Music of my youth

Some people have a very profound relationship with music and seem to need it from such a deep place. Whilst others really don't respond it to it so much but simply enjoy it where they hear it-not sure which is better but ultimately I suppose it's not about what's better or right. Music for me has always been a changing presence in my life where I would listen to it or respond to it differently depending on what my life is like at the time. It can sometimes resurrect memories; connect me to my emotions; allow me to escape me emotions; change my mood; uplift me and even let me just drift without the loneliness of silence.

I remember being a teenager when everything was that bit more elevated-my emotions, my thoughts, my expectations, my dreams. And during this time I now look back on the music that listened to and how it changed and shaped me. Many of the albums and musicians I listened to growing up was stuff made in that time (the 90s and the millenium) and perhaps because that was my growing up time I still believe that it was one of the best times in music. I may be biased in wanting to big up the 'good ol' days' however this was a time when we had no social media, text messaging was just starting, people carried pagers and we did pretty much what we actually really liked instead of being told by people to like this and dislike that. I personally like to think that a lot of very important information was obtained from magazines like Shout and Mizz and felt confident in the rather wholesome and gentle guidance that even the agony aunts would write about, whereas today anyone with an internet connection is an 'expert' and we must constantly look for the most up to date and latest information. I write this today because I read a while back that for the first time in history the sales of old music has surpassed that of new releases and this for me is very relatable because people I think know what they enjoy and what is good, especially when it comes music, and older music was made and listened to without all this fuss and noise that we get from today's music. So they are genuinely very enjoyable to listen to. If a good friend of mine who is a music fiend is reading this I'm sure she'll have a lot to say about my thoughts but that's the magic of music-it can unite or divide people and I hope the following unites fellow lovers of music from their youth! We should all continue to listen to our favourite music no matter what.

Des’ree-Supernatural
This is an absolute old time favourite album that lifts my mood and I always end up singing along to it. Plus it was one of those first of many CDs I bought with my own money (all collected from weekly pocket money) and felt so grown up.

Zero 7-Simple Things
My above mentioned friend introduced me to this (among all the albums by Daft Punk!) and it instantly takes me to amazing places.

Corrs-Talk On Corners
Catchy and lovely pop songs perfect in the car. And yes, I AM a girl after all.

N.E.R.D-In Search Of...
What can I say, I like my music funky and loud and this is when I could watch MTV all day long.
(Can't get the link here for some reason...)

Moby-Play
Absolutely gut wrenching at times and full of nostalgia from my days of school and discovering all sorts of emotions. My all time favourites.

Macklemore-Heist
I like to think that I'm still young but I fell in love with this album after my teenage days but before my full blown adult mode. It still makes me feel like a kid when I listen to it, especially when I go jogging and totally forget about the pain in my legs!

Ash-Free All Angels
Reminds me of days spent in the park, lying on the grass and maybe even sneaking a can of beer.

Jeff Buckley-Grace
Most moody and aching girls have gone through this phase I think but he's still a legend.

Dirty Three-all albums
Music that is all engulfing and takes you to places. Instrumental but it cannot be any other way.

Joanna Newsom-Milk Eyed Mender
This is a real crowd divider. I love her because I discovered her when I was growing a lot as a person so pure personal reasons.

This post has given me real highs just thinking of these amazing musical creations. I could go on for several dozen more albums but then I'll need more wine...anybody care to join?

When We Were Young

I was having a conversation with my younger brother about the good old days of cassettes and suddenly remembered the time when they meant so much to me. Then I stumbled upon these cassettes and it all came back. How I used to have a small, but at the time very valuable, collection of cassettes that I stacked up in my black plastic stand that curved like a filing box, holding 15 tapes exactly. It was probably bought from Argos-the place where they had the 'laminated book of dreams'-with saved up pocket money. I remember very clearly the following artists and their cassette albums that filled little slots: Spice Girls (Spice), Louise (Naked-just after she left Eternal), No Mercy (Where Do You Go-single). 

 

What were the rest? Well, here's where it got interesting and a little sad in hindsight. Twelve other slots were filled with tapes made lovingly and most time consumingly by recording my favourite songs from the radio. I would spend hours listening to the radio, waiting to hear my favourite song like the Carpenters used to sing, and hastily press record as soon as I hear the first beats or in most cases when the host would announce their order of playlist and I would wait patiently. Or sometimes when an ad would play and then suddenly jump straight into the track. If a song is really good I would press record at the end of the ads just so I don't miss anything. In the end I had tapes full of songs with random ads in front and back, or people's requests in the middle. And the most tragic thing would be when the tape would run its course and THAT song would get cut in half. To this day there are songs that I'd listen to now but internally listen to them the way it was recorded on my tapes-the ad that follows it straight away, the DJ's stupid jokes, the sudden halting of the tape in the middle of that chorus that I always anticipate. Only in such imperfect times do you hold onto such perfect memories of when we were young(er). And now music is digital, and most young peole grow up thinking of their favourite songs as mere texts on their computers or phones that you tap to hear a perfectly tuned, edited and cut packages with names, album titles, year of recording and who produced it. Surely the fun can be found in trying to guess the name of the song, or the artist and associating it with memories, events and emotions? Music now sounds more like what we know about it rather than how we feel about it. There's no mystery to it. We only acquire it. I wonder what my son would listen to when he has his own tastes, and would I be able to share it with him?

Anyway, looking up the images for the post has naturally lead me to this, and then ofcourse this. Most fun singing along to this in spanish! And to my surprise I found this little gem-where was I when this happened?! Apologies for all the this and that but I suddenly want to sing along to lots of 90s pop music. The last time I felt this giddy was at the Spice Girl Reunion tour, where I went with my best friends, sang our hearts out and bought the t-shirt to prove it! 

Lovely how a little rainbow of cassettes take you on a journey-how much can we say about a digital file?

[Photos: Dulguun Batkhishig]