A while ago I posted the titles of my Desert Island Disks. Here is my list of the tracks/albums that have a significance in my past. I'm not looking at that old post so I may have picked different things.
The ice age is coming, the sun's souvenir.
Meltdown expected, the weekend is near.
London Calling
This isn't really my record, but my brother's. He was the first of us to buy a single, and he chose London Calling. What do you do when you've only got one single and it finishes? You put it on again and again. This is why it must really stick in my mind. I love the opening bass slide. I didn't really understand all the words, and I still don't even today.
The ice age is coming, the sun's souvenir.
Meltdown expected, the weekend is near.
Wild West Hero
When I was a child we had a stereogram - a record player in the middle of a cabinet with a large speaker at either side. It lived in what the estate agents would call a second reception room, which to me was the music room, as it also had our out of tune piano. As it wasn't used much it was cold. A friend of mine introduced me to ELO and I bought Wild West Hero. I would sit in front of the speakers and drink in the rich sounds. The a capella section was particularly yummy.
Tubular Bells
Wild West Hero was my favourite single as a child and Tubular Bells was my favourite album. I would play it at least once or twice a week, if not more. Two sides of intricate varying music I could get lost in.
Time - ELO
Thanks to the friend who interested me in ELO I also caught up with the back catalogue, way back into the ancient days of 10538 Overture. Then they worked on a new album and there is nothing quite like the excitement of a new record from a band where you've heard so much old stuff. I got Time from our local record shop, with its panelled wood frontage and Profil font lettering. I wrote about the track Rain is Falling in my post about five songs I listen to for one line. I love every track though. It was not a disappointment. In 1981 it sounded so futuristic with all its vocoders and synths. I've just got it for Christmas, and even now, it still sounds great.
I've written on Medium about how I tried to convince my sixth form that ELO are cool.
I've written on Medium about how I tried to convince my sixth form that ELO are cool.
Genesis by Genesis
In the same way that I delved into the ELO back catalogue through a friend who bought their records I also caught up with Genesis - my favourite childhood band. Then the Genesis album came out. I listened to it on a portable tape player as my mum drove me to a university open day along a rainy, dark M1. You can't get much more atmospheric than that.
Lark Ascending
During my University years I visited the abbey at Iona for a week. A friend of mine regularly visited and invited me along. One morning we had a service in a small chapel with modern pews made out of light wood. The sun was shining bright through the windows and a piece of classical music was playing. I found out afterwards that it was Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. Sitting in that chapel, on that morning, in that abbey, on that island set in the bluest sea was the closest I've been to heaven on earth. Lark Ascending will always remind me of that.Don't give up
This was a duet with Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. After hearing the album So, through the wall in my third year at York Uni I asked my neighbour if I could tape it. This particular track was one I played when I needed encouragement during my final exams.
Boys of summer
Again this reminds me of University. That same neighbour gave me a mixtape that she and her friends liked, and this was my favourite song on it. It reminds me of that summer, particularly the four weeks after my exams and before the end of term when I had nothing I had to do, so could do what I liked. I read Bleak House, which isn't the wildest thing to do, but each to his own.
I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac
A voice inside my head said, "don't look back, you can never look back".
Sing
Sing by Travis is on the album The Invisible Band, which is a favourite for car journeys. It has such a carry-you-along groove, that if I had to listen to one song on loop for ever, I'd choose this one.
Mirrorball
This is a track from Elbow's album, Seldom Seen Kid. It doesn't represent a particular time or place, but was my favourite track on my favourite album from what became new favourite band from my middle-aged years. Guy Garvey's lyrics are brilliant, and he can sing pretty well too, and (and this becomes important) you can hear the words. Not that I'm against songs where you can't hear the words. I've got Kingdom of Rust by Doves and I can't hear most of the words on that, apart from the chorus, but it makes great driving music. Anyway, we're here to discuss Elbow.
Wichita Lineman
This is a bit of a ringer. I wouldn't say I'm a particular fan of Glen Campbell, but I've included this track for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the bridge is something that Steve Wright used to play at the end of his afternoon show on Radio 1, which I'd listen to in school holidays, so it reminds me of those days. The second reason is that it's just a great song.
Here's a video where you can hear the bit I mean playing in the background.
Magnificent
This is my new favourite track by Elbow. The rest of the album isn't the best, but this track is, well, magnificent. I heard a great story about it from Guy (on his radio show, not down the pub) and looking for to get the facts straight I found the story on songfacts.com
London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony is the best thing I've ever seen on TV. The whole thing was just wonderful. When the last Olympic ring was hauled up into place with the others I almost cried. The original music for it reminds me so much of that. We bought the 2CD set of the music and played it on our summer holiday. (There's an idea for another post - summer holiday soundtracks). The second CD is actually quite missable, with an eclectic mix of tracks. The first one is great though.
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