So, I got tagged by Garry over at The Blog Up North to do a karaoke meme. I've written about music a few times on this blog but never about karaoke. There is a reason for this.
I don't like singing in public. Solo, at least. That sounds mad for someone who's sung in a choir but really, there is safety in numbers. I couldn't do it by myself so thank God I was never good enough to be given a solo. Generally, I need to follow someone else who can sight read or know the line I'm supposed to be singing better than me. Even then, I can sometimes get stage fright - I went to a rehearsal once and there was only two of us in my part. I was terrified.
Karaoke, therefore, is my idea of hell. But, were I to overcome this stage fright, possibly with the aid of some alcoholic beverages and an offer of half a million pounds a heck of a lot of persuasion, I'd probably be in a partay mood anyway. And so the song I'd make a fool of myself to would be this one:
Possibly with the help of a random passing male - my voice isn't deep enough for some of the bits. Or not - I might not care by that point. I just love this song anyway. It has formed part of the playlist of many a good night in my life. If a DJ hasn't got this, well then, he doesn't know how to get a good party going, does he?
And now it is my duty to tag some others to continue this meme. There's not many as it was late when I remembered this post so there's only one. If you want to join in, feel free to consider yourself tagged and get blogging.
It's been a while since I last did a music meme so I was both pleased and slightly horrified when the lovely Cass, who writes at Surfacing, tagged me to write about my Desert Island Discs. In other words, the 8 pieces of music or tracks I would take with me to a desert island. I knew immediately it was going to be hard but it's taken me well over 2 weeks to get this far. I keep thinking of songs or pieces and then I think of something else. I suspect, if you tagged me again in 3 months, the answer may well be substantially different. So what have I chosen? Here, in no particular order, is my selection.
The first is Heartbeat by The Psychedelic Furs. This is a song from my student days. I loved everything this band did, but this single really stood out for me. However, it was not a well known single - everyone knows Pretty in Pink or Love My Way - and didn't do all that well in the charts. But I loved it, and I used to play the 12" single repeatedly. The beat and the saxophone is hypnotic. I love how the sax and the guitars clash - it shouldn't work but it does. It's a brilliant dance tune. In this video, of them performing in Spain in the year of its release (1984), you'll also see how Bowie-esque Richard Butler was or was trying to be!
(and thanks to Chris at Thinly Spread for mentioning them on Twitter. Sorry you missed them last weekend)
Next is another student tune. In my opinion, it is the ultimate dance track. It has been released three times. It is one of the longest tracks ever to chart in the UK. I'm fairly sure that most of you have danced to it at some point in your life, however old you are - it just makes you want to dance to it. I'm sat here typing listening to it and my foot is tapping. I don't care it's 7 minutes long. It could be 7 hours long and I'd still want to dance to it.
I give you Blue Monday by New Order. Peter Hook's bass is just genius.
And as I seem to be on an 80s tip, let me move on Tainted Love by Soft Cell, which is only a year or two older than the others. Again, I can't fail to get up for this track. I loved it from the second I first heard it. On the strength of it, I went out and bought Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. I was 16 years old. I'm sure if it was released today, it would have "Parental Advisory" stickers all over it with some fairly explicit language/concepts in some of the tracks. I wonder if my parents actually realised what the album was like, but they never stopped me listening to it.
It was only about 10 years ago that I realised that it is actually a cover version. The song was originally a B-side of a Gloria Jones single called "My Bad Boy's Comin' Home" in 1964 but became a Northern Soul classic in 1970s where Soft Cell originally heard it. I heard the original at a wedding reception we went to - the happy couple were and are big Northern Soul fans. I still prefer the Soft Cell version - a rare example of the cover being better than the original.
So, enough 80s. At least for now..
I've chosen something quite recent for my next choice, and one of which Nickie at Typecast will approve, because I've seen her tweet links to this song at least twice. It's one of those songs that sticks in your head when you hear it and the band concerned have been a bit of a one hit wonder in the UK, although they are actually Finnish. (And no, it's not Lordi). It is In The Shadows by The Rasmus.
OK, I am back at the 80s again now. Sorry. Something a lot more laid back than the other tracks. In the 80s, I absolutely adored Black. I think I know his Wonderful Life album off by heart, I played it that much. If I hear the tracks in isolation, I can actually hear the opening bars of the next track in my head when they finish! A lot of it is quite sad as it was inspired by his break up of a relationship but the song I have chosen is not sad at all. In fact, it has a great line that I love:
"Just like a forming rainbow, just like the stars in the sky, life should never feel small"
For that reason alone, I'm choosing Paradise from that album as my next selection.
(I'll just mention Tara at Sticky Fingers at this point, as I tweeted that line one night and she immediately recognised it, which makes her a big fan too.)
