I know I've posted this a couple times through my social media syndications, but I figured it'd be good to post it here and kick this forum off.
If you never knew, I have always coded the-spot.net while music was playing in the background - whether it was intentional or not - and it has always influenced the style of the site (though never the only influencing factor...there was always a different girl-epoch involved for every major release).
For tsn8, the style and feel has come from this playlist I put up on Google Play, which I have been updating with relevant songs/albums as they come across my Pandora station and fit the "mood" of the site's creative process.
I have considered creating playlists for the past version of the site to give people a glimpse into the style's influence. The only style that remains available at the moment is tsn7, and that was designed entirely listening to Owl City's 2009 Album.
Take a listen to the music and see if you can get a feel for how/why it influenced the design. I'd be interested to know if any of it is a shared experience, or if it's entirely personal.