I think the original aim was just to write about music I loved and explain what I loved about it, but I came up with a rather all-consuming concept which drove the whole enterprise. It almost drove it into the ground, but not quite. It was quite an effort, that blog, an idea which took hold.
So here we go again - this post is called 102 Songs, but to be honest I haven't quite decided what I'm doing yet - there certainly won't be poems - interesting as it was to link them into the whole concept, they became rather an intimidating beast and also, inevitably, a source of some embarrassment. But will there be lists? Yes, I expect so, though maybe not all the time. Sometimes I'll just write something. And will there be a "theme" to each post? Again, not too sure, but I expect not.
I think I may also make this blog a little more appealing visually, with a few more links, pictures etc. There was something pleasing to me as author about the denseness of 101 Songs, but I'm quite sure most visitors to the site will have turned and ran.
But, having said all that, I do feel that I need to start with a post which suits the title 102 Songs. I do need a list to kick it off. I actually made a playlist of my new 100 favourite songs lately, but my lack of understanding of how the iCloud works caused me to delete it (along with most of my other carefully constructed playlists). So this 102 Songs won't just be favourites, it'll be something else.
102 is not a magic number to me, not like 101, so this list has not initially drawn me on with enthusiasm*. The best I can do to give 102 some symbolic power is that it's 34x3, and I'm only two months away from me being 34. Perhaps if i draw this out long enough, I can post this on my 34th birthday, then spit three times on the ground, and then 102 will feel important enough to me.
Ok, how about 102 songs from my life - simple as that. 102 songs which I'll remember and write down pretty much off the cuff, which have particular memories, not necessarily associations with actual events, just songs I've been into. Some of them are songs i don't like now, some of them are silly, but they mean something to me. A lot of people talk about pop songs' primary function being the soundtrack to our own lives, but I kind of hate that usually. Songs are other people's art, if you can't appreciate them on their own merit and take your own life out of it, that's rather selfish of you.** But, i'll indulge myself for now. These are my songs, they've popped into my life, so there.
I'm having trouble getting it down to 102, so the ones I'm going to eliminate are more likely to be the ones that have already featured on my 'Favourite Songs' list - it kind of goes without saying that they've played a role in my life, so more fun to include ones that figure in my memory but are more of a surprise to me.
* In fact it's already three weeks since i started writing this blog!
** I do realise it's significantly more complicated than that, and that's the eternal magic of pop music/rock'n'roll and why it's the greatest thing that's ever existed, that's it can be transient/timeless, just yours/ everyone's, art/pap, etc etc
I realise that this may be like paint drying to readers - someone else's unexplained internal song monologue, but it may turn out quite nice and tell a story in its own way, and it may at least inspire you to do something similar yourselves. Super. Turned out nice again.
Our House - Madness
I Won't Let You Down - PhD
Yellow Submarine - The Beatles
Woman in Love - Barbra Streisand
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Nik Kershaw
Macavity - Cats
Take on Me - A-Ha
Suddenly - Angry Anderson
I've Had the Time of my life - Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Daydream Believer - The Monkees
He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother - The Hollies
Goodnight Girl - Wet Wet Wet
Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
Two Princes - The Spin Doctors
La Tristesse Durere - Manic Street Preachers
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Going Underground - The Jam
Hurricane - Bob Dylan
Life on Mars? - David Bowie
Have You Ever Had It Blue - The Style Council
Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
End of a Century - Blur
Be My Baby - The Ronettes
Wonderwall - Oasis
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys
Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks
Yes - McAlmont and Butler
Slight Return - The Bluetones
Shipbuilding - Elvis Costello
Down in the Tube Station at Midnight - The Jam
Three Lions - The Lightning Seeds
Life Becoming a Landslide - Manic Street Preachers
Caroline, No - The Beach Boys
Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
Simple Twist of Fate - Bob Dylan
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space - Spiritualized
The State I am in - Belle and Sebastian
Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen
People Ain't No Good - Nick Cave
Drinking in LA - Bran Van 3000
Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones
Dancing Queen - ABBA
The Sky is a Landfill - Jeff Buckley
Stay Young - Oasis
Stay Young - Ultrasound
Old Man River - Paul Robeson
Holes - Mercury Rev
She's a Jar - Wilco
Streetlife - Randy Crawford
Spanish Bombs - The Clash
Misstra Know-it-all - Stevie Wonder
Northern Lights - Super Furry Animals
Blossoms Falling -Ooberman
Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying - Belle and Sebastian
Lost Myself - The Longpigs
Sheena is a Punk Rocker - The Ramones
Til I Believe in My Soul - Dexys Midnight Runners
Fighting Fit - Gene
Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams
The Last Good Day of the Year - Cousteau
American Trilogy - The Delgados
Shining Light - Ash
Dry the Rain - Beta Band
Live Forever - Oasis
The Dark is Rising - Mercury Rev
Scottish Pop - Spearmint
St Patrick - James Yorkston
Stepping Out - Joe Jackson
Nothing Lasts Forever - Echo and the Bunnymen
I See a Darkness - Bonnie Prince Billy
The Wild Ones - Suede
Pounding - Doves
A Rainy Night in Soho - The Pogues
If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
Slaveship - Josh Rouse
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Close to You - The Carpenters
Us - Regina Spektor
Doo-wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
I Never - Rilo Kiley
You are the Generation that Bought More Shoes and You get What You Deserve - Johnny Boy
Be Not So Fearful - Bill Fay
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
When I See Your Eyes I Swear To God That Worlds Collided - The Young Republic
The Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine
Ghost Town - First Aid Kit
Family Affair - Mary J Blige
In California - Joanna Newsom
From the Morning - Nick Drake
The Parting Glass - The Clancy Brothers
The Funeral - Band of Horses
Trellick Tower - Emmy the Great
Bills, Bills, Bills - Destiny's Child
In the New Year - The Walkmen
Where You Lead - Carole King
Our House - Crosby Stills and Nash
Gosh, that took ages and was extremely fun. I seem to have veered towards stuff from further back which has a stronger memory, rather than recent stuff which is actually the music i like. A lot of my favourite music comes from 2003-2008, but there' s hardly anything from then. It is, as well as I could make it, in chronological order of when it took its place in my memories.
There are songs here that I don't particularly like at all , some utterly naff nonsense, lots of songs I do love, but they all remind me of a time and place. Usually, there's not a direct connection between events and the song, that would be too weird! but still, this list does tell me a tale, and I'm very glad to have made it.
I am excited to be able to remember many of these songs featuring in your life, and then in my own often after you introduced me to them.
ReplyDeleteSlightly sad/surprised not to see many songs added to the list from the karaoke box heyday. Surely a bit of Lionel and Billy snuck into your life in unexpected ways at that time?
Anyway, tyou keep writing about music (and your life), and I'll keep reading, buddy boy.
Dude, read closer, there's the Piano Man right there, right up next to your own Carpenters glory.
ReplyDeleteAnd go down the list and see how many of those songs you remember me desecrating and you'll realise what a profound influence karaoke box has played in my life!