Defining Moments in Music - Part 3 'The Nineties'

The Nineties marked sowing a lot of wild seeds, falling in and out of love a few times, having my heart broken, having some VERY big nights out, traveling on a few round the world trips, and eventually dipping a toe in the waters of Sydney life with a year long working holiday.

I was often to be found of an early nineties weekend, quite happily dancing on my own to this one at Heaven nightclub near Embankment tube station. The start of a few nights of adventure.



This takes me straight to sharing Hagen Dasz in bed in Brighton where I was escaping to for the weekend for a short period of time.



My First big solo Round the World trip, had me capitolising on my 21 year old twinkiness and British accent in the USA, where i realised all i had to do was say 'excuse me am i going uptown or downtown' or 'please may I have a coca-cola' and the world was my oyster (note - same trick does'nt work 15-20years on!). This song reminds me of a trip through the redwoods staying in motels and the first time I had ever experienced being able to listen to a CD in a car. In fact id probably only bought my first CD as opposed to vinyl in the couple of years prior to that.



Speaking of the first CDs i owned - this would have been one of them, I still love this song, this is smooch music central.



Then Another Pivotal relationship and regular nights out at Ciao Baby in Brixton, sometimes followed by Trade in the east end. Often getting home at midday the next day. How did we have the energy? No comment but lets just say we had ALOT of fun and Tuesdays were not pleasant. These take me straight back there.. good times (grins insanely at the memories). Although one could feel a little bit inadequate mixing with those beautiful shiny people all the time (even if one of them was your partner!).





This was speeding home through early morning rainy streets in the BMW afterwards



All good things come to an end though.. this one marks the devastating end of that relationship, still going out, but single again and totaly blown apart by it. Wallowing in self pity with stuff like this on the car stereo - driving through tears. Ah well, What doesnt kill us makes us stronger ..or at least assists in building up a few layers of baggage that take some years getting rid of in the aftermath!



Those pivotal moments can send us in a new direction though - without that blow, I would never have set off for Australia, initially on a working holiday.

This track totally defines, working in a cafe on Taylor Square around Mardi Gras time, with the beautiful people dancing behind the bar while serving cappucinos. Have you ever had that feeling, the huge adrenalin rush of being in a vibrant new city where its all happening? This was it. If you ever have one - cherish it, it doesnt happen often and it doesnt last long - the reality of daily life soon sets in. Enjoy those bliss junkie moments when you can! They may not have had a club or music scene to match London but what those Aussies didnt know about putting on a huge Mother of a dance party wasnt worth knowing. Still probably isnt although as time goes by its often said they are not they way they used to be. Maybe thats just us oldies being bitter about handing the party baton to a new crowd. In my case that baton got passed on quite some time ago!.



Then a new relationship, someone still close to me, actually as they all are (Im weird like that) - and a dance party in matching sailor outfits. The Aussie Dance party matching dress up couple, it has to be done at least once!



We ended up going back to UK together for most of the rest of that decade eventualy splitting up but paving the way for me to move out to Sydney as a resident and eventually citizen on a De Facto status. Hey it doesnt ask you anywhere in any of those quesitons if you sleep together! I always felt I answered those questions in completete honesty when they talked about providing each other emotional and financial support blah blah.

Is anyone bored of reading someone elses life story yet? oh well.. suck it up and work out your own defining tunes - im enjoying this!

Defining Moments in Music - Part 2 'What I was listening to in the late 80's'

Ok, that first music post was fun. Im notoriously sentimental and nostalgic when it comes to cherished moments from the past, what ever may have happened since - you cant take those moments away, they are what defines us. And most of those moments are defined by music. So I think that period 1986 to 1989, the University years in good old Pompey, UK deserves a re-visit. A journey of discovery with a soul-mate who was instrumental in catalysing my transformation from schoolboy geek to fledgling adult with life experiences. You know who you are and I'm forever grateful.

Most of this music was not current to the time, it was a period of discovering artists and devouring their back catalogues, sadly a couple of these dont seem to have a decent you tube vid but you can sit back and listen while you browse posts.

Who remembers their first real kiss with someone they cared about?, shared a chemistry and electricity with, transport yourself back for a moment, mine was to this. I was so happy. I'd been building up to it for a while.



Uni was also marked by periods of introspection and questions of where i fit in, Joni Mitchell has stayed with me ever since, I never travel anywhere without access to some of her music. She a genius of the highest order, her lyrics are profound and really speak to me. This song conjures up images of sitting in my red mini parked at night on he seafront, rainy night, windscreen wipers going. Alone, feeling gloomy but probably enjoying the drama. Theres no video, close your eyes and dive into the mood if you have the time.



Lets just say this one defined a moment of a narcotic nature and leave it there...



