Music on A Geek's Life

Arias, Young Love and Rediscovering the Delights of Walking

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 08:44:11 +0000

Memory is an interesting thing, not least for its triggers, the mechanisms behind what we remember and what we (choose to?) forget and also for how something can simmer beneath the surface in the subconscious layer of the mind, feeding a gnawing sense of restlessness but never being comprehended. The return of the Aria Code podcast for a third season this week was one of those jolts, the exploration of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, the kick which opened up the door to a rabbit hole of memories. A few years ago now, in a season of young-ish love infatuation, HMT in the ‘Deen became the centre of many a late night taking in opera, walking along Union Street to cars parked in side streets (for the free parking) but not much else besides. In retrospect, it was very much a period of unrequited love that went no where in the end, although my memories of the time suggest otherwise. The things one chooses to remember or forget, I guess? The one upside to all that remembering was delving into the rabbit hole that is YouTube for performances of the Aria, one of the more fascinating ones for me being the soulful rendition by Aretha Franklin at the ‘98 Grammys (which she agreed to do at short notice as Pavarotti was ill). The aria’s closing sentiment (At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!) is apt given our time, as the Aria Code episode so aptly demonstrates.

The Year In A Song (or Two)

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:35:00 +0000

In keeping with last year, I thought I’d go through the list of songs Spotify thought I listened to the most from my 2020 playlist to try to tease out some themes and recollections behind them. Here goes:

Fighting For Us - Anthony Evans: I popped into a church end of year event in Croydon at the behest of my friend O, where Anthony Evans did this song amongst others. It turned out that he’d just lost his Mother to cancer which put his turning up at all into perspective. I came back to this song quite a few times over the course of the year.

Forty-One

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 02:12:44 +0000

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

It was my birthday the other day, and in keeping with what is becoming a tradition of sorts, I spent the morning wading through a flurry of WhatsApp and text messages before a fairly lengthy video call with the niece who I almost share a birthday with. The rest of the day was spent off-grid, which has become one of the more enjoyable parts of the day. I don’t remember when the need to unplug on the day first came to the fore but I am finding that in the aftermath of all of that mental stimulation, some downtime is helpful. As I have reflected on here before, the five weeks between the 8th of July and the 15th of August tend to be emotionally draining ones. Dealing with a move - which is quite frankly a culture shock of sorts - has only added to that this year.

Life In A Song (Or Two)

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 17:12:56 +0000

\\\* The data is in, Planetshakers were both my artiste of the year and of the decade if Spotify’s number-crunching can be believed. Compared to 2018, I listened to 36% less music, although I suspect that had more to do with listening to a lot more podcasts than I did last year (thanks to switching to an Android phone and Pocket Casts), streaming more radio and the occasional YouTube binge. What would be fantastic would be a service that aggregated my listening across all these platforms and thus enabled me to delve deeper into the underlying trends to my listening.

Remembering

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 17:04:06 +0000

Image source, for The Sunday Muse prompt #74

\\\* Like the slowly louder clunks a train’s wheels send ahead, as it wends its way along ancient tracks, the old man’s memories float slowly to the fore, the streaks of dappled light dancing on the walls behind his face a spotlight, falling on him the same way it falls on a minstrel at a cabaret, drawing a hush out of the muted mumblings of the gathered. Though his wrinkled skin, once soft now lies wrinkled, warped and folded and his fingers once supple now lack dexterity, like a seagull resplendent in its freedom the memories of past songs return, the track and the piano fusing in a crescendo refusing to be silenced.

Wet Weather Problems, Twittering about Tea and Loving at First Write

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 22:44:16 +0000

All it takes is an extended patch of wet and cold weather for things to descend into chaos on these islands, this latest batch of snow, heavy winds and cold weather culminating in flight cancellations and severe weather warnings amongst others. For the most part, I manage to survive - extra warm clothing, walking gingerly to and from work in the wet slush and almost continuous heating being the sum of the adjustments I have to make. It is at the weekend when the rooster comes home to roost in a manner of speaking. Having turned up at the airport for my 8.20pm flight down to Heathrow, delays till almost 11 pm are announced until at a few minutes before midnight we are advised the flight has been cancelled. Remarkably, everyone who should be on our flight is remarkably sanguine about it all, helped I suspect by the sense that the weather ‘gods’ have been at it again. Between the final announcement of delays and the flight being cancelled, we find (from Flight radar) that the ‘plane designated to carry us away to London has made several attempts to land at the ‘Deen but has failed due to fog rolling in. They eventually get diverted to Glasgow whilst we make an orderly line at the front desk to get our flights rebooked. I move my flight by a week and then head home, not before I find out that the woman in front of me in the queue has family in the same area of Surrey that I’m headed to, and very much like me, she makes this trip every two weeks so. Joking about being four-day spouses, does have a ring of truth to it though. For me, it offers evidence that this thing - having a foot in two different countries - isn’t exactly impossible to maintain, mild weather-induced irritation notwithstanding.

