If you could "Eternal Sunshine" a piece of media so that you could listen to it for the first time again, what would it be?

This post reminds me of a friend of mine who likes a song so much, he will only listen to it twice a year, once on New Year's and once on his birthday. He says each time is like the first time because "the pathways stay fresh". He's been consistent for at least 7 years.

If you're curious: Toccata - OVERWERK

Very understandable that song is awesome

I basically listened to it on loop for a week and ruined the effect
Just listened to it. Yeah I get it
Sounds like songs from the game “The Messenger”.

Great game and great music.

I don't know, I'd be worried if I did that then it wouldn't hit the same for me the second time around. Who am I now compared to then? What state of mind am I in? I mean who knows how much a song or a a movie resonates with you has to do with where you are at that time?

Fucking hell I wasn't prepared for the existential questions when I entered this thread.
Yeah I was thinking something similar. The first Game that came into my head was "Gothic" which I have played since forever (since ive been a little kid) and took me forever to beat for the first time. I don't know if I would even start playing it today if I didn't know and love it already. From my perspective today the graphics are outdated and the controls are clunky but it has such a unique heart.
100% there are songs and music that I adore that were heavily attached to who I was at the time, that, although I still adore, would not have the same impact now. Green day, RHCP, imagine dragons, all those are from different key times in my life that just would not resonate the same with level of impact today.

I would most definitely lose that value if I eternal sumshined it

Outer wilds.

Yeah, I'm sad that I could only ever play my favorite game once.

Stargate SG-1 TV series

Indeed!

I want to play either Skyrim or Breath of the Wild for the first time again, knowing nothing about what's out there to be discovered or the limits of the sandbox. Those games cast a special spell in their first few dozen hours before you know where the boundaries of the world are.

i haven’t played skyrim since the last DLC was released, whatever that was. maybe my memory is sufficiently wiped at this point

Definitely the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy

Change 'listen to' to 'watch' and I'll rewatch Eternal Sunshine for the first time.

I watched that movie knowing absolutely nothing about it going in other than the two leads, and it blew my mind. from that point on i swore off watching trailers and try to know as little as possible about every movie i watch.
- Going in completely dark like that can be so damn good. That was how I watched From Dusk till Dawn for the first time. Also Barbarian another great one to go in totally blind.

Half-Life 2

I’m too young to have played the original as a kid, but I have fond memories of coming home from school to play HL2 on my shitty laptop.

There are a bunch of games that you can only play once cause the puzzles are based on finding information. So these are my picks: Tunic , Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn.

Oh man, Obra Dinn for sure. Nothing quite replicates that moment when all the pieces start to fit together. The game took me about 6 hours, I believe. Four hours were spent furiously trying to solve the puzzles, but the last two hours were a wonderful cascade of clues falling into place until I had a complete record of the ship's crew and passengers. Masterpiece.

Eternal Sunshine would be on my list for sure, hahah. Such an amazing film. It would also be incredible to listen to Scenes from a Memory or Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence again (two of Dream Theater's best albums). Hard agree with the other person who mentioned Fullmetal Alchemist, too. Good question, OP!

Ocarina of Time

Would love to experience Hollow Knight again

No one’s said it yet? I guess I’ll do it: Outer Wilds.

For a game it has to be Outer Wilds...

And please do yourself a favor and play it the one time you're allowed in this lifetime if you've not yet done it, as you can.

My answer too.

And also for the benefit of anyone who's just played the base game: the DLC is basically a sequel, and I found it even more impactful than the base game!

Audiobook: Ready Player One narrated by Will Wheaton

Damn, out of 4,000 years of literature.
- Damn, why gatekeep?
That was a really fun book to listen to. He narrates the second one as well, but it didn't capture lightning in a bottle the same way.

Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. Both the books and the radio shows.

I am currently reading the books after a fairly long time. Boy, is it an absolute riot.

Halo 2.

That game blew my mind when I was younger.

Full Metal Alchemist. All the twists, heartbreak, even the victories against an unimaginably powerful foe, but most of all, the many, many humane moments that makes it one of the greatest stories I ever read. I really want to experience it for the first time again.

Counter Strike 1.6. I wish the game never dies.

Eternal darkness on GameCube. Absolutely mind blowing

Mass Effect!

Fallout: New Vegas. I still find new stuff in it to this day, don't get me wrong. But to be able to get lost in the Mojave with no idea of the stakes at play all over again would be an absolute delight.

