What happens when someone living with dementia hears the song that is truly theirs?

In this episode, I sit down with Justin from Music & Memory – a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing personalized music to people living with dementia, Alzheimer's, and other cognitive challenges. What unfolds is a conversation about the extraordinary power of music to reach people in ways that medicine alone simply cannot.

We talk about the moments caregivers and families witness when a loved one who has seemed unreachable suddenly comes alive: present, emotional, and connected, all because of a song. We also explore something surprising – how personalized music can even impact appetite and diet in people living with dementia.

And in true Reminiscence in Chords fashion, Justin shares the song that holds a powerful personal memory for him – Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver and takes ussomewhere unexpected with it.

Whether you are a caregiver, a music lover, or someone who has watched dementia take someone you love, this conversation will give you something to hold onto.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

https://musicandmemory.org/about/

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3m8lTUL5GxGUNSaycI77ND

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

There’s a particular kind of heartbreak that comes from realizing you finally opened your heart when there was no one left to receive it. This episode sits in that space, where pride dissolves, clarity arrives, and absence speaks louder than words ever did.

It reflects on emotional hesitation, missed timing, and the way awareness sometimes arrives too late to change the outcome.

A reflective and nostalgic listen about emotional readiness, and the human tendency to recognize love only in its absence.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3M7Ab3IGSb7vNoLWqDbXVF

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

Richard Foos, co-founder of Rhino Records and Shout! Factory, is the pioneer of reissue culture – the movement that reshaped how the world values catalog music, vinyl, and entertainment archives. He spent 50 years betting on one beautiful truth: that music never really leaves us.

In this episode, we go beyond the industry and into the heart of why certain songs become the soundtrack to our most treasured memories, and the personal story behind his connection to Blue Moon by The Marcels. A conversation about the past, the music that defines us, and why old songs never stop mattering.

This episode, like every other, is for you – if music has ever taken you back to a moment, a person, or a version of yourself.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/2sIiAxBkth5riaZmp2KgZz

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords
Email: reminchords@gmail.com

Most songs don’t begin in a studio, they begin in real life.

This episode is a thoughtful walk through the landscape of almost-love, the kind that feels close enough to touch but never close enough to trust. We explored Tolu's story, the emotional tension between wanting someone fully and receiving only the curated parts they’re willing to offer.

It’s a reflection on presence, self-worth, and the bravery it takes to step away from love that arrives in fragments. If you’re ready to hear your own experiences reflected back with softness and clarity, this episode will meet you there.

A resonant listen for anyone who’s ever carried the weight of almost-love, closing with Tolu’s own song, written in the aftermath, playing us out at the end.

#Nostalgia…#MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZCv9I8mgChcYkSrLuLSTc

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

Some songs arrive and never leave, carrying the weight of memory long after the notes fade. Before graduation, before independence, some of the most meaningful moments happen in the small, unremarkable routines like riding in a cousin’s old Honda Civic, grabbing Twoonie Tuesday at KFC, and singing your heart out.

From jam-packed backseat karaoke sessions to weekly KFC runs, from small crushes to inside jokes, every moment felt like it mattered more than it should. In this episode, we dive into the power of music to capture the fleeting moments of adolescence, the bittersweet thrill of growing up, and the songs that stay with us long after the world moves on.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the links to listen to the songs:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0Q0IVlqMV64kNLlwjPj0Hl

https://open.spotify.com/track/3XKIUb7HzIF1Vu9usunMzc

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

Looking back, it’s almost absurd how much stress they carried over something so small. A few movies. A borrowed card. A plan that was never as airtight as they believed.

But at fourteen, it was everything.

In this episode, Will takes us back to the summer of ’99 – Blockbuster aisles, bike rides across town, and a scheme with a friend.

It’s funny in hindsight, the panic over late fees, the elaborate cover stories, the feeling that everything was on the line over a few VHS tapes. But underneath it is something else: the kind of friendship where even a bad idea becomes a shared mission, and the memory lasts longer than anything you were trying to watch in the first place.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/78ZzF9pK3foniEnK64XzX5

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

Daydreaming is often dismissed as distraction, but this episode treats it as something more intentional. A reflection on how imagination shows up in everyday routines, how the mind wanders when life becomes repetitive, and how creativity quietly waits for our attention.

Through memory, music, and introspection, the episode explores adulthood fatigue, mental drift, and the role daydreams play in helping us reconnect with parts of ourselves we didn’t mean to abandon. It’s a nostalgic, grounding conversation about slowing down, listening inward, and allowing imagination to guide us back to what feels meaningful.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/0ALJZXgutuN6F680E8lQPs

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com

There’s a special kind of nostalgia that begins with joy and ends with clarity. For Biola, one song instantly brings back memories of carefree university nights: dancing without hesitation, laughing with friends, and moving through life with a bold, uncomplicated confidence. It’s a warm return to freedom, friendship, and the version of herself who lived fully in those moments.

But as the memory lingers, a different realization quietly unfolds in the present. In this episode, that same nostalgic energy becomes a lens for reflection, revealing how much has shifted over the years, not just externally, but internally. WhileBiola’s story celebrates the fearless joy of who she was, the reflection turns inward to examine growth, emotional evolution, and the subtle ways we level up over time. It’s about recognizing that the carefree nights and the self-assured present can both be true, and asking whether we are fully embracing the person we’ve worked so hard to become.

#Nostalgia… #MusicandMemory.

Tap the link to listen to the song:

https://open.spotify.com/track/418cUmiHm0muzZOBAVH6vR

Feel free to reach out and share your own music + memory

Instagram: @reminchords

Email: reminchords@gmail.com