was my highschool one true love (and this was one of the first songs everybody I knew learned on guitar, haha!).”
2. Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down”
“My friends used to sing this song back in high school about a boy that neither of them got.”
3. Jack’s Mannequin – “Dark Blue”
“Have you ever been alone in a crowded room? GUYS? GUYS? COME ON. Has anybody succinctly explained teenage/young adult angst (the pressure to somehow become part of society, the role you are expected to play, the pressure to NOT BE ALONE) in a line?”
5. My Chemical Romance – Ghost Of You
“I can’t particularly remember why, but I was on the phone with a friend when I was watching the music video of this song. I cried so hard I begged her not to put the phone down, even when she had to go poop.”
BONUS: Kitchie Nadal – “Wag na Wag Mong Sasabihin”
“Yo. You can’t talk about feelings without any Kitchie Nadal, man. Wag na wag mong sasabihin na hindi mo nadama itong pag-ibig kong handang ibigay, kahit pa kalayaan mo. MAN.”
As always, full playlist: