Since the start of this year, I’ve grown a strong bond with Dutch singer-songwriter Spinvis’ debut album. Earlier, you read how I took a liking to songs ‘Bagagedrager’ and ‘Smalfilm’ and following the order of the album we naturally transition into ‘Voor Ik Vergeet’, a highly melancholic and emotional piece about dementia, literally meaning ‘before I forget‘. Throughout 2025, I found myself falling back to this album quite often during the times I felt sad and emotional myself. During those moments, I tend to close myself off and – ironically enough – stop listening to music whatsoever. Instead, I get into my head and hope my worries and problems will melt away like snow in the sun. On the odd time that I do want to be accompanied by music, I find myself playing this album. As soon as I hear the first notes of album opener ‘Bagagedrager’, I close my eyes and make Spinvis’ debut turn into an almost cinematic part of this vulnerable moment. I find myself embracing my emotions and let this album become the soundtrack of my mental state for just over 45 minutes, therefore crafting an exquisitely strong bond with (this) music. A bond so much stronger than the ones I have with most of the more so regular ‘bangers’ I tend to share here on the blog quite often. It’s a realisation on the importance of welcoming and accepting those emotions as part of who I am and makes me able to cope with both the highly positive influences in my life as well as those that might not be so rose-coloured. Life’s great. Sometimes you just need to realise that in order to be truly happy, you need to be able to accept your sadness, too.