Saturday, November 01, 2008

When that song played I was . . .

The boys are over and playing Guitar Hero tonight on an enormous TV that my brother decided to put in the pool room. I'm sitting here plonking on the computer, smelling Adam's delicious scalloped, lime and pepper potatoes and chicken kebabs and every song that they play reminds me of some event or place.

Alice Cooper - "School's Out ". . . Eating left over KFC which we'd bring home after working there on Saturday and Sunday night during our school and uni days. A whole heap of friends worked at the same place making it more fun than work. We'd spin a few records (yep, the old black vinyl) and "Only Women Bleed" was my favourite song from that album.

Santana "Black Magic Woman" . . .takes me back to their Abraxus album and schooldays. I was in my teens and tried hitch hiking against the best advice of my parents. I always felt incredibly guilty doing it but there were always two of us. I look back now and realise how dangerous and foolhardy it was. I'd end up at my friend Susan's place and play this album over and over and thank my lucky stars that some madman hadn't had his way with me!

Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" . . .one of my 1995 favourites. I went to their concert at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney but I was in my 40's. As my friend and I went through security with our tickets, the much older than 40 security guard said "Well you're a little older than our usual crowd! . . ." Should have bitch slapped her to Tuesday but we smiled and walked into one of the best concerts I'd been to for a long time . . I was very careful to sit next to a couple who were much older so I didn't feel my age! I should have paid heed. I went to the Chemical Brother's soiree about 4 years ago and felt ANCIENT! So the next concert I go to I'm chaperoning a tween!

Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK" . . God I remember my mother having kittens when we first saw this bunch on "Countdown" a "Top of the Pops" style show that we'd watch on Sunday nights. She was horrified, not so much at the punk music but the suggestion of Anarchy and the references to the Queen and the pogo dancing and the piercings. Rebellion never made sense to her at all. She loved the Queen. She loved Princess Diana and came over to our flat to watch the wedding because my father refused to have it on telly. We sat there like a couple of old maids "Awww, isn't she lovely . . awww her dress looks nice even though it's all creased . . Oh look at the Queen, she's so nice in blue . . " Funny night but I remember it so well. Johnnie Rotten just didn't work for her in any way shape or form!

Pearl Jam "Even Flow" - Last time Pearl Jam toured, I was just about to sit down to dinner and a friend rang and said that a friend of a friend of a friend, worked in the Virgin record shop and had a hot tip that Eddie Vedder was going to make an appearance in the Snake Lounge (Local Metal club). So I left the kids to their devices, picked her up and we pootled off. The place was full of metalheads with long hair, lots of black and leather and the warm up band had them bouncing up and down, long locks swishing everywhere. . . we put up with metal, black metal, death metal until . . . the room was full of anticipation and . . you guessed it . . Pearl Jammed, a local cover band hit the stage. Man was I disappointed! So be warned, never listen to a friend of a friend of a friend of mine!

Cream "Sunshine of Your Love" . .I was about 14 and I went with my parents to have lunch with one of their friends on a really hot day. I felt very cool, being allowed to wear a slightly older than me 'tent dress' with psychedelic green and purple swirls. Their daughter, who I now know was a predecessor of the Goth movement was playing Cream. My parents were horrified that this 18 year old had the run of the stereo and was playing such rubbish. She was forced to turn it off so the two of us swanned over to the cool of the shopping centre whilst the 'olds' did their thing. I felt very grown up in my super groovy (in retrospect simlply awful) dress and hanging with this 18 year old . OMG if only my folks new the talent in that band . . .I do remember my father once saying that Eric Clapton wasn't half bad! Needless to say my parents were less than contemporary in their musical taste. Who'd have thought that 20 years later, the old girl would be bopping along to Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love!


Is there a memory attached to a particular piece of music for you?

There are loads more but I'll save those for a rainy day . . .I need to practice Black Magic Woman. I'm having trouble even on the 'easy' setting! You know the old fella's still got what it takes!


24 comments:

Miles McClagan said...

Obviously no Sinitta in Guitar Hero...

Baino said...

Erm no . it's GUITAR hero! Good Doors doco on SBS at the moment tho!
Who on earth is Sinitta?

Thriftcriminal said...

Waterboys, Whole of the moon: First snog.

Pearl Jam, Jeremy: 3rd year in college, easy uncomplicated life, not that I knew it then.

Shakespears sister, Stay: illicit humping with the girlfriend in her front room at 3 in the morning while her parents were asleep upstairs.

Wyclef Jean, Just cos she dances gogo: Super relaxing holiday on a barge with my very pregnant wife and our equally pregnant friends (well she was, he obviously wasn't, but you know what I mean)

Fergie, My Humps: My daughter aged 3 singing along to it in the back of the car. Oh dear.

Ces Adorio said...

Amazing how music makes you remember memories vividly. There's a power to the musical notes that can move and inspire people to emotions, actions and remembrance. Very interesting to read about you. Thank you for making me smile today. Good morning!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh dear! Baino I have a problem... I don't know any of those numbers!

Anonymous said...

Sultans of Swing in a pub in Glastonbury in May 1979.

Caused me to fall into bad company and not get my predicted A level grades (that's my excuse)

Anonymous said...

For some reason Goldfrapp's Black Cherry and Felt Mountain remind me really strongly of Australia, even though she's English. No idea why that should be.

Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane immediately take me back to the music shop where I first heard them as a young journalist.

Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms I shall always remember as our favourite album while Jenny was canvassing to be elected as a local councillor in London.

And was it really 99F in Sydney yesterday?

English Mum said...

Nice. Little Lou next door came round with her Nintendo DS version and the boys were hooked! I LOVE that Waterboys song!

