Soundtrack To My Life
I remember once getting two ticks in an essay I wrote aged 14 for using the word “eclectic”. I had used it to describe my musical tastes, which even then were strangely varied. I sung in a church choir as well as the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, which introduced me both to a range of rather highbrow classical music as well as the joy of a capella pop arrangements; I had been brought up on a strange diet of 60s pop and folk music by a Beach Boys-loving mum and a Kinks-obsessed dad, with a constant backing track of Irish traditional music to which my second and third generation immigrant relatives clung. I played the violin at ceilidhs whilst dabbling in punk and heavy metal before eventually settling on the Smiths, keeping my guilty enjoyment of Abba and the odd country and western song a secret (only today my ipd shuffle settled on “Country Road” as I wandered my way into work. But if I were to die and my life be played out in the minds of those who knew me, some or all of these may provide the backing track.
1.) Cotton Fields, The Beach Boys. This song reminds me of holidays. As a kid we used to drive down from the North to Weymouth to get the boat to Guernsey to see my mum’s family as it was cheaper than flying. My mum likes the Beach Boys and this is one of the songs I most remember from a very young age.
2.) The Locomotion – Kylie Minogue. I realise there is an older, arguably better version of this, but Kylie was probably was probably the first pop star to appear on my wall. My main memory of this, mind you, is hearing it played at school discos and watching cliques of little girls perform with great seriousness a series of mystifying handjives which everyone seemed to know except me. Thus began a lifetime of feeling I was always on the outside looking in.
3.) Waterloo Sunset – the Kinks. This is the most beautiful track, and my dad used to play it constantly when I was a kid. It’s tainted slightly as I remember it playing in our house the day after we were burgled – a guy had rocked up at 4am and kicked in our patio doors with hobnail boots. I remember music playing almost constantly in the house for a week or so after. I think noise was somehow reassuring, and let everyone know we were at home.
4.) Barcelona - Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Cabelle. I probably shouldn't like Queen, but Freddie Mercury has a certain power and appeal that on occasions just hits the spot. This track was played to introduce the Olympics in 1992, and I remember thinking "wow". I also remember Sally Gunnell winning the hurdles, and playing what seemed like a terribly high tech Acorn "Athletics" game afterwards that basically involved manically wiggling the mouse to "win", regardless of what "sport" you were playing.
5.) Saturday Night – Whigfield. I still know the moves to this, and in my teens could do them confidently on rollerskates without falling over. Brilliant.
6.) Country House – Blur. For some reason everyone had to choose Blur or Oasis, and I chose Blur, if only because the lyrics of this song were funnier whereas, in the words of Travis, “What’s a Wonderwall, anyway?”
7.) Living Next Door to Alice – Smokie. A rude version of this came out circa 1996 which caused much hilarity amongst our little group of teens. This reminds me of my partners-in-crime of the mid-90s, huddled in a dirty phonebox in Trinity Square calling the operator to try and get the numbers of famous people.
8.) Hamba Lulu – NYCGB. Whenever I think I’ve done nothing with my life, I remember at least that I have sung in the Albert Hall with the fantastic National Youth Choir. I sadly can’t find a clip of us doing this song, but when sung by 120 teenagers it’s just amazing.
9.) Come Back To What You Know – Embrace. This was played constantly by Mark Ratcliffe which I used to listen to whilst theoretically on study leave for my GCSEs. Yes, when everyone else was trying to work out how to calculate a mole, I was on hold trying to get on to play Pigment or Figment. I never did. I saw them live at Glastonbury in 2000 and to me surprise they were absolutely awesome (I'm probably on the video somewhere...)
10.) Alice’s Restaurant – Arlo Guthrie. This is a piece of pure genius, which my aunt introduced me to as it was both folky (a lifelong love) and lefty (I was going through a phase at the time.) I have my aunt to thank, too, for introducing me to Joan Baez and showing me a world beyond the more traditional folk of my childhood.
11.) Fire, Water, Burn – the Bloodhound Gang. A terrible band, who I saw at Manchester University in 1999. I have great memories of this marvellously monotonal song, sitting in the back of a minibus singing it all the way back from York to my school (then in Somerset).
12.) Grow Old With Me – John Lennon. This is one of the few songs that makes me weep, as it reminds me of two friends who are now dead. I went through an (inevitable?) Lennon phase at 16-17 and was playing it at the time. I associate it with what was undoubtedly the happiest year of my life. The lyrics are “grow old along with me/the best is yet to be.” That they never lived to see 30 is the most devastating thought.
13.) Eternal Flame – the Bangles. I’ve loved this song for as long as I can remember (though my favourite Bangles song is “I’ll Set You Free”). I have only ever met one other real Bangles “fan”, and this song reminds me – again, with tears in my eyes – of them.
14.) Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon. My karaoke song of choice.
15.) Kitty Jay – Seth Lakeman. Again, not my favourite track by this artist “that’s “Lady of the Sea”, in case you’re interested) but watching him play this as a sole performer is simply stunning. The guy’s a genius. I saw him at Bristol Folk in 2011 and fell a little bit in love with him.
16.) She Moved Through The Fair - traditional. I love to sing unaccompanied and won a folk competition singing this at aged 13. I've sung it at open mics and at the Rocquaine Regatta, and it reminds me of happy times.
And finally...
