Tuneful

I was sitting in the canteen the other day, sipping on my potato and leek soup and drifting in and out of conversation with a group of people when I begin to splutter. A piece of leek travels down the oral express but becomes lodged in my throat. The reason was a question, “What’s your favourite song of all time?” It has been many moons since I last heard that being asked. I think the last time was when I was in school, playing that game with the paper pyramid type thing with numbers written on the top and your destiny written underneath a flap. I am not sure of the exact reasons why I choked, was it because it sounded so immature? Or was it the absurdity? Upon reflection it is a question of the greatest grandeur not really absurd but a loaded one that needs to be thought about deeply. The person who asked it gave their own answer before sound could come from my mouth, “Mine is from the iPod advert.” "Shit you haven’t really thought about it.” I thought. It quite possible is the greatest song ever heard but I’m pretty sure it has more to do with good advertising whereas I could not find an answer I was comfortable with, I found it really hard but it was something I needed to mull over (hence this entry). Firstly the last answer I gave was along the lines of Paula Abdul’s Opposites Attract. So cultured and aware of music I was back then but at that time I could think of nothing better, it genuinely was my favourite song. However, if the animated cat had not featured in the music video my mind would have changed in an instant. That cat was pretty funkin’ cool.

My early steps into more thought provoking music occurred when I heard Fools Gold one cold winter. A friend’s older brother had it on vinyl and we listened to it in his room before he got home from work. Sneaking out just as he turned the key in the door. It was an unusual beat and a lot different to the Now compilations I had been spending my hard earn pocket money on. The opinion I had on music changed upon hearing that song, it was like a letter to my soul had been written by The Stone Roses letting me know that there is a hell of a lot of music out there. It was a good few years later when I felt that unusual feeling once more, this time it almost had me in shock. I was ill in bed one evening listening to the radio when I heard Wondewall by Oasis. It was another unusual feeling that plucked away at my emotions. I just couldn’t believe such a gruff arrogant band could produce something so brutally magnificent. The words are so vague that you could just form and apply them to your own story in life and it worked so beautifully. When the song ended on the radio and Steve Lamaq announced who sung it I remember shaking my head in astonishment. Over the years, my mind has gotten used to the rhythm beats and lyrics that the same feelings has eroded, it doesn’t seem to be able to make me stop for a moment anymore. Certainly not like when I first heard it on the radio all those years ago. Although the Cat Power version almost did take me back. From then, I ditched trying to get myself into clubs on Friday nights as Happy Wednesdays at the Winter Gardens brought me the greatest joy, jiving down to some Kula Shaker and Ash amongst others.

It was strange but my love for indie died one night. Probably after Be Here Now was released as it was so shit. I mean Britpop was rife at the time but my tastes began to change, I started to get into electronic dance type music. I’d always been a fan of Drum ‘n Bass but The Prodigy really asked questions of me as to why I hadn’t listened to more dance music. And so I did. And I realised that Prodigy stuff really wasn’t my type of thing, it was a bit too slow. It was trance music I had been waiting for which I discovered soon after. After a Saturday night at Flamingos we went back to someone’s house and carried on drinking when I heard this tweeting, beeping song called Ayla by Ayla. I think they’re German but the build up of the song really tapped into my constant attempt to heighten feelings within myself, like the way I drink coffee every day to keep awake but secretly experiment how much I can drink before I start shaking. From Ayla, the trance scene erupted before my eyes. Before I could say Tiesto I was buying Mixmag magazine and giving myself premature ear damage by listening to euphoric trance that kind of made me think, everything in the world is great. The pinnacle of this musical chapter was when I heard Delirium’s Silence (Teisto’s In Search of the Sunrise Mix version of course). It’s over 7 minutes long but when I hear it, even now, it evokes both wonderful memories and that same feeling that everything in the planet is alright.

Alas that episode came to a close when I picked up Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness for £5 in HMV one day. I felt like Judas having absconded to trance music whilst all this time there was still some great guitar music being written. 1979 blew me away as does Stumbleine. It completely made me obsessed in finding out what I’d been missing the last couple of years whilst I was listening to what Paul Oakenfold dished out.

And so after finishing off my soup I trudged off back to work but spent the rest of the afternoon remembering all the songs that I considered great. I didn’t bother to answer the question asked as to me those songs I’ve mentioned in this blog (although I’m sure I’ve missed loads out) are part of my amblings through life, how I felt, what was popular and what made me stand still until it was finished, like I used to do in Virgin and HMV. But I guess, if I was really pushed into a corner, forced to answer the question that was asked in the cafeteria then it would probably have to be this one.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HD7g9Ds_SE4