Musical Youth

Way back last year, whilst in our loft, I came across an envelope full of pin badges that David use to collect from the various and frequent gigs we use to go to. I finally put them to use, displaying them in an old printers tray, which is next in line to be put up on the wall.

Looking back, much of our 'courtship' was carried out in music venues: the Town & Country Club, the Astoria, Brixton Academy, Subterania, the ULU and local venues to us back then such as The Old Trout in Windsor.

David still goes to gigs, though to be fair, not nearly as often as he once did. Occasionally, if I like the band or artist, I will tag along too.  But nowadays the venues tend to be local Brighton based ones, rather than the trek into London (up on the train, back on the night bus) and the experience seems to be an altogether more civilised affair. The venues are smoke free and the drinks, although still served in plastic cups, are more refined: organic lager anyone? The old familiar flickering haze of cigarette lighter flames has been replaced with the glow of camera phones and when I  recently attended a Spiritualized gig I was offered complimentary ear plugs. I never saw any pin badges for sale either. A sign of the times for sure.

A Tune for Tuesday No.9 / A Day Out at Vintage 2011

At the weekend I had a very rare day out. On my own. No kids. I took myself off to Vintage 2011 at the Southbank Centre. As any regular readers of this blog might know I love a bit of nostalgia, so this was right up my street so to speak.

The 'festival' as it is labeled, celebrated all things vintage; music, fashion, film, art, design and cultural lineages, from the 1920s to the 1980s. The 21 acre Southbank site was transformed into a Vintage wonderland. On entry you freely roamed the vast building's six levels to take in the era that took your fancy; from the 1940's Torch Club with its tea dances to the Studio 54 disco out on the vast balcony. I've illustrated this post with some of the snaps I took whilst there.

I got there quite early and wasn't meeting up with anyone until later in the evening and after a couple of hours of wandering from era to era, I felt the need to rest my weary feet. I headed up to the sixth floor to the Classic Album Living Room. Throughout the day various classic albums from each decade were played. They were played using the best state-of-the-art British audio equipment. Comfy armchairs were provided, the bar was near by and the huge windows framed a fantastic view of the Thames, Big Ben and all. The idea of this communal listening experience was to listen to the album from beginning to end. Phones were turned to silent and talking forbidden. In the modern world of downloading music the art of album listening is dying. I went along to the album that was chosen to represent the 70's for that day. It was Led Zeppelin: IV. 

It was so enjoyable. It felt right and respectful to sit and listen to an album in that way and was rather nice to sit silently in a room listening along with like-minded people. It's a favourite album of mine; the songs take me back to listening to it as a child with my dad. I knew it was special back then and love it as much if not more now. So, with this all still fresh in me, I am taking my favourite song from that album as my Tune for Tuesday this week. Enjoy.

Thank You For The Music

Just a short post, but one I wanted to share as it will no doubt make you smile. You may have seen my Father's Day post last weekend titled Daddy The Superstar. Well, here is a peak behind the scenes, aka Lily's creative thought process.

Me: Any ideas of want you want to make daddy for Father's Day?

Lily: Mmm, well what does daddy really really like? 

Lily (after some consideration): I know, his records. His 'Sun' record, because he has that picture on his t-shirt too.

And from that seed came this artwork (it's the framed one, if you were unsure), which daddy was rather chuffed with. We also conducted a photoshoot with a similar theme, images from which made the Father's Day card.

It can be very rock n' roll in our house at times!

A Tune for Tuesday ...

I decided to have a bit of fun and introduce what I am calling 'A Tune for Tuesday' to Buttercup Days.

Music has always played a big role in my life. My dad shaped my taste of music with his vinyl collection of late 60's and 70's music. We would often spend an evening or Sunday afternoon as a family playing LP's. In the kitchen my mum would have the radio on throughout the day and I would hear the hits of the time on Capital or Radio2. I clearly remember getting my first radio/cassette player and recording my favourite tunes each week from the Top 40 Chart show - pressing 'Play' + 'Record' together. No matter what your technique the sudden starts and raw ends that held each song were very much of the technology of their time and never really bothered us. Years later, music is still played in my home from the point of waking until bedtime. David has a vinyl collection to rival many of Brighton's independent record shops. So it looks like my 'growing up with music' will certainly pass down another generation. I think that is a good thing.

So 'A Tune for Tuesday' is born (now I've the pressure to come up with something every week!). My selection of tunes will be varied. Don't be put off on the first listen - it could be something completely different next week. There is likely to be a common theme running throughout; songs that have that nostalgic glow to them. Some may want to make you sing or dance, some might take you back somewhere for 3 minutes ... either way I find most music is best played loud, so turn up the volume a little. To kick off 'A Tune for Tuesday' I have unearthed this song. Listening to it can only be describe as having honey poured in your ears .... listen and you might see what I mean.