Some of my favourite songs - and why

Passing the time on our recent holiday flight, I was listening to my "Keith1" playlist on Spotify, which now has almost 20 hours of my "favourite" music in it.  I was reminded of something I heard years ago when an interviewee said "The music you listen to in your late teens and early twenties is the music that stays with you for the rest of your life".  My Keith1 playlist certainly draws heavily from that period of my life, but it's an eclectic mix of artists and styles that spans all of my life.  With so many songs in there though I thought it was stretching credibility to call them all favourites.  I had it set to shuffle and the random selections made me think about the stories behind the songs that came up and why they made the list. Here's a selection.

Highway to Hell - AC/DC

I came to AC/DC quite late if I'm honest and was well into my 20's before I really started to appreciate them.  Parties with my friends Louise and Alan at their house in Glenalmond were a big part of that, especially their mad neighbour James and how he bounced around the room playing air guitar. It's so hard to pick a single favourite AC/DC song but this is one I always go back to as I think it captures everything I like about the band. My youngest is rocking out to them now too and has been practicing Thunderstruck on her electric guitar.

Since I've Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin

I like to dip in and out of Led Zeppelin and while I have a few of their songs on my list, I prefer their bluesy stuff like this.  I think it captures love and loss well.  "I open my front door, hear my back door slam" is just a classic blues line.

Need your love so bad - Fleetwood Mac

Peter Green was awesome.  What a brilliant blues love song this is. "When the lights are low, and it's time to go, that's when I need your love so bad". I adore the guitar playing on this track, he just makes it sing.

The two songs above actually remind me of when I was first properly introduced to the Blues and saw BB King in concert at the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, back in 1993.  Watching BB King play, the way he caressed the guitar and the emotion in his voice was like an epiphany, certainly as close to a religious experience as I've ever gotten.  I got lost in the music that night and even cried in public!  Favourite BB King songs would be a playlist of its own.  Maybe a blues playlist....

Fools Gold - The stone roses

The whole concept of "fools gold", chasing false gods, having the wrong priorities etc. has always struck a chord with me.  I often listened to this when walking to the office from the train.  I remember talking to one of the dealers, Iain MacCormick (Heyman Cheeseman) about "what are you listening to today" when I got to work.  We always laughed when it was this, or "Killing in the Name", by Rage Against the Machine.  I wish I'd gone to Glastonbury with Iain when I had the chance and gone to see Muse with him too.  If I could have my time again.

Lucky Man - The Verve.

So many songs by Richard Ashcroft.  I remind myself every day that I am a lucky man.

Aye? - Martyn Bennett

What a talent.  I could listen to Martyn every day.  It warms my heart and inspires me in equal measure.  This showcases just what a talent he was and what a loss.  Momento mori.

Respect - Aretha Franklin - as a father to three girls I've often times tried to get them to listen to Aretha.  What a woman, what a voice, what a life, what a song, what a message!

Dry your eyes mate - The Streets.  There are so many heartbreak songs written by women, about how shit their boyfriends have been.  This is a great song that's from the guys perspective and how guys support guys too.  "A Grand Don't Come for Free" is an excellent album, that tells a great story from start to finish.  It reminds me a bit of  Blood and Chocolate by Elvis Costello, an album that chronicles the breakdown of one relationship and the start of another.

Get over it - Ok Go.  An antidote to self-pity and entitlement.  A great song after reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck.

Zero one/this fantasy - The Cinematic Orchestra - what an awesome sound.  Like falling through the sky and landing in a soft marshmallow pillow.  A hot chocolate for the soul.

Phoenix - The Cult - Love and Electric are two of my absolute all-time

favourite albums.  I can return to almost any of the songs at any time, disappear back into my late teens / early twenties and forget about today.   They transport me to another world of carefree possibilities.  The idea of the Phoenix, death and rebirth, cyclical regeneration have always fascinated me. This 2009 remastered version is a pretty simple song but it just rocks! Billy Duffy on guitar is excellent. Happy days.

