Every radio in our house it seems is tuned to some kind of greatest hits radio station. It gets a bit grating at times, because the hits of yesteryear is a limited pool of music. This is evident particularly on the Classic Rock station Husband keeps tuning the kitchen radio to. In any hour of… Continue reading Top 10 at 10
Category: Music
Blast from the past (11.21)
I can't believe I forgot to talk about cassettes last week, as the world marked the death of Lou Ottens, the inventor of the cassette tape. Cassettes were a big part of the music culture of my youth. Yes, you could buy an album by your favourite artist in cassette format, but more likely you… Continue reading Blast from the past (11.21)
The benefits of listening on repeat
At various times throughout this year I've become obsessed with a particular song or artist or album and listened to it on repeat. My Spotify 2020 stats reflect this, with my number one most listened to song for 2020 being Song of the Volga Boatmen. I think there were only a few days earlier this… Continue reading The benefits of listening on repeat
Kirsty MacColl
It's been 20 years since we lost Kirsty MacColl. The most talented singer songwriter that most people have never heard of. It's ironic that the song of hers that gets played the most on the radio is her cover of Billy Bragg's "A New England". Any list of my favourite songs would have to include… Continue reading Kirsty MacColl
Song Challenge #5
I realise on reading over what I've picked here that some of these songs meet several categories. Terry Callier has a voice I love but is sadly no longer with us. "Slipping through my Fingers" reminds me of myself as well as being a song that breaks my heart. A song you like by an… Continue reading Song Challenge #5
Song challenge – part 2
Part 2 of the 30 day song challenge - my song picks for a series of categories. A song to drive to - Born to be wild - Steppenwolf This is probably an obvious choice, considering the opening lines, "Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway." I don't have a car these days,… Continue reading Song challenge – part 2
Orchestration for strings
A few years ago i saw the Carole King musical, Beautiful. There's a scene where she and her husband Gerry Goffin are talking to the Shirelles about a new song they've written for them, "Will you love me tomorrow". The Shirelles were a bit hesitant about the song at first because the demo version they… Continue reading Orchestration for strings
Song challenge (part 1)
I love a challenge and someone recently put up a 30 day song challenge on some social media. I had in my mind to write a blog post but hadn't got around to it so today's discover challenge is my cue to start this. Tackling all 30 at once could be too much so I'll… Continue reading Song challenge (part 1)
10 albums in 10 days
It was one of those silly Facebook challenge things. I saw my friend Ramona was posting 10 albums in 10 days and challenging one of her friends every day to do the same. "But there's no way she will pick me," I thought.By coincidence, I had just been listening to Human League Dare when I… Continue reading 10 albums in 10 days
Sunday night
I’m in a dark, crowded room on a Sunday night, jumping up and down with hundreds of other people, singing “Devushka proskovya, iz podMoskovya.” No, it’s not a political rally; it’s a concert by Russian band Uma 2rman, and it’s taken almost 14 years for me to get here. In 2005, I was in Moscow… Continue reading Sunday night
Tales from Tobhamhor 