I love listening to music on holiday, and back in the old days

So spoke Art Malik, actor and traveler of worlds both real and imagined: “I love listening to music on holiday, and back in the old days, I used to travel with cassette tapes and a boombox.” Though his words seem light, they carry with them the fragrance of memory and the wisdom of how simple joys shape the rhythm of our lives. In them lies the reminder that music, travel, and memory are bound together as companions of the soul, giving meaning to our journeys and sweetness to our rest.

The love of music is as ancient as humanity itself. Long before tapes and machines, men carried songs with them on their travels, sung by voice, accompanied by simple instruments carved from bone and wood. Wherever people went, their songs went with them—echoes of home, hymns of hope, chants of courage. Malik’s remembrance of cassettes and a boombox is but a modern reflection of this eternal truth: that music, carried into new lands, becomes both anchor and lantern, rooting us in where we come from while illuminating where we are going.

The mention of holiday reminds us of the sacred pause in life’s labors. Travel during such times is not only about changing place but about changing spirit—about opening the heart to renewal. And in those moments of rest, music becomes a bridge. A melody played on a faraway shore transforms the strange into the familiar. The laughter of companions, joined with the rhythm of a song, etches memories that endure for decades. Malik’s boombox, though now a relic of the past, was once a vessel of joy that turned bare rooms and distant beaches into temples of celebration.

History itself is filled with this union of journey and music. The Crusaders carried hymns with them across continents, and pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela sang as they walked, their songs binding them in fellowship. In the Second World War, soldiers far from home gathered around radios, clinging to songs that reminded them of families waiting across the seas. Music on the road has always been more than entertainment—it is sustenance for the weary heart. Malik’s tapes and boombox stand in the same tradition as the lute of the troubadour and the drum of the wanderer: companions for the road, carrying the soul when the feet grow tired.

Yet hidden in Malik’s reflection is also a truth about time. The cassette tape and boombox speak of an era now passed, when music was not summoned in an instant but carried with effort—chosen carefully, packed with care, played deliberately. Each song held weight because it was not infinite; it was finite, precious, and therefore savored. His words remind us that sometimes limitation deepens appreciation, that the slowness of the past gave birth to a kind of mindfulness we too easily lose in the age of instant access.

The lesson, then, is to cherish the small rituals of joy that make life’s journeys more meaningful. When you travel, do not go empty-handed of soul—bring with you the songs, the poems, the stories that connect you to your roots. When you pause for holiday, fill your rest not only with sights but with sounds that stir your heart. And do not despise the old ways—sometimes the very act of carrying joy with effort makes that joy shine brighter.

Practically, this means curating the soundtrack of your life with intention. Choose songs that uplift you, stories that remind you who you are, and carry them with you wherever you go. When you find yourself in foreign places, let music be your bridge to belonging. And in quiet moments, return to the melodies of the past—whether on old tapes, vinyl records, or digital playlists—and let them remind you that life’s sweetness often lies in the blending of memory and the present moment.

Thus, Art Malik’s words endure as more than nostalgia: “I love listening to music on holiday, and back in the old days, I used to travel with cassette tapes and a boombox.” They are a hymn to the power of music, the blessing of rest, and the beauty of carrying joy with us wherever we go. Let us walk as he did—rooted in memory, open to discovery, and always accompanied by the songs that make our journeys sacred.