Leaving Trunk - Taj Mahal - I remember talking to one of my American stockbrokers early in my career.  She was telling me about going to New Orleans to the annual jazz and blues festival there.  She put me on to Taj Mahal.  I can't remember her name, but I love this song!  I've still never made it to New Orleans.

Blame - Gabriels - holy shit, what a voice and what a song.  "Not a slave if I'm already free, not a captive if it's where I want to be". I'm absolutely under the spell of this band.

Jesus Just Left Chicago - ZZ Top. Again, I came back to ZZ Top when I was a bit older and it was their more bluesy stuff that I really liked.  This is from "Tres Hombres" but the "One Foot In The Blues" album is also superb.

Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve - another one from The Verve and what can I say about this song?  Just listen to the words.  "I've never prayed but tonight I'm down on my knees yeh"....."trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then  you die".  Reminds me of going through leukaemia with my daughter and the life changes it set off.  "I can change, I can change, I can change".

I feel love - 12" version - Donna Summer.  Pissed as a fart and going wild on the dance floor.  This just takes me to a different world where I could get lost in the music and the collective movement.  It was a relatively short period in my life as Captain Sensible always had a habit of taking over. It's one of my favourite tracks when driving.

Two Tribes - Frankie Goes to Hollywood.  This takes me back to a tricky period in my life.  My dad died in 1985, just before I turned 16 and once exams were out of the way I just went a bit wild.  I was definitely a "moody, brooding teen" at the time and that was quite a combination when mixed with alcohol. This reminds me of some mad end-of-school parties that we had at the time. I've got vague memories of one in a farm barn outside Thornton. If any of my old school friends are reading this, maybe they can shed more light on it!

Same Love - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.  What a really lovely song.  I don't care what sexuality my kids choose to adopt as they grow up, I just want them to be happy.  This song brings a tear, it's so positive, full of love, hope and optimism.

The first time ever I saw your face - many artists have recorded this but this one is Roberta Flack.  When I first met my wife, Marianna, I simply fell head over heels for her.  That was it.  This was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

I was listening to an interview with a record producer on Radio 6 and he was talking about working with Johnny Cash when he recorded it.  He talked about struggling to get the emotion right.  It's such a powerful song it was interesting to hear an artist like Johnny Cash and how he struggled to get it right.

A Forest - The Cure.  An unmistakable intro. I still get lost in the trees at 54.

Sheep - Pink Floyd.  A definite all-time favourite.  I remember buying the Animals album with Brian McRoberts and Dave Massey, then coming back to Markinch on the train to listen to it at Brian's house.  It remains an all-time favourite album and one I still listen to frequently - it just never seems to get old.  I also remember copying the lyrics from their adaptation of "The Lord is My Shepherd" for my higher English class and getting a bollocking from the teacher.

The Sea - Morcheaba - I'd not really listened to Morcheaba until my honeymoon with Marianna.  We stayed in a lovely hotel in the hills above Marrakesh and this album was in the room.  It will forever remind me of that time.

Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - makes me cry every time I listen to it, no matter how many times.  I find Nick's voice totally enchanting and his talent as a songwriter is amazing.  This song tugs at my heart. I know it was written as a love song but listened to it a lot during the leukaemia period and took a different meaning from it. I often have to skip it when it comes on as the emotion it prompts can still simply overwhelm me.

And I don’t believe in the existence of angels

But looking at you I wonder if that’s true

But if I did I would summon them together

And ask them to watch over you

To each burn a candle for you

To make bright and clear your path

And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love

And guide you into my arms

Feel so different - Sinead O'Connor - the first time I was introduced to the serenity prayer.  Never did I imagine how important this would be throughout my life.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change

Courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference

Life's what you make it - Talk Talk.  These sort of messages have appealed to me my whole life.  This from back in 1986.  Stoic wisdom?

Baby, life's what you make it

Celebrate it

Anticipate it

Yesterday's faded

Nothing can change it

Life's what you make it

Then the flight landed and the music stopped.  I might follow this up again some time, possibly split by mood, genre or what was going on in my life when I first heard the song or bought the album. I keep telling my girls that whatever they go through in life, someone has probably written a song about it. They just point to Taylor Swift.....