Right, back to something more recent again but no less beautiful. I discovered Colbie Caillat through the medium of Twitter, as I follow the music tweets of Garry from Blog Up North and occasionally click on things that look interesting. That is how I discovered Coco, which was her first album, and in particular this track, which is called Realize. I love it so thanks go to Garry (aka himupnorth) for introducing me to this.
The next two tracks I've chosen are ones that I came to love through doing exercise classes. Sounds weird but hey, it works for me. The first is Bring Me To Life by Evanescence. It always gives me goosebumps when I hear it.
And the final one is probably one that quite a few people who went to classes at the same time as me associate with me. We used to have an instructor who would occasionally ask people for favourite tracks as we went through. This track was to a chest routine and I would always ask for it. I think she liked it because I would often get my way. It's a feelgood track so a good way to end on a high for my selection. It is Starlight by The Supermen Lovers. (And I can probably do the routine to this in my sleep!)
Now, I've still got a list of those that nearly made it that I still love (Like Love Shack, Ride on Time, Somewhere Only We Know, Show Me Love, some choral pieces, Tears for Fears, Paul Weller to name but a few) so perhaps ask me again in a few months, eh?! Hope you like my choices that have made a final cut. They all elicit a physical reaction in me when I hear then whether it be goosebumps or the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I love them for what they are and I return to them again and again. That makes them all great songs.
I'm supposed to tag some lovely people to take this forward so I'm going to choose
I can't wait to see what they come up with. And if you want to do your own, link to it in the comments. Trust me, it's so hard to narrow it down but it's fun trying.
Today's post is from a meme started by the inimitable Garry of The Blog Up North and it's about being and having daughters, something of which he has no experience, neither having daughters nor being one. (Good spot by me, I reckon. ;) )
The meme is based on a song called Daughters by John Mayer which includes the following lyrics:
Fathers be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters too…
Garry wanted to know the following three things: If you are a daughter, what did you learn from your father or mother, either positive or negative?
I struggled to know how to answer this because I guess I absorbed so much about my values and attitudes to life that I could be here for hours. I think I learned quite early on that keeping a family running required hard work and effort. I can remember my Dad working on the petrol pumps in the evenings for many years when I was a child. I seem to remember his employers lent him the money for the deposit on the house that my Mum still lives in and it was his way of paying it off.
My parents allowed me to make my own choices in respect to my education from relatively early on. It taught me to be responsible for myself but I definitely valued the freedom it gave me, compared to some of my friends who were left arguing with their parents, who were forcing them to do subjects at school that they absolutely hated. They never really pushed me - although you could say they didn't really have to - I had to push myself so I guess it taught me self-reliance in that respect. Even when older, my dad was always the one to let me get on with things and not criticise what I was doing. If I have done anything wrong in my life, I only have myself to blame. I don't feel as if I have any baggage passed onto me by my parents, which is great.
If you have daughters, what lessons have you passed/will you pass onto them?
There is one thing that I am definitely going to teach Missy Woo. I don't want her to have the same insecurities about her appearance that I have had. I never mention anything negative about my appearance in front of my children. I never criticise their appearance and I make sure they know they are beautiful. They don't even know that I'm trying to lose weight - I try to eat similar things to them most of the time and the "diet" I am on, if it can be called one, is based on healthy eating and I choose not to ban anything, aiming instead for moderation. I don't want her see me not eating, starving myself and going on about how fat I am. My children both know that I exercise and Missy Woo knows that I do it "to get nice and fit", as she put it one day, but I try to put it into a context of being healthy and well. She is still at the stage of thinking it's funny to have a "fat tummy" but I know that being at school and therefore exposed to the attitudes of others girls might quickly change that. Which makes me sad really, she's only 4.
I also want her to understand that anything is possible if she tries her best and that there is no shame in failing if she has done so. Missy Woo is a bit reticent about trying sometimes and she needs to overcome that fear of failure that we all have. Learning from mistakes is important to everyone; not being scared of failure so that you have a go and keep trying even more so.
OK, enough. I could go on and on and on at this point, but they are the most important things I want her to learn.
Do you see something in yourself which you recognise as an inherent (unlearned) trait from your parents?
I perhaps learned my temper from my mother. I have a fairly short fuse sometimes but it's a fairly loud bang which is soon over and I calm down again quickly, forgetting it almost instantly. As a small child, I was always described as "placid" and that I get from my Dad, who was a pretty patient man (he needed to be, living in a house with 5 females!). You could not however miss it when he did lose his temper - he was the very epitome of the quote "Beware the fury of a patient man".
In lots of ways, I am nothing like either of my parents. My dad wasn't big on sport, apart from motor racing, having had a life long affair with cars (and having been a mechanic for a car that came second in the Le Mans 24 hour race once) and my mum can't stand it, whereas I am an avid watcher of a wide range of sports. My career has been very different to theirs, largely because of the fact that I went to university and was the first person to do so in either family. People say I look like my dad, but people also say I have my mother's mannerisms - something she seems to have passed onto all four of her daughters.
