Music…

It’s been 19 days into January and we’ve succeeded todate to go without chocolate, biscuits and sugary treats, but today being a Friday I needed a pick me up mid-day… luckily I had been asked by the college where I work to contribute to their radio station’s Desert Island Discs show.

Fullhurst Community College in Leicester was the first school in the UK to have a fully set up, professional, online community radio station which is run by the students. FullPower broadcasts around the clock online with music and live presentations aimed at young people and residents within the local community. You can listen to it now here: FullPower

So what music to pick… It got me thinking about music again.

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You can listen to the show above, with the tracks edited out.

As I say, it got me thinking about music again… (I wittered about music before: 2012 If you know me you’ll know that music is one of those things that floats my boat…).

I like most of us always had music in varying forms around me. I enjoy, value and try to find new ‘ways of seeing’ through music. I think of ‘music’ as perhaps anything that creates a resonating expressive sound.

As I mentioned to Marley in the show above, I like the analogy of music and food. As with food, there is formulaic & processed music that’s great for a quick fix. There’s pop food/music that pleases our short term urges. Yes, I like the occasional ‘Flames’ burger and pack of ‘Nic Naks’ as much as the next, but there’s a lot more food/music out there. We can feast on a wide variety of sounds and rhythms from other countries, from the past, from pockets of experimental culture, and nuggets of tradition that might be lost if we’re not careful.

I enjoy Radio 6 and also dip into ‘Late Junction’ on BBC Radio 3 “…music, ancient to future. The home for adventurous listeners”. I am also a member of a world-music choir in Melton. Global Harmony is an a capella choir that sings unaccompanied songs from all over the world; rhythms from Africa, stirring Eastern European harmonies, songs from the Southern Seas and the Americas, soulful gospel and blues, as well as traditional folk and rock and pop from our own culture.

But alas my 3 DID tracks are pretty staple choices:

Martha and the Muffins’ Echo Beach – 1980 (video below)

‘Echo Beach’ in 1980 was the band’s only significant international hit. It reached No. 10 in the UK Chart.

 

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto – 1878 (video below)

I know nothing about classical music, but love this – it goes everywhere! I specifically love the solo violin taking us away about 11 mins in – but I love it all. I have 5 recordings of it myself and each one has a different personality and sound. I’d love to hear it live!

 

Nina Simone’s recording of, Feeling Good – 1965 (video below)

‘Feeling Good’Nina Simone recorded the song in 1965 and it’s subsequently been covered by Muse, Michael Bublé and many others… 

In picking these tracks, I am reminded of all those memories and music that accompanied them… James Brown, Beachboys, Sigur Rós, Bugge Wesseltoft, Ian Archer, Deacon Blue, John Martyn, Ray Davies, The Hothouse Flowers, Glenn Miller, Howard Jones, Elvis Presley, The Divine Comedy, Springsteen, Geldof, Billy Bragg, the list goes on…  a smorgasbord of sounds!