For music, Facelift by Alice in Chains is one of the most underrated albums of all time. If I could go back to popping that CD in the stereo, not knowing what I'm in for and realizing that I'm listening to an Appetite for Destruction-level album. I wore that original CD out. :)

I'm between The Black Parade (the album) by My Chemical Romance, an alt rock opera masterpiece imo, and Hamilton, the Broadway cast recording. I feel like the former might not work as well when removed from its time, but I bet it still would blow my mind.

Paprika. To see the parade for the first time again... Wow.

For a video game, either Disco Elysium or Return of the Obra Dinn. Unforgettable first experiences that redefined what games are capable of in my mind.

Fantastic choices. Outer Wilds for me.

I know it's absolute schlock but I'd give anything to watch Infinity War for the first time again.

I just loved it and still do but man ...

Rage Against The Machine self-titled 1992 album

Star Trek DS9. So much good character development, plus all sorts of twists and turns

Playing the Video game: Lunar: Eternal Blue for the first time again would be awesome.

Chrono Trigger, without question.

As a kinda forgetful person, I say familiarity usually boosts enjoyment and I might not get many songs I like when listening for the first time.

Oh geez that's tricky... My first instinct is to say Towa Tei's Sunny, the entire album. But the thing is, half of what I love about it is the nostalgia about how much I loved it the first time, and where I was when I listened to it. So maybe it'd be better to pick something you might've liked better under other circumstances? In that case... Hmmm... I'd say the audio drama Spines.

Aliens (1986)

Rainworld. Despite being a 2d game it captures the feeling of open exploration so much better than anything else I've ever played before

I think a Tribe Called Quests Excursions. Someone else mentioned that it's a shame losing all memories of a piece of music because we as a species associate music with our most precious memories. Here's the thing: Excursions is timeless and woven throughout my life. I've relistened to it so many times and got more from it as I've matured. I wonder how revolutionary and fresh it would feel to hear it today with my adult understanding of the world

Games: Nier Automata, Portal, and Ghost of Tsushima

Movies: Prince of Egypt, Confessions and The Prestige

Music: "Speak for Yourself" album, "Talent for Love" (Guilty pleasure), and, most musicals that I like (I love stumbling upon one I enjoy).

World of Warcraft. I use to love the game but it became a slog and I got sick of making friends and getting to know people just for them to stop playing or for a guild to fall apart and then having to start all over again with new people. I met my wife in an mmo, and I would love to find a good one that can keep my attention and not be overly complicated, but I can't seem to find any.

I would pick something remarkably awful, like Valerian and the World of a Thousand Cities. And at the end of the movie would be a note that says "I have to live with this, and now you do too."

Never pass up a chance to fuck with future self's mind.

Probably the worst movie I have seen. Thanks for making me re-remember it.

There are videos of people reacting to hearing Megadeth's Holy Wars... the Punishment Due for the first time. I enjoy the song, but I first heard it when I was probably like 10 and don't really remember the first time. Would be fun to hear it with a fresh pair of ears.

Example reaction video: https://youtu.be/sh8wxc4tctE

Baby Shark. Take that, future self!

Movie: The Guard

From the top of my head I'd say Interstellar, but i don't enjoy movies alone. Needs another wipe or somebody who has lived on the moon.

The Star Wars Franchise. I love A New Hope, but it would be ridiculous to Eternal Sunshine just that movie. Other standalone movies would be Oldboy, Martyrs and The Godfather. I'd love to revisit Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Vitalogy and MF Doom's Mmmm Food with a new generation. Imagine experiencing Joe Sacco's Palestine, Proust's Swann's Way, Harvey Pekar's American Splendor and Stephen King's Salem's Lot for the first time (again). I genuinely love this thought experiment...

In which order would you want to watch the saga?
- Same order as their release tbh. I personally prefer the 'big reveal' in Episode V compared to Episode III.

If it's music with game: undertale times a billion

Talos Principle, without a doubt. That game feels like it was made for me, I love puzzles, computers and philosophy and the first time was such a blast.

Celeste

Violator, by Depeche Mode.

I have never had my little mind so fully blown as when I listened to that the first time.

Babylon 5

Probably Kid A, although I have memories so firmly attached to it that I don’t know that I’d want to.

Firefly. Babylon 5. Avatar the Last Airbender. Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. “Imagine” by John Lennon.

Konstantine by Something Corporate, maybe.