Thursday 7 April 2011

The 30 day song challenge!

A really fun challenge that I was introduced to by the fab blogger @demonwrangler who's blog you can read here

I got a bit behind posting on twitter but here they are - my responses to the 30 day song challenge.


Day 1 - your favourite song 

This is probably no surprise.  My absolute favourite song is Made of Scars by Stone Sour.  I love the anger, the riffs and the amazing vocals.  Plus Corey Taylor is pretty darn good to look at too!

Day 2 - your least favourite song 

Nothing against them, I'm sure they're a very nice group of lads but the song Everybody in Love by JLS drives me up the wall.   Simply by deign of the fact that it was played All. The. Time when it first came out it became a complete earworm....except I only knew one line of the song, altogether now "everybody in love, put your hands up" ad infinitum! Shudder!

Day 3 - a song that makes you happy 

This song is so, so cheesy but I adore it.  The song is Eagleheart by Stratovarius.  It reminds me of summer and driving around with the song on full blast singing along.  How can a song with a guitar intro like this one, and the immortal lines "Heart of an eagle/He flies through the rainbow/Into a new world and finds the sun/Spreading his wings above all the sorrows/The glory of Eagleheart" fail to make anyone happy.  It is making me happy just thinking about it!

Day 4 - a song that makes you sad 

Oh god this is such a tearjerker.  I can't tell you how much the Theme from Champions by Carl Davis makes me howl.  From the film about Bob Champion and Aldaniti it has everything - a jockey with cancer, a broken down racehorse destined for the knackers yard, winning the National, a killer key change.  I defy anyone to listen to this and not get a lump in their throat.  Come Grand National Saturday the BBC will start playing this song as part of their coverage about 1.00pm and I will howl for the next three hours!  I am all teary eyed simply finding the link for this blog.  If you listen to no other track on this list, please listen to this - it is beautiful!

Day 5 - a song that reminds you of someone 

This reminds me of my husband.  When we got together this was our song.  Probably not a usual choice but then we aren't a usual couple!  We used to request Chop Suey by System of a Down when we went out together and had it on all compilation CDs we owned (yes people this was before the days of MP3 players!) 

Day 6 - a song that reminds you of somewhere 

The song Wytches by Inkubus Sukkubus reminds me of a fab event my husband and I went to with my sister and her husband.  It was called Dance of the Vampyres and was a gothic ball in Morecambe at an old hotel.  Atmospheric, gothic, seaside - a truly fab weekend full of characters including a drunken but well meaning hotel owner and a crazy couple from Burnley!  This song appeals to my pagan nature.  The rhythms and backing are brilliant and I adore Candia Ridley's vocals - she is gorgeous! I'd like to be Candia Ridley when I grow up!

Day 7 - a song that reminds you of a certain event 

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls was our first dance song and therefore reminds me of our wedding.  It was the most amazing day - almost 6 years later people are still saying it was the best wedding they've ever been too, after all we did have a mosh pit!  The song is made even more special by the fact that my husband chose it as our first dance song and I think it was the perfect choice.  It still makes me smile now.

Day 8 - a song that you know all the words to 

There are so, so many songs I know all the words to.  I love singing.  This was therefore a really hard choice but the one I have chosen is Don't Stop Believin' by Journey.  Note that this is the original not the travesty courtsey of Glee! This is just such a fun song to sing and one of my favourites to belt out. All together now "Just a small town girl....." Ah so much big hair and lycra! Superb.

Day 9 - a song that you can dance to 

I defy anyone to listen to Smooth by Santana ft. Rob Thomas and not at least tap your foot.  The guitar playing talents of Carlos Santana are at their best in this song and the gravelly voice of Rob Thomas is perfect.  I'm not a big dancer (more of a rocker!) but I could dance to this all day.   I think it is a really sexy song.

Day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep 

A little bit of a cheat here as this song doesn't send me to sleep per se but it was a song I used to listen to at university whilst I was going to sleep.  I had the same song and nothing else on a tape that I used to play at bedtime.  I think Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith is such a lovely song and even now it can transport me back instantly to being in my little room at university, lying in bed and looking out of my window towards the woods.

Day 11 - a song from your favorite band 

In my opinion songs should be loud and angry and 30/30 – 150 by Stone Sour fits the bill perfectly.  Hearing this live and seeing the crowd moshing and screaming at the same time was one of the best experiences of my life! I particularly like the line "Let us hear you say that shit to our face" - and a line I live by, I don't give a damn what other people think of me and whatever they say about me I'm sure they would never be brave enough to say it to my face! 

Day 12 - a song from a band you hate

Again there could have been a multitude of songs here but I went for Jump by Girls Aloud.  I can't bear everything they are - manufactured, lacking in any real talent, dreadful role models for young girls.  I'm sorry to even put a link to this song here!

Day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure

My husband is probably going to wince at this but my guilty pleasure is the song Marching on Together.  Strictly a Leeds United song it reminds me of many a happy evening on the terraces and at Wembley with the Leeds Rhinos.  It also hit number 10 in the charts in the 1970s which I don't think is bad for a football song about a single team!