Meatloaf 'Bat out of Hell' passing my driving test and driving my friends around for the first time with this FULL BLAST!

Dire Straits 'Romeo and Juliet' crying in my bedroom over some boy or other. I knew all the words!!

English Mum said...

@Thrifty: there's definitely a humping theme in your choices ;)

Maria said...

Alice Cooper, Santana, Cream - those I know and love and remember every single tone and word :)
Black Magic Woman - when I was 18 we played it on our parties :)

Anonymous said...

I love Guitar Hero! It always hurts me, but I love it!

Music that brings back memories for me? Bryan Ferry's You Are My Sunshine, and Another Time, Another Place. They always take me back to a weekend I spent visiting a friend in her university digs. She and I were big Ferry fans and we played these two so often, I actually remember falling asleep to them!

Movie Snap Studio said...

You have an eclectic taste in music.

kj said...

i'll be embarassed to admit some of this: john denver always makes me hopeful; the soundtrack from priscilla queen of the jungle always makes me dance; roy orbison often makes me cry;and k.d.lang always takes me somewhere un-earthly.

oh, and anything by the beetles, della reese, stephen foster, eva cassidy, bette midler, and choruses of gospel blues.

there. that was fun.

:)

Bimbimbie said...

I love how music and perfume transports you in a nano second to an earlier time. From your list here, the standouts for me Alice Cooper, me and my two school friends walking home arms linked singing it on the tops of our voices after our last day at Junior School, little knowing the horror awaiting us called Senior School lol. Sex Pistols - 16 and in my first job and loving the thought of sticking it up the establishment*!*

Baino said...

Ah I'd forgotten that Shakespeare's Sister song. I'm not much of a 'pop' person but I did like that. Sort of spooky . . humping indeed! Whatever happened to making love. Something a bit weird when a three year old sings risque pop songs. When we were really young, my Babybro got a good slap for being blasphemic and singing Jesus Christ Super Star!

True Ces, I could cite hundreds. We listen to a pop station at work with hits of the 70's, 80's and 90's it's amazing how many old songs come on and I think "Ah I know exactly what I was doing when I heard that". (I remembered Peer Gynt from primary school where we had to dance like trolls to Hall of the Mountain Kings!)

Oh Grannymar you do, you just don't recognise them, I'm sure Elly will have played one or two when she was at home!

Ian I saw Dire Straights in the 80's too but found them technically brilliand but very boring to watch. I like one or two flaws in a live performance! Sorry about the A Grades, I'm sure Mark Knoffler feels terrible about that!

My mother used to play the beatles a lot! Grew up on them and was once 'banned' from playing Beatles games, apparently I was a bit obsessive with my tennis raquet guitar! And yep, 36 on Friday, little cooler and very overcast this weekend at about 26. Our weather is totally unpredictable!

Oh EM went to see Meat Loaf years a go too, it was fantastic! I actually had a car crash weeks after getting my licence thanks to the music being just a tad loud! My mother was not impressed - it was her brand new Mini Clubman that I dinged! (saucy devil that Thriftypants!)

Maria we must be roughly the same age. There are loads of songs on Guitar Hero that bring back memories, quite a few new ones too (I had a few problems with Slip Knot - don't ask!)

Thanks Movie Snap and welcome over to the banality that is Baino. I like to think so, if only I could remember the artists and the names of the songs! I recognise tunes more than who's playing them.

kj its Precilla Queen of the Dessert! Imagine slooshing around in the jungle in all that getup, their mascara would run! But yep it's a very funky sound track! I love KD Langs version of Constant Cravings and Hallelujah too . . very moving.

Bimbimbie we're about the same vintage I think! Schools out was definitely an end of school anthem!

Megan said...

Loved this post. LOVED it! I'm probably going to do one like it.

I haven't played Guitar Hero yet, just Rock Band, but I will soon (Annie has it). I always play on 'easy'!

I like The Clash better than the Sex Pistols...are we still friends?

Baino said...

Seriously Addictive Megan although I've been warned that I have to be at 'medium' by 4th Jan when I have a young visitor and a GH3 challenge on my hands apparently. And of course, I can Rock the Casbah as well as cause Anarchy in the UK!

Thriftcriminal said...

I was 19, do 19 year olds make love? I reckon humping is a more accurate description.

John said...

I'm feeling distinctly old. And BTW, loved (is that the word, no, surely not) the story of the ice-cream and errm, stuff.

Thank God it wasn't me. Selfish bugger than I am.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Ernest and Grannymar here in feeling distinctly out of it!

However, all this talk of humping brings back some wonderful memories... nuf said!

Judd Corizan said...

Every Sunday we rip off a meme from a blogger on a blog called "Sunday Stealing". Today we ripped off your meme, "The McDanger Meme". We credit you and link back to you. Perhaps you might want tp join us some week. Thanks!

Baino said...

Point taken Thrifty . . .just don't like the idea that I was 'humped' when I was 19!

Ernest, helps to have a son in a band and a daughter with eclectic tastes . ..erm 'loved' perhaps not the best choice of words but happy it amused!

Oh Steph, you're the same age as me! With younglings to boot - get with the program girl!

Well Judd, you're welcome to rip off my material but that one was a tag from Terrence McDanger himself. Who knows where it started!

Ces Adorio said...

Hey, my husband and I were just listening to Dire Straits and Men At Work in the carport. Also Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Alan Parsons Band. I was drawing and he was eating clam chowder that I made earlier. See I am still drawing, did nothing all day, lazy!

Miladysa said...

Fantastic post Baino - LOVED it and like Megan I could half inch it :D

Every memory I have is probably associated with some track or another but for this one I shall say Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Always reminds me of a round a house parties with my friends when I was sixteen. We drank cider, wore blue jeans and planned to change the world. *sigh*