We welcome back previous Guest Spotter "Whattalkabout" for another heartfelt musical memory. Has any song hit the spot for you? To submit your own Guest Spot click here, we'd love to hear it!
I saw a picture in the newspaper of this beautiful building and fell in love with it. It was lit up, surrounded by water fountains, and statues and beautifully shaped hedges and I decided I had to see it in real life. Problem was the picture had no caption and I had no idea where it was. A lot of research led me to it. It was in Vienna. Ticket booked for five days. I was happy when I finally found the building, but disappointed that a lot had been covered and boarded up for restoration work. Next time, I reasoned. Five days in Vienna is a long time. I spent many hours in the hotel room, with this song on repeat. Gallagher’s genius song writing at its best: “All your dreams are made of strawberry lemonade…” This song is for A. whom I miss every day. “You and me see how we are.”
We did not want this site to be all about us, we wanted people to contribute their musical experiences, favourite tunes, musical memories, legendary gigs etc and as a result we have compiled a number of excellent posts which have enhanced our site and our music collection. It's with great thanks to you guys for putting in the time and effort to write and share these experiences with us. Thanks again for contributing for the best of 2011 post too. Remember, feel free to submit any contributions at any time, they are always welcome and we enjoy them greatly.
Neal:- He's our in house 'covers' aficionado, pub quiz specialist and lovable geek who had a crush on Debbie Gibson, oh dear. Read some of his posts here....
Tape n' Tapes - 'Freak Out' My first standout track of the year. It hit me straightaway and 11 months on I'm still Freaked Out by it.
Clock Opera - 'Belongings' A cool piano intro and a Guy Garvey-esque voice. It builds and builds to a great ending.
Scroobius Pip - 'The Struggle' I saw Mr Pip live earlier this year expecting some of his classics. Instead he only played tracks from his new album Distraction Pieces. With the line "My name is Johnny Depp and I kill people" this stood out and still does.
Brendan:- My old school teacher from Saudi Arabia was late in handing in his 'Best of 2011' assignment but he gets A* for effort. Read his great Dylan post here for homework.
White Denim - 'Drug'
Every slight twist in this thrilling rollercoaster ride, however brief, is adorned with a devastating solo or flourish, and the meticulously organised chaos is topped off with some of the most delicious harmonised vocals this side of heaven. It’s like hearing all your favourite bands finally getting it together to form a supergroup that actually works.
Gillian Welch - 'Silver Dagger'
Gillian Welch connects with the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of the singers and musicians of the near and distant past and towers above almost everything else on the modern musical landscape. This could be spirituality’s last credible stand.
Richmond Fontaine - 'The Mechanic’s Life'
Richmond Fontaine are one of the few bands to accurately convey the gradual dissipation of meaning from life and the mounting sense of foreboding about the future. They prove that aimlessness, hopelessness and pessimism are perfectly sane and reasonable life choices for the modern man, and like Leonard Cohen of old, their despair uplifts.
Whattalkabout (Michelle):- Relive those angst ridden school days with Michelle's Tom Petty Guest Spot here..but before that check out these quality choices.
Calvin Harris - 'Feels So Close'
I love how this song builds up. Just reminds me that life is an adventure, you can never really be sure where it's going, but it's so exciting.
Chase and Status -'Time'
I've never been a huge fan of theirs, but appreciate what they do. I heard this song stripped down and acoustic. Sometimes, you can listen to a song so many times without ever really listening to the lyrics. This completely changed my perception of them.
Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks'
I wanted to be a bit different and not go for something as "obvious" as this. This, for me, has been the tune of this summer. It is genius.
Got a song you want to tell us about? We'd love to hear about it, why you like it, what it reminds you of! Email us to feature on our weekly Guest Spot!
This week's guest spot comes from a good pal and fellow plane lover who goes by the alias "whattalkabout"(don't ask). She likes her exotic fruit and knows how to ignore moody french pilots! I'm sure there is a good few of us that can relate to her post!
My time spent at sixth form gave me the highest and lowest of times. Of the two years I spent there, one of the happiest of my life thus far, and the other was the toughest.
We all yearned freedom and to be university students, to experience the "real" world. What originally attracted me to this high flying grammar school had lost it's shine. I was 18, and along with the other 125 boys-but-not-quite-men and 25 girls in my year (It was an all boys school but became mixed at sixth form) were still wearing school uniform, answering "yes miss" to the register every morning and afternoon, and carrying hymn books in our blazer pockets.
As exam season drew closer, it signalled the beginning of the end. A bitterness hard to describe because I had the best and worst of times at that school. There would be no more assemblies every morning, no sound of 800 boys greet our headmaster "Good Morning Dr Walker" echo through the school hall, no more saying of the Lord's Prayer, no more fighting for corridor space with the younger years.
As I drove to school (I drove to school! How grown up was I?! Parking in my own playground!!) to pick up my exam results and say goodbye to the "well legendary" institution that was King Edward VI Grammar; I felt blank. I went in quietly, picked up my envelope and walked out. I didn't hang around to chat. I turned the ignition on, took one last look at the "Church Doors" where we used to congregate to catch coaches for school trips, and those awful PE lessons in the fields. I drove off, not looking back because I knew I'd miss it terribly.
I started the 23 mile drive home. I got stuck in a traffic jam. This song started playing on the radio. It was ironic. It felt as if this small town didn't want me to leave just yet, but I was free. Maybe I should have turned back, but what for? I still look back on it with the fondest of memories and will never forget my time there.
