Thursday 14 April 2016

Music & Words

 Mistress Maddie has graciously bestowed upon us this Music & Words Award, for which we are extremely grateful as we now have something of consequence to post about!
 However, on reflection, it's less of an award, and more like hard work! With that in mind, we're going to pass this one over to The Host.
 Great. So I have to fire up the old musical memories, scour You Tube for the relevant videos, then combine everything into a coherent blog post?
 That's about right. Ta ra! I'm off to play in the copper telephone wires as you need our body for this.

Humph! Well, it's been a while since we've had an award and/or meme like this, so I hope I'm not too rusty? Here goes!

What does music mean to you?
 I don't know? I mean, I don't know if it means anything to me in general. However, in the moment, it can provoke an emotional response that real life rarely does for me. It inspires and induces the firing of my imagination. And I find it to be a comfort at times - something familiar that I can get lost in.
 As an example of a song that almost never fails to punch me in the feels:



 In fact, Neil Hannon/The Divine Comedy is a terror for producing music that gets my buried emotions going. Step forward "Come Home Billy Bird", "Laika's Theme", and "In Pursuit of Happiness" (British readers may recognise part of this track as the theme from Tomorrow's World).

What is your first music related memory?
 Before the years of piano and flute lessons and languishing in the school orchestra as 3rd or 4th flute; before listening to Igor Stravinsky's The Infernal Dance from The Firebird, Gustav Holst's The Planets (particularly Mars and Jupiter), and Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries in school assemblies; and even before the ubiquitous taping of Top of the Pops from the telly onto an old cassette recorder that Grandad gave us, there was an old record player in the alcove behind the TV that my sisters and I sat around while listening to a record of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf (although I can't remember who the narrator was), and a record compilation of songs ("The Court of King Caractacus", "Jake the Peg", "Two Little Boys", "A Windmill in Old Amsterdam" amongst others I can't remember) possibly all performed by Rolf Harris (no comments or jokes about the reasons for his conviction, please - let's leave it alone).



 There was also The Dinosaur Record - a tape I found in a bargain bin at Roys of Wroxham (you can listen to it here if you're so inclined) that we pestered The Parents to play on the car's stereo whenever we went out.
 I remember also that The Father had some Johnny Cash tapes, but also an ABBA tape that he'd recorded - I particularly remember "Dancing Queen"...



What was the first album you ever purchased yourself?
 Whatever it was, it was a cassette tape (too young for vinyl, too old for CDs)! I don't know if compilation albums count, but I bought Now XIII in 1988 (funnily enough, at the age of 13). As for an actual album by a single artist or group, possibly Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl also in 1988 (although this could have been Indescribable's, but I definitely bought the cassette single "Opposites Attract" from Roys of Wroxham).



 The next earliest I can remember definitely buying is Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 in 1989.



What is the latest music you purchased?
 At last, an easy one: All Possible Futures by Miami Horror. I bought this album last year, and haven't bought anything else since. Although I'm dithering about purchasing Miike Snow's iii...



What is the very last song you listened to before writing this post? Be honest!
 I think it was Goldfrapp's "Cologne Cerrone Houdini", but it could have been Scissor Sisters' "Might Tell You Tonight"? What I do know for definite (because I wrote it down thinking I had time to write the post there and then - Ha!) is that when I was reading Mistress Maddie's Music & Words post, I was listening to Röyksopp's "Forsaken Cowboy" from their Senior album.



 And there you have it. Thank you once again to Mistress Maddie - I hope this has satisfied your curiosity?

 All that's left is to open this meme up to the rest of you. In particular, I'd like to see Ms Scarlet, LX, The Very Mistress MJ (although I'm not going to hold my breath), Dinahmow, and Hound have a go at this.

21 comments:

  1. Oh my..... I grew up listening to that Peter and the Wolf record too!! I shall gloss over Arthur Askey though.
    Thank you for throwing me a blogging lifeline!
    Sx

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    Replies
    1. I wish I could remember who the narrator was. It can't have been Terry Wogan because, according to Wikipedia, that recording was made in 1984 - far too late (just) to have influenced my early years! "Before your very eyes" you can see some of the record covers - I can't remember what ours looked like, can you yours?
      As for the blogging lifeline, "Ay-Thang-Yaw" for wanting/needing to take part!

      Delete
    2. None of those covers ring a bell. I'm sure I'd recognise it if I saw it... I'm sure it was a serious cover. I will have to Google.
      Ay-Thang-Yaw too!
      Sx

      Delete
    3. I swear I am trying to reply in the right place.... s'not my fault that I'm old enough to remember Arthur Askey.... *wanders off sobbing*
      Sx

      Delete
    4. Oh, dear. You overheard me talking to Hound, didn't you?

