Personal Soundtrack - Track One
Listening to the MP3 this morning during the zombie hour of commuting, I started daydreaming about what 12 songs I would choose if I were to make a life soundtrack.
My first choice relates to regional identity, track one is 'Welcome to the North' by The Music. This beats off competition from 80s classic 'Life in a Northern Town' by one hit wonders Dream Academy. True to form I only started listening to The Music a few weeks ago, two years after telling Peanut to bog off whilst he was raving about the Leeds based band and trying to get me to go to the gig with him.
I've noticed native Londoners cling to their regional identities. Nobody identifies themselves as a just simply a Londoner, the North South East and West of the city are always emphasised. The river Thames is talked about as though it was the Berlin Wall or Israel's security barrier 'oh will i need my passport' 'ooh South of the river what an adventure'. I think this is an attempt at humour.......................not a very good one......... end of the day its only a shitting river.
I do wonder as to how genuine Londoner's claims to these identities actually are. First and second generation Londoners whether their parents or grandparents are from Ireland, Scotland, India or elsewhere consider themselves to actually be from these foreign lands despite never having spent more than a cumulative six months there. Is being a Londoner that unappealing that these alternative pseudo identies are required?
It is hypocritical for me to satirise this behaviour in Londoners as since I arrived in the capital, I do go on a fair bit about the North. 'I'm northern', 'Yorkshire this', 'Sheffield that' blah blah blah 'people are different up North'. I have never felt so 'northern' since arriving in London four years ago, as such am I not clinging to an identity just as much as the Londoners do? In fairness I did spend 18+ of my formative years in Sheffield, and its not as though i'm running round introducing myself as a Celtic-Latino-Iberian-Italian-American am I? all of which I can lay some sort of lame claim to.
As for the rest of 'The Mush Album', incorporating any of my favourite hip-hop tracks into the album is a bit difficult as it is hard to find any relevancy given my white middle class suburban background, however I reckon Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby got Back' could get a look in and perhaps Jay-Z's 'Girls Girls Girls' the latter as representative of what I aspire to!
To my Brazilian friends, cheesetastic 'Hoje é Festa' by Latino is on the shortlist and more than likely to be included.
Further suggestions for the remaining eleven tracks are very welcome however offensive I may find them!
Have a good Wednesday!
My first choice relates to regional identity, track one is 'Welcome to the North' by The Music. This beats off competition from 80s classic 'Life in a Northern Town' by one hit wonders Dream Academy. True to form I only started listening to The Music a few weeks ago, two years after telling Peanut to bog off whilst he was raving about the Leeds based band and trying to get me to go to the gig with him.
I've noticed native Londoners cling to their regional identities. Nobody identifies themselves as a just simply a Londoner, the North South East and West of the city are always emphasised. The river Thames is talked about as though it was the Berlin Wall or Israel's security barrier 'oh will i need my passport' 'ooh South of the river what an adventure'. I think this is an attempt at humour.......................not a very good one......... end of the day its only a shitting river.
I do wonder as to how genuine Londoner's claims to these identities actually are. First and second generation Londoners whether their parents or grandparents are from Ireland, Scotland, India or elsewhere consider themselves to actually be from these foreign lands despite never having spent more than a cumulative six months there. Is being a Londoner that unappealing that these alternative pseudo identies are required?
It is hypocritical for me to satirise this behaviour in Londoners as since I arrived in the capital, I do go on a fair bit about the North. 'I'm northern', 'Yorkshire this', 'Sheffield that' blah blah blah 'people are different up North'. I have never felt so 'northern' since arriving in London four years ago, as such am I not clinging to an identity just as much as the Londoners do? In fairness I did spend 18+ of my formative years in Sheffield, and its not as though i'm running round introducing myself as a Celtic-Latino-Iberian-Italian-American am I? all of which I can lay some sort of lame claim to.
As for the rest of 'The Mush Album', incorporating any of my favourite hip-hop tracks into the album is a bit difficult as it is hard to find any relevancy given my white middle class suburban background, however I reckon Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby got Back' could get a look in and perhaps Jay-Z's 'Girls Girls Girls' the latter as representative of what I aspire to!
To my Brazilian friends, cheesetastic 'Hoje é Festa' by Latino is on the shortlist and more than likely to be included.
Further suggestions for the remaining eleven tracks are very welcome however offensive I may find them!
Have a good Wednesday!
posted by Matt at 5:04 PM
4 Comments:
i think the Arctic Monkeys deserve a look in. Songs about life in Sheffield; Taking the piss out of chavs and trendy posers.
Fake Tales of San Francisco perhaps.
or how about any Pulp songs about girls. huzzah for Sheffield
Mush, so sorry my guy richie blog entry wasnt pretentious enough for you. next time, dont fucking ask me to write something if ur not gonna put it in
I think you should consider adding one of the Frevos that are played endlessly on the streets of Olinda and Recife during the Carnival. After all, Recife´s Carnival is an experience you will never forget!! Am I right?
Leo! That track (#3) will have to be 'Ana Julia' by Los Hermanos as it was played constantly in Olinda during Carnaval 2000! The Frevo doesn't provoke as strong flashbacks to those blurry 5 days!
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