Life in 10 Tracks with Fran Miller
Life in 10 Tracks is a feature series that is all about being injected into a moment in someone’s life through music. In it, passersby reminisce on the tracks that remind them of bad haircuts, breakups, and all of the joyful, poignant moments in between.
Toronto-based Fran Miller is the founder and force behind her eponymous skincare brand, F. Miller. Her line—which was launched long before going natural was cool—is centered around effortless, oil-based essentials. Music has always been in the mix for her, too: on her website, she hosts a series called Music For Plants, where guest curators compile tracks to “inspire a deeper connection to the natural world around us.” Here, she’s split up her playlist into three somewhat even sections; formative music from around the ages of 13, 23, and 33.
♫ listen to fran's playlist
“Part 1”
Alanis was my bff's babysitter in Ottawa for a few years so we all felt a strong, genuine connection when Jagged Little Pill dropped. These first few tracks bring me right back to my mint green bedroom, my milk ad collection, and the seemingly busy calendar I kept — March 1997's BIG DATE remains a forgotten mystery.
“Ironic” by Alanis Morisette / Listen to the album Jagged Little Pill (Maverick Recording Company,1995)
I would visit my aunt in Florida a couple times a year and this CD single (!) was a travel essential. I'd listen to it on loop on my Discman while collecting shells on the beach.
“The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy, Monica / Listen to the album Never Say Never (Atlantic Recording Corporation,1998)
This song is me at my friend's basement sleepover party, crammed onto her purple blow-up couch, watching Spice World.
“Viva Forever” by the Spice Girls / Listen to the album Spiceworld (Virgin Records Limited,1997)
“Part 2”
Every week in grade 8, we'd walk to the nearby mall, buy 99 cent BSB sticker packs, and eat our lunch at the food court while filling our official sticker albums. 164/177 stickers collected.
“I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys / Listen to the album Millenium (Zomba Recording LLC,1999)
This was one of my favorite songs, played nonstop during a summer spent living in New York.
“Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Listen to the album Fever To Tell (UMG Recordings, Inc., 2003)
Alison Mosshart was so cool and intimidating and this album left a lasting imprint on me in my early twenties.
“Tape Song” by The Kills / Listen to the album Midnight Boom (Domino Recording Co Ltd, 2008)
One of my mom's favorite albums that she'd play while cooking. I love the cheap synth on this song, the whole thing is at once beautiful and devastatingly sad.
“Dance Me to the End of Love” by Leonard Cohen / Listen to the album Cohen Live (Sony Music Entertainment, 1994)
“Part 3”
This Whitney album became the soundtrack to a Texas to California road trip my partner and I took a few years ago. This song makes me long for desert stretches, hot sun, and roadside flower picking.
“No Woman” by Whitney / Listen to the album Light Upon the Lake (Secretly Canadian, 2016)
“Sleep Walk” was playing in the background when my partner proposed, officially deeming it "our song".
“Sleep Walk” by Santo & Johnny / Listen to the album Canadian American 50th Anniversary Greatest Hits (Canadian American Car-2010-B, 2012)
A favourite from the record we play most during lazy weekend mornings at home. The sweetest happy love song.
“Woman” by John Lennon / Listen to the album Double Fantasy (Calderstone Productions Limited,1980)
words and images provided by fran miller