Day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love 

Another rugby related one and a song that Leeds would play every time Kevin Sinfield scored.  I had Hey Ya by Outkast as my ringtone for a long time.  So cheesy and so not me but I still love this song! Although bizarrely, finding this link is the first time I had ever seen the video!

day 15 - a song that describes you 

Probably very cliched but a song that describes me is My Way by Frank Sinatra.  I was certainly brought up to believe the world is my oyster and this song is really the way I want to live my life - living the way I want to not the way others feel I should - and a song that becomes even more apt when you're parenting.  A mantra we could all have for the Health Visitor perhaps?!  Frank Sinatra would be one of my fantasy dinner guests - utterly charming, utterly roguish swoonworthy voice and completely gorgeous.

Day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate

Back when I was living at home I used to hear Dig by Mudvayne on Kerrang all the time.  I used to love it but I think it is a case of over-exposure and far, far too much of a good thing.  I wouldn't say I hated it, but I'm certainly not a fan anymore.

Day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio

I don't listen to the radio very often but when I'm out and about Firework by Katy Perry is on a lot.  I'm very ambivalent about it - don't hate it, don't love it! Might be a good kareoke song though!

Day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio

I often with more alternative bands were on mainstream radio stations rather than being relegated to "rock and metal" stations.  If I could choose any song to introduce to the mainstream it would be Before I Forget by Slipknot - it is a lot more gentle than their usual style!

Day 19 - a song from your favorite album

Sorry to sound like a stuck record (badoom-tish) but another one from Stone Sour.  My favourite album is Audio Secrey and my the song I have chosen is Say You'll Haunt Me.  Lovely sentiment and very melodic.

Day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry 

Sorry, sorry and again a Slipknot song, this time Surfacing. There's no better way to get rid of any pent up rage than screaming along with this.  "Fuck it all/Fuck this world/Fuck everything that you stand for/Don't belong/Don't exist/Don't give a shit/Don't ever judge me". Cracking message!

Day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy

Nothing makes me happier than being with my little girl and she loves singing too.  At the moment one of her favourite songs is the Hoedown Throwdown by Hannah Montana.  I can't say I'm a big fan but I just adore the way my daughter sings and dances along and so it makes me happy.

Day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad

This is the one I have struggled with most really. Maybe I'm an emotional cripple! Ok a song guaranteed to make me feel sad is this one by Lea Salonga from Miss Saigon, I'd Give my Life for You.  Such a beautiful song and really makes me want to keep my daughter by my side for ever!

Day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding 

Bit of a cheat again as we've already had our wedding but the song I wanted played at the wedding was Temple of Love by Sisters of Mercy.  We signed the register to this song and it still makes me so happy to listen to it. We had the long, long version though!

Day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral 

Could there be any better choice for a funeral song than Highway to Hell by AC/DC.  There's nothing more to say really except I won't be having a funeral - horrid, maudling events and will be leaving instructions for me to be buried followed by the party to end all parties!

day 25 - a song that makes you laugh 

Despite this actually being a really good song and Jack Black being a good singer, the song Tribute by Tenacious D really makes me laugh every time.  Hilarious!

Day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument 

In a Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly.  A true 1960s classic and one that lends itself to being played on the piano! Rawk! I do, in less rock style, only play the shorter version or one's fingers get rather tired!

Day 27 - a song that you wish you could play 

There are so many songs I wish I could play but the piano doesn't really lend itself to hard rock.  I adore the riffs in Dance of Death by Iron Maiden though and if I could choose anything to play it would be this song.  I love how they can make the guitar sound so amazing!  This is a very long song but one of the best and for those who don't want to listen to it all, the bit I want to play starts at 4 minutes! One of my regrets is not seeing them live with the rest of my family when I was younger.  Damn finals getting in the way!

Day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty

I don't really do guilt as I don't think I have ever done anything that was too dreadful!.  I don't think guilt is a healthy emotion.  But I guess a time of my life that wasn't my finest hour was when I was "dating" two members of the same band at the same time.  It ended up splitting the band up.  The song that reminds me of that time is Rock Superstar by Cypress Hill as it was playing in the club when the provervial hit the fan.  The only time two guys have ever fought over me! The song is utterly brilliant though so it never stops me from listening to it!

Day 29 - a song from your childhood 

The song that reminds me of my childhood is Marguerita Time by Status Quo.  My Grandad had this on a record and I can remember so clearly getting him to put it on loop and making up dances to it.  I must have been all of five!  It still reminds me of my Grandad who I still miss and who died 20 years ago. 

Day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year 

And, to finish the list of nicely we have come full circle because my favourite song at this time last year was Made of Scars by Stone Sour.  I'm nothing if not loyal.

So there we are - I've loved doing this because I love music.

Apologies for the laggardly nature of my blogging recently.  Once the show is out of the way normal service shall resume!

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