The Nostalgic Pandemic Soundtrack
Who remembers the strange days of COVID-19? Unless you were living in a cave somewhere, pretty sure you’ll remember. I sure as hell do; despite how one felt, I remember loving it.
It may not have been for everyone, but during those weird times, I enjoyed life greatly. Everything was quiet. I learned a lot about myself and who my real friends were. It was the time when creativity was through the roof with creators of all sorts.
The other day, the song Death Bed popped up on my TikTok feed; the memories started flooding back. Who knew those songs and sounds brought me back to those years but it did. It was a time when the world seemed like it had stopped spinning, and all we had was the people in our house and TikTok to keep us company.
It made me revisit all the music and sounds that reminded me of those days, which is why this list was born.
Animal Crossing Soundtrack
Animal Crossing won the pandemic, and the soundtrack, well, I still play that to this day. This game “saved” so many of us, and you can jokingly say that Nintendo was the one who started this pandemic. New friendships were formed, building your dream island and filling it with cute villagers. It reminded me of a time when we could all pretend we had our lives together, and the biggest stressor was Tom Nook’s loan. Who, in my opinion, isn’t a terrible landlord?
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
Remember the guy on his skateboard, drinking his Ocean Spray and vibing to the Dreams song by Fleetwood Mac? To me, this song became the anthem for pandemic chill—such simple times.
Stardew Valley Soundtrack
This game may have been released for a long time now, but my husband and I didn’t play it until the pandemic. We wanted another cozy farming sim to play after coming down from the Animal Crossing high. When I hear the soundtrack, I think of those times we got up at midnight to build our epic farm together.
Persona 5 Soundtrack
Again, another game that came out before the pandemic; it wasn’t until we were on lockdown that my husband started playing it. I didn’t play this one, but I loved the music and the art style of the game. I even drew some of the characters! Ugh, the nostalgia!
Marbles
The sound of marbles. Pretty random, right? I thought so, too. During this time, I badly missed Formula 1, and so did other fans. The creators of Marbula 1 saved the pandemic by creating racing tracks for marbles. It instantly became my favourite sport, so now, when I hear the clinking sound that marbles make, this is what it reminds me of.
Powfu - Death Bed
“Death Bed” by Powfu is another unofficial anthem of TikTok during quarantine. Hearing it now takes me back to hours of doom-scrolling on the app, finding solace in the creativity and humour of strangers.
Witcher Tavern Music
You know those 5 hours of music mixes on YouTube? I’m a sucker for those. But this one really brings back memories of the pandemic because this was when my husband and I started playing Gloomhaven. The first RPG table top game we started playing together with this serenading us in the background.
To some of us, these may just be random sounds and music, but for me, it became the soundtrack during quarantine. It provided comfort and a sense of community. Now, whenever I hear these tunes, I’m reminded of the time when life got a bit weird, and it’s rather nostalgic.