Music

Not fiction today, but rather a sharing post.

Music. I love music. All sorts of music. I'm not an album buyer, I am a cherry picker of songs. I find them on the internet, on links posted by friends. I found my favourite artist from a link in someone's signature on a forum, sometimes I find them on adverts. Occasionally I've even been known to discover them on the radio, despite the vast amounts of dross in the charts these days <insert obligatory remark about being old and another about 'back in my day'>.  These are some of the songs I love and some of the moods they put me in.

Music I Have Known Forever
These are the songs from my childhood. The songs my parents played a lot. I don't consciously think about them, I know all the words and they transport me into memory. I'm talking 'Bat Out Of Hell' (my mum) and Paul Simon/ Simon & Garfunkel (my dad).  Those are the artists I associate with my parents, but there are so many more. From all the decades from the '50s until the '90s but heavily focussed at the end of the '70s. So many great tracks. Other stand out artists: Queen, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond.

Boyfriend Music.
When you love someone, you tend to get into the same stuff they are into. Even long after the relationship has ended, there will be songs that take you back to a time and a person. My first real boyfriend was a lad called Bobby. Bob was into rock music and metal. From our time together I was introduced to Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and lots of rock tracks.  Songs I associate with him include 'Can I play with madness' by Iron Maiden, 'Always'  by Bon Jovi, 'Hysteria' by Def leppard and 'Ballad Of Jayne' by the LA Guns. Strangely, although Bob never heard it (he had passed away by then) the song 'Hear You Me' by Jimmy Eat World gives me the same reaction.
My first husband was a U2 fan. Any U2 track will take me back but I have a special place in my heart for 'One', 'With or without you' and 'The sweetest thing'.  Also tied to him is the song 'Always and forever' by Donna Lewis. I don't associate many songs with my second husband. His musical tastes never much impacted my own.

Balm To The Soul Songs
You know the ones. Break up with your boyfriend, row with your partner, have a shitty day. They are the songs you play on a loop until you feel better. They are songs that ward off the world, that speak to you on some deep level. They are talismans. I have only a few of these but they have never failed me yet. Jason Webley's 'Against the night', 'map', 'without' and 'train tracks'. Also his cover of 'Aeroplane over the sea', though I'm not really keen on the original.  'Midnight Radio' from the Hedwig And The Angry Inch soundtrack,, Paul Simon's 'Only Living boy in New York' and 'the boxer', Stereophonics 'dakota'. I could play these on a loop for hours.

Sing It Fucking LOUD
Whack it on, turn it up bloody loud and sing until the neighbours complain. This is a wide catagory. This is the sort of music you put on whilst you're cleaning, I'm not even going to name individual tracks here but artists include Kings Of Leon, Elbow, Bowling For Soup, Reel Big Fish, The Killers, The Felice brothers, Queen, The Kaiser Chiefs, Rancid, Guns N Roses, The Beautiful South and many more.

The Silly, Stupid And Just Pure Fun.
I once made a mix CD for a car trip. We had three kids in the back. My second husband had brought a whole bunch of chart music for us to listen to but the mix tape stayed on for hours. These are songs that are just fun. Kids love them, adults love them, great for car trips and dancing like eejits in the kitchen... trust me on this: Chumbawumba's 'Tub thumping', 'The Banana Boat Song' and 'Jump In The Line' by Harry Belafonte, 'Don't worry, be happy' by Bobby McFerrin, 'Eleven Saints' by Jason Webley, 'Hey Ya' by Outkast. There's probably a few more.

Current Favourites.
Songs come and go, but at any one time I've probably got about a dozen 'gotta spin it again' songs. These are the songs I'll actively look for on my mp3 player, or look up on youtube despite having them on my laptop. The songs I have stuck in my head.  So, currently these are... Fun's 'we are young' and 'carry on', 'Ghost in the shell' (don't ask me what version, I have no idea), 'Aeroplane over the sea' performed by Jason Webley and also by him 'Saviour', 'Pork ghoulash' and 'In this light', 'Werewolves of London' by Warren Zevon, 'Fire at the pageant' and 'Frankie's Gun' by The Felice Brothers and 'Ho hey' by The Lumineers.

Honorable Mentions.
for the most adrenaline fueled writing songs ever: 'Dominant view' by King Prawn and The Vandals '54321-1'
for being the most beautiful piece of classical music: 'The Flower Duet' by um. Someone.
for being the most ridiculously catchy video game songs: Portal's 'I want you gone' and 'still alive'
for being the weirdest cover that I prefer to the original: Katzenjammer's 'Land of confusion'
for being the flirtiest song ever sung by a man in drag: 'Sugar daddy' from The Hedwig soundtrack
for being the song nobody can fail to be cheered by: The Jam's 'A town called Malice'

...and currently playing in my ears? 'big parade' by the Lumineers.