1. "I heard "Royals" by Lorde for the first time when I was giving someone a handjob. He turned on the song mid–handjob, and I stroked to the beat. Every time I hear "Royals," I think about that moment."
2. "At a frat party, a Taylor Swift song came on. Everyone started dancing, but I'm a musical elitist, so I just sort of stood there awkwardly. A guy came up to me and made a joke about how I didn't like Taylor Swift. We ended up going upstairs and rolling a joint. One thing led to another from there. It was fun at the time, but once I sobered up, I decided that we are never, ever, ever getting back together."
3. "After about 45 minutes of hooking up with some guy, I realized that I really liked the song he had playing, so I say, "This is a great song, what is this?" and he proceeds to tell me that it's "Big Poppa" and that it had literally been on repeat since we started hooking up."
4. "A friend of mine had neighbors freshman year who enjoyed having really loud sex while screaming in Korean. This was obviously very annoying to my friend, especially since it was at all hours of the day and night. So he and his roommate started playing "Jingle Bells" really loudly every time it happened, hoping to operantly condition the guy to start feelin' some type of way when hearing Christmas carols. Apparently the loud sex stopped towards the end of the semester—just in time for the Christmas holidays."
5. "Three words (and no, not the ones you're thinking of): "Let it Go."
6. "I once had sex with this guy while he played Aloe Blacc's "The Man." It wasn't a weird song to have sex to, but the entire time it was happening, when Aloe was all like, "Yeah, you can tell everybody," I just kept thinking, "Thanks, but I definitely won't."
7. "I hooked up with someone during a Real Friends show at the TLA [Theatre of Living Arts]. Ironically enough, they were playing "I've Given Up On You" when it happened."
8. "I put on the album The Only Place by Best Coast at a small party. This tan, blonde guy, who spent his days on the beach lifeguarding and surfing on a sponsorship revealed himself as a diehard fan of the band. As we talked about our favorite songs in a room smokey from the copious amounts of weed consumed that night, the room cleared out around us. Here I was, making out with this guy who embodied California to an album worshipping California. It was as if every whiny, awesome teenage theme ever sang out in a Best Coast song materialized on this kid’s couch."
9. "Benny Benassi was playing a live outdoor set at a music festival. I was on molly for the first time. I was marveling in the lights and colors, and as I got a little swept up in the song “Satisfaction," I ended up in the embrace of a shirtless fratstar I never would’ve talked to sober. We made out within the hoards of sweaty, moving people and I felt as though he was there for me in the same way as the images on the screen: entertainment. I guess I got my satisfaction. Then I quickly ran off to the next set to never see him again."
10. "The first time I had sex was to "Pimp Juice" by Nelly."
11. "When I was 15, I was making out with this guy. We were on his bed listening to "Bohemian Rhapsody," and when the song got to the point where it was like, "Bismilah, no! We will not let him go." He got overly into the music and bit my lip so hard that I started seriously bleeding all over his face. Also: he didn't notice until I pushed him off and my mouth was like covered in blood."
12. "SAE or Castle or some grimy frat basement was playing some low–key alternative shit or something, but then Katy Perry came on. I went berserk. I was so hyped. I downed a handle, inched over to this rando, and went for it. I don't know what came over me. All I know is I kissed a girl, and I liked it."
Illustration by Amy Chen
