Tag Archives for music

Listography – Top 5 songs I grew up to


Thanks to Kate Takes 5 for letting me into the world of list making.

Here are my top 5 songs that I grew up with.

Like a Virgin – Madonna

Madonna Like a Virgin Single

I must have played the album over and over that even to this day I still mentally hear the little beep at the end of the side one that used to remind me to turn the tape over if I listen to the album.

Like a Virgin was the song that I dressed up in my mum’s clothes and danced around proclaiming ” Like a virgin…touched for the very first time”. I was 6. Ah my poor mum. I imagine her face was a picture as she hoped I didn’t understand the lyrics.

Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

The Beach Boys 20 Golden Greats

Possibly the first album I ever played at the tiny age of two, my love of The Beach Boys continues to this day. My favourite as a child was Good Vibrations. I had no idea what the song was about but sang along anyway. It also didn’t scare me half as much as Heroes and Villains did…

Eagles – Hotel California

Eagles Hotel California

I was obsessed with the album artwork for the album and instantly fell in love with the title song. It transported me to a different world where I imagined a whole film that went along with the lyrics. The artwork is actually quite spooky and again I still love the song.

Frankie – Sister Sledge

I was given Now 5 as a present and Frankie by Sister Sledge just got rewound over and over. I remember dancing and singing along in my mum’s bedroom wearing as many plastic rings and bangles as I could find until my family could listen to it no more.

Lionel Richie – Dancing on the Ceiling

“H-whurt is happenen’ here”… the first ever album that I bought myself with pocket-money on a rare trip to Tesco. I loved the video for Dancing on the Ceiling and thought at the time it looked like the best party ever. Ha.

Background noise in a Spotify track – Am I going crazy?


This might sound like an odd post but I just needed to air it with someone. At work we listen to Spotify all day. Generally it veers to a mix of 80’s and 90’s and goes upbeat on a Friday (80’s disco? Yup THAT varied folks).

If you listen to Spotify for 8 hours straight you start to spot patterns about certain songs and also realise that Spotify favours some tracks heavily so you cannot escape them and then repeating them throughout the day as if we all have short term memory loss. Like Stevie Wonder’s Superstition or Arrested Development’s Mr Wendle. Continue reading →

An album close to my heart…


Everyone must have one. An album that they played over and over and to this day still evokes happy memories and images that seem as clear today as they were when they were first formed.

For me Now That’s What I Call Music 5 gets me all nostalgic. I think I was given it as a present and can always remember the cover with funky looking music loving pig on the front of the tape (yup tape. I was a child born in the late 70’s). Look at his cool lollipop sticking out over his ear. And his retro shades. Amazing.

Now 5 Continue reading →

Nite Jewel – Strange, Yet Good


At work we have Spotify and have a collaborative playlist which at times has resulted in the discovery of some very odd tracks and some hidden gems.

About a year ago a band came to my notice mostly due to the unique sound they have. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine that the lead female singer has somehow fallen down into a drain but her microphone somehow was within recording distance, dangling from the grate above. The songs by Nite Jewel have an almost narcotic feel to them, as though you’ve wandered into an opium filled dreamlike world.Nite Jewel

Universal World is possibly my favourite track (listen on Spotify here: spotify:track:5OoN9Xf1aROkoeBeByLt87) and the band is now known to us all as “girl down a drain”. Like Ant and Dec you’ll either love them or hate them…