It’s strange isn’t it, the way time passes? I’m going to
sound like a right old woman now, but when I was kid, time lasted for ever, the
school holidays went on almost endlessly. Yet now it goes by in a blink, and I
used to laugh at people who said that.
So here we are in May, and I’ve no idea where the last few
months have vanished to, but they’ve definitely gone.
I see Pearl Jam next month; it just seems to have appeared
out of the blue…hence my lack of savings! (Yes, that is an eeek!)
June and July are fairly busy months, but I am looking
forward to seeing friends, and meeting new people. Hopefully, people feel the
same about seeing me! I'm looking after the Euro fan badge manufacture, and associated charity donations, and am organising some badges for a PJ collective on Twitter.
With my waxing lyrical about music, and the distain some of
my friends have for my musical choices I’ve been thinking about my musical
influences and taste. I can’t pin point an exact switch that got me liking rock anf folk
music from liking New Kids on the Block (oh yes I did like them, my bedroom
walls were plastered in posters until I was about 11!).
The one thing I can distinctly remember is a holiday in Spain. I was
with my Aunt and cousin visiting his Dad in a village called Puente Mayorga in Andalusia for the summer holidays. I made friends with a
girl from Scotland,
she was a couple of years older than me, and despite the differences between us
we seemed to get on really well. She was tall, skinny and pretty with a
vivacious attitude for life, and basically one of those really cool girls I
wouldn’t normally have approached! We spent so much time in her complex pool,
trying to communicate with the local and ex-pat kids. She had loads of music
with her; one album was the soundtrack to the film ‘Singles’ and I adored it.
As you do when you’re a kid and holiday, you vow to stay
pals with those you met. In this case, we kept the promise and a few weeks
later I had the maddest envelope arrive on the doorstep covered in music
lyrics, jokes and messages to the postman! Inside this was a letter and a tape
which had the Singles soundtrack on it and some dance music my friend had just
discovered. That tape was played endlessly, and my tape collection seemed to
grow as a response to it. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden Red
Hot Chili Peppers all appeared.
Me and that girl from Scotland are still friends (I still
have the tape too), and whilst she loves dance music and Facebook has replaced
the mad envelopes, it goes to show how robust some friendships are, even when
formed on holiday!
Music has always been there I guess. I remember my parents rewarding me with tapes and CDs for
doing well at school, dancing in the kitchen to the radio whist making pancakes with friends, and me hearing cool kids talk about bands then me trying to
find out more about them…that’s hard without the internet. My Nan
paid for me to have Kerrang and NME magazines which helped.
When I went to college I found myself mixing with loads of
new people, all with varying tastes, some of them played in bands, others just
listened to stuff I’d never heard of before, it was great to be constantly discovering new artists and sounds. I also started
frequenting The Pirate, a much missed live music venue in Falmouth. Music was
the mainstay of my life, it gave me conversation, nights out and friends.
My Dad would hate to admit it, but he’s been a massive
influence on my music tastes, and whilst we agree to disagree on some stuff,
the grounding he gave me with his choices helped form my own. There were times
when I lived away I would steal music from his collection, or listen to stuff I
knew he had, it was a link to home and my family I guess. The more I listened, the more I
liked and it evoked memories of car journeys and of Dad watching videos after
the pub.
I associate music with memories, and not just special times,
random ones of friends, family, boyfriends. I associate it with people and
places.
I like what I like, I have no reason or structure to the decision
making. If it makes me smile or provokes a good emotional/physical reaction, no
matter the genre or the age of the song, then its ticking boxes. Music is timeless to some extent, providing you with links to your past and links to the future.
