by Camryn Kozachek
When I was in 5th grade, I got a $10 itunes gift card for Christmas. This being 2008, I didn’t know of any streaming services and I was (still am to be honest) too scared to download anything illegally off the internet, so iTunes gift cards were it.The bright green rectangle with that purple dancing figure represented a world of promise for me and my inherited iPod Nano. It meant I could finally stop listening exclusively to my mom’s culinary podcasts and cultivate a sophisticated music library. Because I was a frugal bitch and songs cost $1.29 on iTunes, I made sure to select my songs carefully. The ones that made the cut were two Taylor Swift songs, “I’ll Make a Man Out Of You” from Mulan, “The Show” by Lenka and “Lay All Your Love On Me” from Mamma Mia. Of those 5 songs, the last is the only one I’ve listened to in the past year.
That’s because I love ABBA. “Camryn,” you might ask (if you had some weirdly specific knowledge about me), “How can you love ABBA if you’ve never actually listened to any of their albums?” Fair point, I would say, but I have listened to the “Mamma Mia” soundtrack probably 58 times. “Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack” is like a “best of ABBA” album except with Meryl Streep, and Meryl Streep can do no wrong. It’s a fact, look it up.
My (straight, male) friend is a self proclaimed “disco queen” who loves ABBA and has never seen Mamma Mia. (Before you ask, yes, I have considered ending the friendship over this.) All that aside, I do consider it evidence of ABBA’s standalone merit as a band. When I think disco, I think bell bottoms, white people with afros and sequins. However, ABBA was a sensation, one of the most prolific and successful disco-pop groups of the 80s. In fact, the band is planning a hologram tour for 2019.
I came back to the soundtrack this year after a long hiatus. “Mamma Mia” is cheesy, but it’s a good kind of cheesy. Comfortable, familiar and emotional all at once, it’s one of those rare albums that has music for any occasion. If you’re feeling happy, sad, nostalgic, angry, young and sweet, only 17, there’s a song on the soundtrack for that. Listening to it for the past month has been really impactful. The first time I listen to an album, I try to play the songs sequentially because they’ve all been carefully selected and placed for a reason. Something I love about the collage that is the “Mamma Mia” soundtrack is how the songs come from a number of different ABBA albums and still manage to tell a story.
“Lay All Your Love On Me” might be one of my least favorite songs on the soundtrack now. It could be that I’ve matured past the dramatic call and response and corny refrain, or it also may just be that I‘ve listened to it approximately 100000 times because it was one of the only songs on my iPod for 3 years. Regardless, the soundtrack made me feel something as a 10 year old and that hasn’t changed a decade later. When Meryl sings, “My, my, just how much I’ve missed ya!” in “Mamma Mia”, I’m like right back atcha girl.