This week saw me make my first trip to the office after six weeks of working from home due to an Achilles injury. I can't tell you how great it was to get out in my car again. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy driving! The fact that the sun was shining made a big difference I think, I love setting out on a long journey on a lovely morning.
During long drives I like to put my iPhone on shuffle and see what comes on. I drive a lot for work and sometimes it's the only thing that stops me from falling asleep!
Days like this require a good singalong!
Usually I skip through and don't listen to whole songs but for some reason this time it played brillliant old song after brilliant old song - I had a smile a mile wide by the time I got to the motorway! Hearing old favourites that I wouldn't necessarily have gone looking for took me on a real trip down memory lane - it was so much fun and made another little memory that I'll hold on to for a while.
It also made me want to listen to some of these old albums and I'm actually really excited to work my way through them.
Here is a sample of some of the songs that came up and what they brought to mind for me
Stereophonics - Vegas Two Times from Just Enough Education To Perform (2001)
What a great way to start the morning! I loved this album, my boyfriend at the time (we'll call him P) took me to see Stereophonics at Manchester MEN Arena when this album came out. It was my first live gig and something that I'll never forget
The Thrills - Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) from So Much For The City (2003)
Another song that reminds me of P. We had a week's holiday in Aviemore, he drove us all the way there and back in his MINI and this was the new album of the time that we listened to all the way there. On the way home it was Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon. I have P to thank for my love of Pink Floyd
Turin Brakes - The Optimist from The Optimist LP (2001)
Another P song! I first heard this song on the way home from work one night on the Evening Session on Radio 1 (remember that?? No??) I bought the album and fell in love with it, I still love listening to it now and it hasn't aged a bit. I introduced P to Turin Brakes and he introduced me to Starsailor. A good deal all round.
Maximo Park - Books From Boxes from Our Earthly Pleasures (2007)
This was the first Maximo Park album I bought and I loved this song immediately. It reminds me of the journey from Milton Keynes back to Lincolnshire when I split up with another boyfriend (we'll call him L) and moved home. My little dog rode shotgun and my dad and stepmum were behind me in a hired Transit van full of my belongings, including a huge sofa!!
Doves - Pounding from The Last Broadcast (2002)
I loved this album. This reminds me of the time between my breaking up with L and actually moving back home - it took about 4 weeks to orchestrate the move as I had to organise transport for my belongings and pack up and move my office to a new location in Nottingham. It was a fraught time and L didn't even know what I was planning at first. Every Friday I would drive home to Lincolnshire for the weekend and this song was what I listened to.
Maximo Park - Going Missing from A Certain Trigger (2005)
Fast forward a few years, I discovered this album after Our Earthly Pleasures. By this time I had split with L and bought my house in Lincolnshire after a short spell lodging with my parents. I dabbled in internet dating and met a guy from Leeds (we'll call him J) who also loved Maximo Park. This reminds me of driving to Leeds on a Friday night in my MINI with the stereo blaring, windows down and foot down hard!
Muse - Time Is Running Out from H.A.A.R.P (2008)
I love Muse, P introduced me to their first album, Showbiz, years ago and it went from there. I remember buying this live album, which came with a fab DVD of the gig, and watching it on my new TV and cinema system at near enough full blast. I was mesmerised. My neighbour texted me to say he loved the album too!
Stereophonics - Not Up To You from Word Gets Around (1997)
I'm shocked at how old this album is! This was their first and I still think it's brilliant. If you've never heard it, do yourself a favour and buy it. It's an eye opener. Every song is a story. This one is about a man who is hit by a car on his way to work one morning and dies. It's basically asking what if one small thing had been different that day - would he still have been hit by that car?
'One more sip, a shoe amiss, a shaving nick, one extra kiss. Who's to know?'
Which is quite profound really. This was my favourite album when I met P, I was living in a crummy shared house with a load of people I hated. I just used to shut myself in my room and listen to Stereophonics. I had Kelly Jones posters all over my walls.
Elbow - Buttons and Zips from Cast of Thousands (2003)
Elbow are my absolute favourite band. In the world. Ever. This isn't a song that has any real memory for me and it's probably not a song I would have picked out to listen to. But if you have a MASSIVE GIRLIE CRUSH on Guy Garvey, like I do, then it's probably their sexiest song. Enough said.
Wow ... long post! That was a bit like writing a diary entry!
I challenge you to put your iPod on shuffle this weekend and remind yourself of some old favourites. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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