We took several trips to the Glastonbury festival in Somerset of a summertime, back when it was more hippy than rock. Camping in muddy fields and loving it. Proably a highlight was seeing the cure and them playing 'A forest' Those guitar rifts. I actually had a minor Robert Smith look in those days. Grandad shirt and tousled up hair with hairspray blow dried into it.



Lets face it who didnt have a Bob Marley period at Uni, its sort of traditional Is'nt it?. This was my favourite, I just love the I-Trees at 2.37. This also takes me back to late night visits to a totally non-student, and there for rebel feeling Reggae club located somewhere in the bowels of a multi-storey car park in the rough part of Portsmouth. I don't think ive listened to Bob Marley at all since the 80's. It was definately something for then and there.



Ok, lets not pretend I was too cool for school the whole time in those days. Sad but true - I used to go nuts dacning my little booty of at student discos to this one, 'Fith Avenue' on the seafront somewhere i seem to remember was the club. And the dance floor and outfits on it were probably not too dissimilar to the one in this video towards the end. Perhaps even the dance moves!.



Finaly back in the vein of female, deep and introspective singer-songwriters another artist that defined that period for me. Joan Armatrading. Again the music wasnt current but the backcatalogue was certainly rifled through around that time and struck a chord,

Mid Life Crisis - Defining Moments in Music Part 1 - 'School Days'

This last week saw me turning an age I don't care to put down in Black and White at the present time but, if i tell you that this was the first record I walked into a shop and bought with my own money it should give you a fairly good indication! Ah..happy days, a few years later i was screaming at my Mum until she took me to one of their concerts. Yes thats right folks, I saw them live - so uncool then but something a kin to having seen the Beatles now!



I had a giant sized Poster of these guys on my bedroom wall..Oh yes I was all class..



This Marked my moving from Primary to Secondary (High) School, my big brother probably had pin-ups of Debbie Harry. Most boys did.



Somewhere in those confusing days of teenage adolescence and anxt,
this one came along. Im not entirlely sure I'd figured out what it was about and what it meant at the time to be honest. I certainly felt like I didnt fit in though. Boys schools are tough. I have very few fond school memories.



I think the group i was most likely to be told off for blasting out too loud in my bedroom in the first half of the Eighties was The Eurythmics. I still admire Annie Lennox.



Alison Moyet and Yazoo saw quite a bit of room-play too, another woman who's voice has stood the test of time and survived the 80's pop product to be taken seriously.



Oddly as far as 80's pop goes, I detested both Madonna and Kylie at that time - I thought they were both talentless trashbags, but they would both feature as the concert id most like to go to right now. Madonna for someone iconic Ive never seen who i started to have a respect and admiration for in the 90's, and Kylie because..well.. its just the campest most feathered and glittering good time of a night out your ever going to get these days - you know your going to have a good time! Fingers crossed for another tour soon.


This Chart-Topper marked my leaving school for Uni. Im seeing a theme here that would bury itself for a good four or five years more lol.
(Did i really do a degree in Biological Sciences?...it seems like another lifetime)


And this to graduate into the big wide world..Doesnt this take you to Summers in London? ..well i mean if you were in London and old enough to be listening to music I mean. Stuff like this makes me miss London.



Well.. I think you get the idea, its doesnt seem possible that I can now employ people im old enough to have parented. Now as much as this sounds like a woe is me wallow.. I have to confess to a certain sense of satisfaction in having made it this far, remembering life before blogs and face book, before internet and i-pods, mobile phones and CD's for that matter.

I remember travel in a time where you had no contact with people you knew for months on end until you went into a randomly pre-arranged post office somewhere and asked hopefully if there were any letters. If you were lucky you came out with a bundle and devoured them excitedly in a cafe. You really did feel a million miles from everything and everyone you knew, which often was a very exciting experience.

So now we are at the other extreme of everyone in the world being connected, of no-where being so remote that you cant find away of checking an email or receiving a text. We really are a global community. A buzz word sparked off in London could be doing the rounds in Sydney by the next day. Many of us have 'online' friends living in other countries who we have never met yet who we have shared things with that we may not have revealed to the people we sit next to at work every day in real life.

So now after having reached the great Aussie milestone of 10years working for the same employer and 3months paid long service leave, Im about to embark on some travel, exploration and contemplation - and this time i shall be taking my newly purchased cuter than cute itty bitty notebook computer. I'll be looking out for that domain of the internet generation - the Wi-fi space, be it in a cafe or hotel. In other years I would always keep a journal of my thoughts and ponderings, I'm getting a huge buzz out of the prospect of updating and sharing these with you as I go by means of this blog.

So this old poop, currently has approximately six weeks left of this year that he is required to be present at work...and just quietly is begining to get just a little bit excited.