Amount of Music on my computer: Not a lot on my home machine - 917 MB. If I'm listening at home I'll tend to play the CD. At work it would be a different story. I like to listen to music while working but I don't like having loads of CDs in my office. There is some research that suggests children work better if music is playing in the classroom. I remain unconvinced although I know some schools do it. My experience of music in the classroom comes from end of term times when things tend to be more relaxed and off topic anyway. On these occasions, there was never any agreement on what we should listen to. Adolescents seem to either love or hate a piece of music. No matter what you played, a significant proportion of the class would hate it. At school I liked Rock music, especially Prog Rock. I couldn't like punk - it just wasn't possible! Thirty years later as I listen to The Clash I'm really sorry I wasn't more open in my musical tastes.
The last CD I bought: A few weeks ago I bought four CDs in one of these 4 for £20 deals. I got Led Zeppelin III to replace a vinyl copy. (I've resisted buying CDs of stuff I have on record for ages, but CDs are just so much easier so I've recently started getting some well-loved stuff on CD too.)
Nick Drake - Pink Moon I heard Bob Harris play the title track on his radio show and I laughed at the repeated "Pink, pink, pink, pink, moon" bit. I thought it was brilliant in a slightly weird way. Having bought the CD and read a bit more about Nick Drake I think it's quite a sad track, but I still think it's brilliant in a slightly weird way. The rest of the album's good too.
Third choice was Doves - The Last Broadcast I had heard their singles and thought the album was worth a try. It is a good album, but the singles are the stand out tracks for me.
The final choice was a bit of a stab in the dark. I got Muse - Absolution. I visit a website, last.fm, which plays music it thinks you will like based on what you have already played and what other people with similar musical tastes are listening to. It is a bit flaky and comes with up some bizarre choices at times, but one it threw up a couple of times was Muse. On the little I'd heard on last.fm I decided to get the CD and I'm really glad I did. Great noisy guitar stuff and good drumming. I really like this CD and will probably look to get some more Muse at some point in the future (although it will be a while before I can justify spending more on CDs).
Item playing right now: U2 - City Of Blinding Lights from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb I'm never sure where Bono is on his spiritual journey. For a while it seemed clear he wasn't anywhere - it just seemed that he couldn't entirely escape his religious upbringing. (Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the rock star.) However, there's enough on this album to suggest that there may be more to it than that. For example, Vertigo seems to be about the temptations of being a rock star and his desire to stay faithful to God... but maybe I'm reading too much into it.5 songs I listen to a lot: Well according to last.fm, my top fifty is dominated by Rush and Peter Gabriel... which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
- Peter Gabriel - Growing Up It took me a while to get into Up but the more I listen, the more I'm convinced it's his best yet... until his next... which on past record probably wont be for another ten years!
- Peter Gabriel - Digging in the Dirt Seriously dark and creepy!
- Rush - For What It's Worth Thirty years on and still the best Rock band in the world.
- Rush - Subdivisions Not my favourite from this album so I'm not sure why it is up there in my top five. If you want a good introduction to Rush, the Subdivisions album is not a bad place to start. It's a bit heavy on 80's style synths, but take the time to listen to the bass line and the drums and I dare you not to be impressed. If you are only willing to listen to one Rush song, try Analog Kid - you'll thank me for it.
- Rush - Summertime Blues Another track from the Feedback EP of covers. A full on Rock version of a classic song.
Five people to whom I'm passing the baton: I don't think I know five bloggers! Therefore, like Stephen, I'll wimp out. Anyone reading this is welcome to have a go.
As usual too long a post and not enough worth reading. I need to learn to
"Turn up the signal, wipe out the noise." - Peter Gabriel.Tags: fun | music
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