🎵 Experience Playlist | Badge of the Month | July 2025

Cheap Thrills by Sia - My campus had a Dancing with the Stars type dance competition for scholarships and I did a tap number to this song  in 2023 with a student partner.  I can’t hear that song without thinking about the wonderful collaboration (and hard work!) that went into that performance.  My kids still refer to it as “my song” if it comes up on the radio. 

This is going back a long time, but the first time I heard U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” at summer camp when I was fifteen years old, it immediately became a part of the soundtrack on my life and when I hear The Edge’s guitar intro, it reminds me of all the possibility that I felt in life at that time. Here’s a link to the video…

​@pamelalbeck I’m embarrassed to confess that I love that song but only learned the title today!

Do I have to pick just one?? Have to jump on the U2 bandwagon because my fave is Bad, particularly this live version from 1985. It is just one of those songs that spoke to me the first time I heard it and has continued to do so through all the phases of my life...PLUS, it’s the best song to crank up the volume on during a late night drive with the windows down.

Also, ​@AdamK12 - what are you talking about that this goes back a long time? 1985 was only 10 years ago! 

Lakshya title song remains the obvious choice for me. It reinvigorates the feeling of fighting against all the odds!

​@CMurph Absolutely, 1985 was indeed only ten years ago!

And that Live Aid performance of “Bad” is one for the ages. There were so many incredible acts from that concert -- Dire Straits, Queen, Mick Jagger with Tina Turner -- more than one could name!

Salt-n-Pepa’s “Shoop” will always bring a smile to my face.  I don’t typically publicly sing, but that will always be my Karaoke choice.  I’m from WI and did a road trip to TN to see Salt-N-Pepa years ago and it was so much fun, will forever be a silly fun highlight.

“All these things that I’ve done” by the Killers, or really any Killers song too now after seeing them at X4 a couple years ago also is so fun!

​@MeganZich X4 concerts - had to add more Backstreet Boys to my liked songs.

Lose Yourself is my all-time favorite song.

Lose yourself if i need to get motivated i lissen to this and i then can do the task easy

“Have you ever seen the rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

I have many memories of my dad playing vinyl turned up and singing and dancing while we did something in the kitchen albeit dishes, cooking, or just spending time together. This song came to mind first but I could make a whole list with The Beatles, more CCR, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and more.

​@SandraH Paperback Writer reminds me of one of my best friends in college that majored in writing.  Lots of good songs and memories from the Beatles.

We used “Paperback Writer” in a sketch in my high school English class senior year… that brings back some good memories and experiences!

It’s such a pleasure to be reading this rapidly expanding playlist and feeling like I’m back in college. If I had an iPod back then (and I’m already dating myself), this would have been my playlist.

OK, here’s one that you may not have heard of. The Tragically Hip were an iconic Canadian band that a colleague introduced me to when we worked together in the ‘90s. Their lead singer, Gord Downie, passed away after a long illness (his daughter is an incredible abstract painter), and his lyrics were moody and introspective. “Courage” is the song that got me hooked: 

“Good Riddance” a song about moving on and growing up, with the brutal universal truth that we have no way of knowing how our lives will turn out.

I love this song, has meaning from my life, but also really applies to the work that we do in experience management. 

ahhh CCR,

I’ll never forget being served by a Suzie Q at a pancake house in Northern Ontario during one of those hot tree planting seasons as a university student. Thx for this quick trip down memory lane ​@SandraH  !  

had the pleasure to attend a ‘Hip concert back in the day myself. What few folks may know is that this band has cult status among Canadians🍁 Gord’s passing made headlines 😔 Thx ​@AdamK12 for including them!

An oldie but a goodie! It was only a few years back that I first heard Bang Bang. Although many of us may recognise the all too familiar pangs of a break up 😢what struck me especially was the melancholy 😒 

She Ain't You - by Niko Moon. It’s the song my husband and I jam out to. So many fun concert memories at Niko Moon concerts, he rally knows how to throw a great concert.

For me, Gone Away by the Offspring. My best friend and I used to listen to them all the time. He passed years ago but this song still hits hard when I hear it. A couple years ago, I took my youngest kiddos to see them, Sum 41 and Simple Plan live and it was amazing getting to share that experience with them (it was also an outdoor concert in Texas summer and my youngest was not having it until the sun went down). 

There is a song called 'Signal Light' by Korean singer Lee Moo-jin. 
Acoustic guitar sounds and unique and attractive tones are also impressive, but most of all, it is a song that my second son can enjoy for the whole family, so I listen to it on weekends and when I travel.

This song takes me back to my college days in 2015. It reminds me of the carefree bike trips with friends, spending hours in the college canteen talking about everything, laughing at silly jokes, and having deep conversations about life, without any stress about the future. We just enjoyed the moment, not worrying about jobs, responsibilities, or anything else. It was all about having fun, whether it was a random trip, grabbing a quick snack, playing Call of Duty, or just hanging out after class. I really miss those simple days when the biggest worry was deciding what to eat or where to go for the weekend. Those were the best times, full of fun, adventure, and friendship, without the pressure of what's to come.😥😥

So many great additions to the playlist so far! I love getting to hear about everyone’s musical memories 😀

Musical experience I will share: The first speeding ticket I got as a teenager occurred while I was blasting Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” 

I know the song is about much more than a literal fast car, but both I -- and the police officer -- thought it was an interesting coincidence. My parents, however, did not find it so funny 🏁🚗

Now that’s too much ​@Michael_Cooksey ! That’s a classic (I like the original above the more recent duet she did on the Grammys, but I’m old school.)

Here’s another (criminally underplayed) one, probably my favorite track of hers: 

“Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games” by Of Montreal

Running around the SoCal area post-high school seeing Of Montreal in small little cafes and blasting this album all summer, followed by this song showing up on an Outback Steakhouse commercial… wild times.