Think that is me done. I hope I did this meme justice. It's been interesting doing this.
I thought that I would find this emotional but actually, I've had to think quite hard in a detached way and not felt that emotional really. But maybe that's just me.
So, tradition now has it that I tag a few people to carry on this great meme. I have chosen the following (Some of them know about this, some of them don't; it's late and I want to publish so apologies if you've been ambushed!)
Looking forward to reading some great posts, ladies.
Here are the rules, copied straight from Garry's post:
Nick the badge above, mention the blogger who tagged you (ie me), do the post and tag some more lovely bloggers if you know any. If you haven’t been tagged, feel free to join in anyway. Leave a comment or post a link if you've blogged about it before.
I've picked up this great meme from Christine at Thinly Spread. She decided to write about the things that mark her out as a mother of children. I thought I'd add mine. (Assuming I can find 10 new ones of course!)
1. You're not grossed out by anything anymore. By the time you become a mother, your dignity has gone anyway, considering the number of people that have surveyed your private parts during pregnancy and birth. And then, unless you are very lucky, within days, you will have been peed, puked and pooed on, sometimes all three at the same time. Actually, newborn nappies are a doddle compared to the ones you get after weaning..... anyhow, you've seen it and done it all by then. Nothing is too gross, nothing can faze you.
2. You find yourself singing a tune, which at first you don't recognise, and then realise that it's the theme tune from a children's TV programme. And it will not go from your head, however hard you try.
3. You notice ambulances/police cars/fire engines/diggers/tractors whilst out driving, point them out excitedly and then realise you are alone in your car. Good job no-one else is there to see your embarrassment.
4. Your fridge looks like this. Party invites, reminders, school dinner menus, certificates, notes from school and nursery, reminders for all sorts of things placed somewhere where you can grab hold of them quickly. Oh, and your little darlings' artwork. Before children arrived in this house, it would have been a surprise if more than 4 things were stuck on it. (Some of those fridge magnets weren't my choice either!)
5. Tidying your house is akin to painting the Forth Bridge. As soon as you finish at one end, it's time to start again at the other and it's never all tidy and clean at the same time. Ditto laundry. Ditto ironing, if I did any.
6. You have random conversations on topics you never thought possible. Recently, I got asked if the baby Jesus only had one hand (too long to explain that one) which was interesting for July. When I explained to the children that my Mum's cat had passed away, they thought she'd gone to Devon, which is where their aunt (my sister) lives, so confusion abounded for about 10 minutes at the end of which, I was crying with laughter.
7. You have finely honed negotiation skills on a par with the United Nations. Seriously, a group of mothers could deliver world peace. You take no nonsense from your children after the 147th fight over who is going to sit on "your side" of the car. There is no storming off, sulking, ceding to unreasonable demands or walking unwittingly into flashpoints. World statesmen would not stand a chance. You are a formidable, and irresistible, force.
8. You see a spot/red mark on your child that wasn't there a few hours ago. Immediately, your brain races off on a kind of instant and internal Google search. First, you search "meningitis symptoms" and grab a glass to press on it. It blanches and you exhale, not having realised you've been holding your breath since noticing aforementioned mark. Next, it's "chickenpox" (even if your child has already had it) and your inbuilt family diary flicks back over the last few days to see if you think your child has been near anyone who is or who could be pregnant. You check for other, similar spots. You take their temperature. You dispense Calpol, just in case, even if won't cure spots. You cross your fingers that they will be OK tomorrow and they don't miss school/nursery/their best friend's party they have been looking forward to for yonks.
9. You well up, or cry at everything. News stories are never the same once you are a mother. You hear of a death or deaths and you can't help thinking "that was someone's son or daughter". You know that someone somewhere is grieving the loss of a child, however old that child was, and you can only imagine the pain that they must be feeling. And that sets you off. On a lighter note, so does the end of most children's films.
10. Your heart melts when your nearly 4 year old daughter stops what she is doing at music group, comes up to you, wraps her arms around you and says "Mummy, are you very proud of me?" Right at that moment, whatever else she's done that day, she's forgiven and you love her without question. Which you always do anyway; it's just that sometimes, other stuff gets in the way. Your kids can pull up really fast with a few words or a single action, and you are reminded that you ARE a mother, and that you are their world to them. Deep stuff.
So, there you go, there are my 10. Do you like them? I'm not going to tag anyone in particular to pass on this great meme, but feel free to tag yourself and have a go. Place a link in the comments if you want my other readers to find it, and whilst you are at it, why not visit Christine's fantastic original post and leave a comment with your link there too? Get yourself a badge too (see below). Dads, please note - there is a badge for you too on Thinly Spread, so don't consider yourself excluded.