      P.S. These reply thingies are very confusing, aren't they? You musn't reply underneath where you want to reply, but instead must reply using the top reply which brings you to the bottom anyway! It's all so very confusing - especially after one has scoffed three peices of brandy-infused chocolate torte (all will be explained tomorrow)!

      Delete
    5. P.P.S. You don't look, act or even blog like you could possibly remember Arthur Askey. I'm convinced you must have seen him on repeats.

      P.P.P.S. I'm using the bottom reply just to see where this ends up.

      Delete
    6. P.P.P.P.S. Oh. At the bottom. Not so confusing after all.

      Delete
  2. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: 'No more fucking ABBA!'" — Bernadette, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

    Well done! Impressively diverse musical presentation.

    Oh Hai, Miss Scarlet!

    Thank you, I will give it a go.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, LẌ. And you're welcome!

      "What are you telling me? That this is an ABBA turd?" - also Bernadette

      Delete
  3. I just knew this would be entertaining. And I thank you for the Nick Hannon clip. I never heard of him, but loved his music style. Would you believe Paula Abdul and the same Janet cassettes were among my first too!!!! And I simply adore Goldfrapp. I have to have a listen to them at least once a week. Now may I massage you and fix you a cocktail after such labors?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And thank you once again for thinking of me. As Ms Scarlet has mentioned above: this was a blogging lifeline!

      Now, you may proceed.

      ::reclines on chaise expectantly::

      Delete
  4. What fascinating song choices! I've heard some Goldfrapp, Scissor Sisters, & Röyksopp before. And I'm familiar with some of the classics, esp. the Ride of the Valkyries. If it's been on a Saturday morning cartoon or action flick, then I've heard it! Then we come to my fave kind of classics, Paula Abdul & Janet Jackson.

    Rhythm Nation solidified Janet's superstar status for me. I loved that song when it first came out. My old dance crew did a routine to this song & won a local talent competition. Our grand prize: Two cases of dolphin safe tuna cans, a case of saltine crackers, & a super/family size jar of pickles. The local supermarket sponsored the talent show. Janet would've been so proud of our accomplishment.

    ABBA's Dancing Queen is the iconic dance standard of weddings, birthday parties, & all family social gatherings! It is the Swedish National Anthem & the world's dance anthem! My elderly male Ghanaian dentist has it as his ringtone! I know because it went off while he was cleaning my teeth!

    Many of the other song choices are new finds for me, so thanks for sharing these! You always learn new things from others sharing online. My favorite discovery is The Dinosaur Record, so thank you for that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems like Rhythm Nation was a popular song with us bloggers, but what a bizarre prize for a talent competition. I now have a hankering for tuna and pickles!

      I cringed at the inclusion of Dancing Queen as it's such a cliche, but the fact is that it did shape some of my taste in music (and maybe my lifestyle!).

      Delete
  5. Unfortunately without Rolf Harris, I'm completely unable to comment
    I'm sure we had the same album, and even as a child I could see Jake the Peg was in doubtful taste.
    I am impressed by your ability to bilocate - being too young to buy records but remembering Arthur Askey! I couldn't do this, actually, it would be too embarrassing!

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    1. ::whispers:: Don't tell Ms Scarlet, but even though I knew the name 'Arthur Askey' I didn't have a clue who he was and found him on Wikipedia!

      "Too embarrassing"? Now you simply must do it!

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  6. My narrator was possibly Sean Connery!!
    SX

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  7. Oh dear...I hadn't checked my reader (busy rushing around buying tickets and trying to sort out the bloody nightmare that is American air travel) so tonight I see THREE or was it 4? posts.
    I think I had a Peter Ustinov recording of Peter and the Wolf which I found in a junk shop about 30 years ago.I'll have to scratch at the old bonce to remember who else did that. Maybe tomorrow? Oh, wait! I have to take the car back to the mechanic.I'll see what i can do.
    Wanders off, singing songs from the cardboard record from early 1950s...yes,a novelty recording, pressed onto a cardboard story book; you removed the front cover and it played at 78rpm.I remember that "Dolly danced a cake walk."

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    1. Sorry. This glut of posting won't happen again anytime soon.

      Your car's got to go *back* to the mechanic? I hope you don't have to sell any of those valuable-sounding records to pay for it!

      ::give thanks as The Very Mistress MJ missed the cake reference::

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  8. I remember a "Peter and the Wolf" recording from childhood too. I think it was in an elderly relative's collection of 78s!!!

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    1. It sounds like Peter and the Wolf is a requisite for children from all ages!

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Tickle my fancy, why don't you?