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong. My husband and I bonded over a mutual love of Monty Python and jazz. The jazz thing was a bit of a fraud on my part, really, as I’m not all that fond of it, but I had a nice collection of sung stuff, and this is one of the loveliest, spine-tinglingly feelgood tracks in existence. We played it as the first dance at our wedding, where we mainly walked round and round in a circle as neither of us can dance. I love this. It’s nostalgic, reassuring, warm, and the song I’d most like played at my funeral.
1.) Cotton Fields, The Beach Boys. This song reminds me of holidays. As a kid we used to drive down from the North to Weymouth to get the boat to Guernsey to see my mum’s family as it was cheaper than flying. My mum likes the Beach Boys and this is one of the songs I most remember from a very young age.
2.) The Locomotion – Kylie Minogue. I realise there is an older, arguably better version of this, but Kylie was probably was probably the first pop star to appear on my wall. My main memory of this, mind you, is hearing it played at school discos and watching cliques of little girls perform with great seriousness a series of mystifying handjives which everyone seemed to know except me. Thus began a lifetime of feeling I was always on the outside looking in.
3.) Waterloo Sunset – the Kinks. This is the most beautiful track, and my dad used to play it constantly when I was a kid. It’s tainted slightly as I remember it playing in our house the day after we were burgled – a guy had rocked up at 4am and kicked in our patio doors with hobnail boots. I remember music playing almost constantly in the house for a week or so after. I think noise was somehow reassuring, and let everyone know we were at home.
4.) Barcelona - Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Cabelle. I probably shouldn't like Queen, but Freddie Mercury has a certain power and appeal that on occasions just hits the spot. This track was played to introduce the Olympics in 1992, and I remember thinking "wow". I also remember Sally Gunnell winning the hurdles, and playing what seemed like a terribly high tech Acorn "Athletics" game afterwards that basically involved manically wiggling the mouse to "win", regardless of what "sport" you were playing.
5.) Saturday Night – Whigfield. I still know the moves to this, and in my teens could do them confidently on rollerskates without falling over. Brilliant.
6.) Country House – Blur. For some reason everyone had to choose Blur or Oasis, and I chose Blur, if only because the lyrics of this song were funnier whereas, in the words of Travis, “What’s a Wonderwall, anyway?”
7.) Living Next Door to Alice – Smokie. A rude version of this came out circa 1996 which caused much hilarity amongst our little group of teens. This reminds me of my partners-in-crime of the mid-90s, huddled in a dirty phonebox in Trinity Square calling the operator to try and get the numbers of famous people.
8.) Hamba Lulu – NYCGB. Whenever I think I’ve done nothing with my life, I remember at least that I have sung in the Albert Hall with the fantastic National Youth Choir. I sadly can’t find a clip of us doing this song, but when sung by 120 teenagers it’s just amazing.
9.) Come Back To What You Know – Embrace. This was played constantly by Mark Ratcliffe which I used to listen to whilst theoretically on study leave for my GCSEs. Yes, when everyone else was trying to work out how to calculate a mole, I was on hold trying to get on to play Pigment or Figment. I never did. I saw them live at Glastonbury in 2000 and to me surprise they were absolutely awesome (I'm probably on the video somewhere...)
10.) Alice’s Restaurant – Arlo Guthrie. This is a piece of pure genius, which my aunt introduced me to as it was both folky (a lifelong love) and lefty (I was going through a phase at the time.) I have my aunt to thank, too, for introducing me to Joan Baez and showing me a world beyond the more traditional folk of my childhood.
11.) Fire, Water, Burn – the Bloodhound Gang. A terrible band, who I saw at Manchester University in 1999. I have great memories of this marvellously monotonal song, sitting in the back of a minibus singing it all the way back from York to my school (then in Somerset).
12.) Grow Old With Me – John Lennon. This is one of the few songs that makes me weep, as it reminds me of two friends who are now dead. I went through an (inevitable?) Lennon phase at 16-17 and was playing it at the time. I associate it with what was undoubtedly the happiest year of my life. The lyrics are “grow old along with me/the best is yet to be.” That they never lived to see 30 is the most devastating thought.
13.) Eternal Flame – the Bangles. I’ve loved this song for as long as I can remember (though my favourite Bangles song is “I’ll Set You Free”). I have only ever met one other real Bangles “fan”, and this song reminds me – again, with tears in my eyes – of them.
14.) Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon. My karaoke song of choice.
15.) Kitty Jay – Seth Lakeman. Again, not my favourite track by this artist “that’s “Lady of the Sea”, in case you’re interested) but watching him play this as a sole performer is simply stunning. The guy’s a genius. I saw him at Bristol Folk in 2011 and fell a little bit in love with him.
16.) She Moved Through The Fair - traditional. I love to sing unaccompanied and won a folk competition singing this at aged 13. I've sung it at open mics and at the Rocquaine Regatta, and it reminds me of happy times.
And finally...
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong. My husband and I bonded over a mutual love of Monty Python and jazz. The jazz thing was a bit of a fraud on my part, really, as I’m not all that fond of it, but I had a nice collection of sung stuff, and this is one of the loveliest, spine-tinglingly feelgood tracks in existence. We played it as the first dance at our wedding, where we mainly walked round and round in a circle as neither of us can dance. I love this. It’s nostalgic, reassuring, warm, and the song I’d most like played at my funeral.
Labels: music
posted by RLS at 8:34 pm
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