Playlist #23: Nostalgia, am I right?
We ruminate on what was once there to fill the empty spaces we were left with. Either that, or I'm just intellectualizing why I almost had a playlist filled with old songs.
First, a plug: I (although a royal we is really more appropriate here) launched a new project. It’s called and it’s designed to bring together the many Filipino (and part-Filipino) writers and creatives on the Substack platform and beyond. There isn’t much there at the moment, as the directory is still being built, but do give it a visit, and subscribe if you’re keen to be part of the journey. (And if you’re a Filipino on this platform, why not sign up for the directory?) Okay. Back to regular programming, whatever that means.
Can I just put the entirety of Billlie’s new mini on this month’s playlist?
I mean, I suppose that was inevitable. If you’ve been reading the Once Monthly for the past year at least you’d know how they became my preferred K-pop group, at least from this generation. (This heart will forever have a soft spot for Mamamoo and GFriend, and they can never be replaced.) It’s been a while since they released something as a full group—Moon Sua took time off after the death of her brother, Astro’s Moonbin, while Suhyeon also stepped aside for health reasons—so Appendix: Of All We Have Lost would always be bittersweet because of context alone.
And then it emerges that IU—yes, IU—wrote the title track, “Remembrance Candy”. And it very much feels like an IU song, in its mystery and whimsy and literary flair, but also, I can’t imagine IU singing it, because it works so much better with Billlie’s lush-enough production and tender vocal direction.
I have said before that I like this group because of their diverse discography. The new mini has everything too, although the first half sticks to the warm-but-secretly-depressed vibe it somehow pulls off. I now have a second reason: they make cool music without being cooler-than-thou. I can come in without feeling judged. That counts for a lot considering how incredibly samey K-pop has become recently, in complete contrast to when I first got into it, when the girl groups sounded particularly adventurous. (All right, you caught me: I was thinking of Le Sserafim, NewJeans and Illit, Hybe’s depressingly samey trio of girl groups taking over the world—and pretty much everyone sounds like them nowadays.) Following pop music as a thirtysomething does make you feel old because you just know you’re listening to what the kids like; Billlie lets me in without me having to fuss that much, and I appreciate it.
And then I realize “Remembrance Candy” is a song about forgetting, remembering and moving on.
Well, damn it.
I was supposed to fly to Singapore last month. It fell through, but I still kept on listening to Singaporean radio, if only because of the company—they may be in a vastly different country, but we’re in the same time zone, so at least it still matches up. It also meant I thought I’d have a lot of older songs on the playlist. I enjoyed realizing that my reference point is (also) truly 2000s pop-rock, and was also aghast at the idea that the songs of my teenage years are now oldies station material.
But in the end, I think I only had the Corrs and Nerina Pallot on this hour as a nod to what once was. (In particular, the latter’s “Sophia” is one of those songs that hit you hard regardless of whether you’re listening to the piano-only album cut or the more layered radio cut.) What I did end up doing were pretty new songs that try to go back to a time when “everything was simpler”. I was looking forward, for instance, to listening to Shanne Dandan’s record, and Kung Iyong Mamarapatin is indeed such a delight despite its short runtime. It’s not just her voice, and the way she sings it, but how she effortlessly weaves together all these decidedly vintage influences to give us something that’s very much in the now.
Of course, since I’ve been in another one of those stretches, the song that I was drawn to the most was “Kailan Ba Ako Magiging Masaya?” When will I be happy? But, to twist things further, I go for the a cappella version that ends the album.
I’m normally not fond of alternate versions of songs appearing as part of the regular versions of an album. Maybe it’s just me and how my head is wired, how it goes “I already heard this song before!” when I decide to play an album front-to-back. (Now that streaming is the norm, I don’t have to run to those bulky “stereo components” that play CDs to skip the track.) But there’s something fitting about the opening song closing the album, but stripped back of everything. It’s a full circle moment, but not really. You decide if she’s sadder or slightly happier. If you’re sadder or slightly happier.
Well, damn it.
The past few months have, of course, been difficult. I tried my best to either turn my brain off, or distract myself. With my busiest days over I finally could do that. (There’s no other reason why the theme song to My Deer Friend Nokotan—a show where everything is weird… or is it just Koshitan?—is on this hour, although I should say “Deer-Colored Days” has a nice ska-esque undercurrent that actually fits the playlist’s direction.) And, I don’t know, maybe it works? Maybe as a distraction? But empty spaces make you think of what once was there, and you end up thinking back to those even if you shouldn’t. But then, is it really truly a bad thing? Are we not allowed to look back while moving forward? Or are we still supposed to perform to your standards?
It’s going to be a busy few weeks ahead on the Once Monthly. This month’s Plaka Note drops on 22 November. Then, this year’s Heavy Rotation playlist drops on 6 December. Finally, my last playlist for the year drops on 13 December. Between this, possibly two more essays coming pretty imminently, and everything else that’s going on, I should be distracted for a while. Or will I? Answers on the Once Monthly’s socials, or to nicksyoncemonthly@gmail.com, please.
On this playlist
bb sway—“Baby Wants Out of the City”
Pearl (2021)Ravyn Lenae—“Love Me Not”
Bird’s Eye (2024)The Corrs—“Radio”
In Blue (2000)Tilly Birds—“Retro-39”
single release (2024)LP Giobbi—“So Nice To Be In Love” (featuring Mascolo)
Dotr (2024)Billlie—“기억사탕” (Remembrance Candy)
Appendix: Of All We Have Lost (2024)girl in red—“You Need Me Now?” (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
I’m Doing It Again Baby! (2024)Lawrence—“Do You Wanna Do Nothing With Me?”
Breakfast (2017)Megumi Han, Saki Fujita, Rui Tanabe and Fuka Izumi—「シカ色デイズ」 (Deer-Colored Days)
single release (2024)Alex Lahey—“I Haven’t Been Taking Care Of Myself”
I Love You Like A Brother (2017)Zuzu—“Not Myself”
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Season 1 (Soundtrack from the Animated Series) (2023)The Weather Station—“Neon Signs”
Humanhood (2025)Kate Bollinger—“In A Smile”
Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind (2024)Hannah Georgas—“Money Makes You Cool”
I’d Be Lying If I Said I Didn’t Care (2023)Lily Kershaw—“Call Whoever This Makes You Think Of (Except Your Narcissistic Ex)”
Pain & More (2024)Sarah Blasko—“Bothering Me”
I Just Need To Conquer This Mountain (2024)Nerina Pallot—“Sophia”
Fires (2005)Shanne Dandan—“Kailan Ba Ako Magiging Masaya?” (A cappella)
Kung Iyong Mamarapatin (2024)