Today”™s playlist is for those we love and those who love us back.
See some of you tonight at Slak.
David
James Cook:
Dad & I – A playlist
65 Spotisfaction Friday (28 May) – JCook
So, Spotify is about sharing, right? Here”™s a playlist with a story for every song; these are all songs that connect my father and I somehow.
- Space Oddity – David Bowie
- Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix
- Ruby Tuesday – The Rolling Stones
- A Town Called Malice – The Jam
- Muscle Museum – Muse
- Will You? – Hazel O”™Connor
- Avalon – Roxy Music
- Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
- Sunshine Of Your Love – Cream
- Brothers In Arms – Dire Straits
- Street Spirit (Fade Out) – Radiohead
- Ashes In The Fall – Rage Against The Machine
- Caramel – Blur
- Pyramid Song – Radiohead
- Alone Again Or – Love
- Stay – Shakespears Sister
- Hard Headed Woman – Cat Stevens
- Theme From Harry”™s Game – Clannad
- Samba Pa Ti – Santana
- I Drove All Night – Roy Orbison
- Nights In White Satin – The Moody Blues
- No Distance Left To Run – Blur
I can credit my parents with giving me a fantastic musical education I think; my Dad especially, whose tapes in his car we used to listen to time and again on the long journeys up to Scotland to spend time with my Mum”™s family at Christmas and the like. The Beatles, Bowie, Hendrix were my upbringing. This is where the playlist starts.
As a child, I remember singing along to Bowie on a trip to the nearest playground. When we got there, I actually decided I”™d much rather listen to Space Oddity and the rest of the Bowie album, rather than play on the swings. It started to rain, and I have this image of sitting in the car singing along to Space Oddity with Dad, looking out at an empty park through rain-swept glass. – “I”™m floating in the most peculiar way, and the stars look very different today.”
Voodoo Child was the first song I ever performed in front of an audience at school. The concert had been the usual choir/orchestra affair and then I walked on stage backed by the best drummer is school, turned up my amp too loud, and hit the parents with a poorly played version of Jimi Hendrix. I think I hit the spirit of the song (if not all the right notes) because we got the best cheer of the night, and Dad was there to see it! – “If I don”™t meet you no more in this world then, uh, I”™ll meet ya on the next one, and don”™t be late.”
Ruby Tuesday was a song me and Dad used to practice, me on the guitar and he singing. I only started playing the guitar because he wanted to learn, but after a few years he put the guitar to one side and just took an interest in my interest in it. – “Catch your dreams before they slip away.”
A Town Called Malice, or, apparently according to Dad, A Town Called Alice. – “I could go on for hours”¦ and I probably will, but I”™d much rather spread joy”¦”
As a teenager, I made a mixtape of my favourite artists for Dad to listen to in the car, in a reversal of my musical upbringing. Muse, Blur, Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine are all here, and I remember having conversations about the merits of them compared to the classics. Muse in particular became a band we were both equally enthusiastic about.. he spied the decline in their artistry alot earlier than me, completely unfussed by Stockholm Syndrome and Time Is Running Out before the disappointing Absolution was released. – “And we all went to heaven in a little row boat; there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt.”
So I can credit Dad with alot about who I am as a person, my passions, my interests, and my taste in music. Sadly, he passed away 2 years ago to the day yesterday, I spent the day making this playlist, and David and Thom have done me the honour of featuring it today. There were only 2 songs that could finish this playlist. Nights In White Satin is a classic from Dad”™s favourite artist, The Moody Blues. The song Go Now was his all-time favourite and it was played at the funeral, though thankfully it isn”™t available on Spotify – a prescient choice I think! No Distance Left To Run by Blur is another one from that mixtape I made Dad, and pair up with Nights In White Satin beautifully. Here”™s to the big man.
– “It”™s over, you don”™t need to tell me.”