Last month, I wrote about the power of music and how it creates strong bonding experiences. I’ve always loved connecting with friends and my parents over our shared love for music, but I never thought it’d extend to adding a newfound facet to my relationship with my grandma. I’ve been close with my maternal grandma since I was little, and she used to show little interest in music. That was until she habitually began listening to music in the car and finding herself enjoying modern music. She expressed with utter excitement and wonder to me new music she had found, and almost like an eager child, she anticipated the moment the song she wanted me to hear would play on the radio. She didn’t want to possibly miss that very moment by leaving the room. I have never seen innocent joy in my grandma quite like this. It’s adorable and heartwarming.

My grandma marveled at my knowledge of music, as I immediately recognized song after song playing on her radio. She had underestimated how much current music I listen to. She was then beyond excited when I taught her how to use Shazam, for her music search needs. My grandma couldn’t wait to put it to use. I use Shazam everywhere; you never know when you’ll hear a great song and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to find it or else possibly never hear it again.

The other day, I also shared some German music with my grandma, a fellow learner of the German language many decades ago. She was surprised at how unusual German songs sounded to her, but once she began to play the songs on repeat, she found herself enjoying them more than she expected to. And who would I be if I didn’t bring ‘80s music into the mix? I shared my love for ‘80s jams with my grandma and gladly listened to my wonderful grandma hum along to Nena’s “99 Luftballons.” Every time I tried to sing along or pronounce the title in German, it would make her laugh and she would mock her own attempts at pronunciation, whilst praising my language skills as well. I still have yet to recommend French songs to her, but I’m sure that’ll be another musical endeavor she’ll surely enjoy.

Lastly, after hearing their songs on the radio constantly, my grandma is into Twenty One Pilots, which is truly intriguing. I will never get over the irony of “Heathens” being my grandma’s (a religious Christian, mind you) favorite Twenty One Pilots song. I still refuse to delve into the message of the lyrics with her. If she enjoys the melody, I will gladly listen along with her. Now I can also happily state that I’ve listened to “Stressed Out” and “Ride” with my grandma, with me singing the lyrics I’ve heard on repeat, while she hums, sways her shoulders, and smiles at me. If only she understood modern technology more, she would’ve listened to their entire “Blurryface” album by now, but hey it’s the effort that counts. She’ll listen to the same three songs until she finds another three to replace them, which she certainly has been doing lately.

Nonetheless, it warms my heart that she’s sharing these experiences with me. If only I could convince her to go to a concert with me, that would be beyond memorable. She would immediately respond with “I’m too old for that,” or “I’m not at the age for things like that,” which is unfortunately her go-to excuse for nearly everything. My sweet grandma is turning seventy this year, and I can only hope we’ll get to share countless more moments of wonder and joy at the discovery of new music.