30 Day Music Challenge: Day Seven – A Song That Reminds Me Of An Event

We’re only on day seven and I’ve already missed two days. I am not very good at this.

Pulp’s F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. (which is quite difficult to type) reminds me of my first Reading Festival, in 2000. Pulp headlined Saturday night and this song, probably my favourite Pulp song, brings with it distinct memories of being exhausted, drunk, muddy, wet and happy. We were standing next to a man with a badger of the end of a stick and a bunch of people burning plastic on a bonfire, which gave me a headache. I can remember it like it was yesterday.

 

30 Day Music Challenge: Day Six – A Song That Reminds Me Of Somewhere

I tend to link songs to places, more than anything else, so this was a difficult choice.

The first time I visited my dad in New Zealand in 2002, Robbie Williams’s Feel had just been released there and we listened to it in his car a lot. It reminds me of driving round the Otago Harbour road – right alongside the shore – to Dunedin from his old house in Portobello (not only do you get the song but also a photo – just so you can really get as close to the experience as possible, you lucky things). I’m not the world’s biggest Robbie Williams fan but the memory is a very happy one.

 

 

30 Day Music Challenge: Day Five – A Song That Reminds Me Of Someone

Ally has already used this one but I’d thought of it beforehand as well. Honest.

When I Argue I See Shapes by Idlewild reminds me of her. She used to drive me to sixth form college in Eastleigh and we’d smoke and listen to tapes and I’d inflict on her stories of my disastrous love life. We listened to this song a lot – and we’d take it in turns to sing the bits at the end.

 

 

N.B. There’s some runners up for this category – Shimmy Shimmy Ya by Ol’ Dirty Bastard reminds me of my good friend TJ and the time he put a lot of effort into getting me to like hip hop, Song for Clay (Disappear Here) by Bloc Party reminds me of Omar and a gazillion songs remind me of my husband…

30 Day Music Challenge: Day Four – A Song That Makes Me Sad

The Cinematic Orchestra’s To Build A Home makes me sad. Not because of any association, just because of the piano and the vocals and the general mournfulness.

Holby City went through a phase of playing it over all their sad storylines and it made me cry a lot (not entirely surprising, if you know me). Now Sky Atlantic and Dustin Hoffman are ruining it all over again.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day Three – A Song That Makes Me Happy

This is easy.

Bearing in mind it references terrorism and the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, it shouldn’t be such a cheerful song. But I can’t think of much that makes me happier than Trains to Brazil by Guillemots and its seize-the-day attitude.

I’m just thankful to be facing the day / ‘Cause days don’t get you far when you’re gone

30 Day Music Challenge: Day Two – Least Favourite Song

Is it too early in the challenge to say that I don’t like some of the categories? I mean, there’s loads of really great songs I’d like to share with people (you know, all the floods of people who read my blog) so I’m not sure I should be wasting a day’s blog post on a song I don’t like.

Anyway, my least favourite song is To Be In Love by Masters At Work. It’s not because I think it’s particularly bad, but because I just don’t get it. When my husband and I were at university, we’d spend weekend mornings lounging around in his room in his student house: I would read in bed and he would play some records and he would always play this song. Usually, he’d play the extended mix just to really annoy me.

I just listened to it again just to check I still don’t like it. I still don’t like it.

 

30 Day Music Challenge: Day One – Favourite Song

Ally is doing this 30 day music challenge thing so, although I’m a few days behind, I thought I’d join in. At least it means I’ll have to blog daily, even if it is on the same thing every day…

Day One is your favourite song. So here it is: Powder Blue by Elbow. I know Ally found this one difficult but I didn’t really. There are a lot of songs that I really love, but this has been my favourite song for a long time, largely for three reasons:

• The line “I’m proud to be the one you hold, when the shakes begin” – wonderful
• The clarinet (I think) at 3:58 ish is just the right note to make your heart ache
• The way it ends, suddenly, with smashing glass.