My Year in Music, 2017

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 17:31:27 +0000

Although according to Spotify I spent the equivalent of 17 days - and then some - listening to music, no one song defined the year for me the way What A Beautiful Name It Is defined 2016, and the Nine Fridays of Summer. Of those that I listened to the most, Todd Dulaney’s Victory Belongs to Jesus, came closest for the sheer number of times I listened to it on repeat, but that lacked the personal connection that joining in with the crowd roaring the chorus to (in my opinion one of the songs of Hillsong Conference 2016) What A Beautiful Name It Is had.

The Year in Music

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 17:31:27 +0000

The Diary: On Flights, Music and The Muddled Lives Of Heroes

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:27:30 +0000

Between work and visits to family, I travel quite a fair bit by air each year. Already though, 2017 is on course to be my most airborne yet - love-hate relationship with flying notwithstanding. The thing with S has been a big part of that, more so over the last few weeks, five of the last six of which have been spent down south. In times like this, even I have to admit- however grudgingly - the usefulness of being able to just fly. I shudder to think of how many hours I would have spent on trains or coaches over the last few days if flying was not an option.

On Repeat - Simplicity - Rend Collective

Sun, 26 Mar 2017 17:38:14 +0000

–

Currently on repeat, Simplicity, from the Album The Art of Celebration

I come with my broken song / To You the Perfect One / To worship You / In spirit and truth

Rhythmic

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 18:50:57 +0000

Image Credit Seb (Unsplash); for the prompt Rhythmic

– In the wake of the rising sun comes the call of dawn; a song drawn from the chirp of birds, the flutter of leaves, the creak of stirring bones and the lap of waves carried on the breath of the morning breeze.

Here on the edge of the morning in the quiescence of a lingering dream, the memory of the patter of your feet lives on. In the sumptuous symphony of nature’s call and response, the perfect fit of the lilt of your voice and the wind in the trees You return.

20. On Repeat — You Are My Life

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 19:23:19 +0000

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6rkCmvP_o[/embed]

14. On Repeat — Fighting For You

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 17:45:36 +0000

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx-aJrd-gmo[/embed]

Start walking with your head held high
The future is bright, Heaven’s gates are open wide.
Every trouble that you ever walk through
Peace, my child, I am, I am fighting for you

Lyrics from the Tenth Avenue North Song ‘ Fighting For You’, from the 2016 album Followers. Apt, for a returning Prodigal of sorts…

02. On Insides and Outsides

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 12:02:52 +0000

Image Source

In keeping with one of my resolves this year to make a regular practice of prayer and bible reading a habit this year, I read the second chapter of Mark yesterday. In Mark’s account, Jesus forgives (and then heals) a paralysed man, calls and hangs out with Levi, a noted sinner and allows his disciples skip fasting, as well as pluck grain for nibbling on on the Sabbath. This leaves the establishment figures in a fit, their concern being that outward expressions of the law are being flouted by Jesus and his disciples.

A Good Year Of Sorts - A Playlist

Fri, 23 Dec 2016 13:00:59 +0000

It feels like the sort of thing that one knows intuitively; that music and memory are inextricably linked. Finding out that there is a whole slew of science (Google search) that supports this is intensely gratifying, in the same way I imagine that someone who stumbles on a hastily put together recipe for quick delicious food must feel if that recipe ends up being celebrated by what I suppose is the more discerning palate of a Gordon Ramsey or a Jamie Oliver. Time and time again when I reflect on a song from yesteryear, I find that the where, who, what and when are indistinguishable from the song of the time, particularly where it was a song that I had on repeat for what feels in retrospect like days on end.

About Town: Tech, Taxis and Traipsing About The Tate

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:53:26 +0000

A first taxi ride since July, occasioned by an urgent need to head out into the wider ‘Shire for work, is how I end up in slowly moving traffic on Guild Street one Tuesday morning. As we inch along towards the first set of traffic lights, the announcer on the radio points out what is bleeding obvious to us - that there are long tail backs on our favoured route. The taxi driver, fingers tapping on the steering wheel in that understatedly impatient way the young and restless have, gives things a few minutes before he fires up his TomTom device to assess what our routing options are. It turns out the longer route is the better one on this occasion - his device predicting that it is the quicker one by ten minutes. Being stuck with him, I shrug when he asks if I mind his taking the route. I don’t suppose I have a lot of choice, besides hopping out of his taxi and legging it, or calling off my trip entirely. Once we are out of the snarling traffic and heading out towrds my destination, the incessant tapping stops, all his nervous energy perhaps being dissipated by the manoveuring he has had to do to get us out of our spot of bother.

On Life, and A Song...

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 18:30:48 +0000

For the Wordpress Discover Challenge Prompt: Song

- -

1995 was an interesting time to be young and Christian. DC Talk, The Newsboys and Audio Adrenaline were at various stages in their evolution from being the niche interest of church youth groups to becoming recognisable by mainstream music lovers. Seemingly out of the blue, Christian Contemporary Music was on its way to acquiring a sort of coolness that the work of the likes of Larry Norman and Rich Mullins had deserved but somehow never achieved. In my corner of the world, Hosanna Music’s body of work was the rave, a slew of live worship albums including a couple recorded in post apartheid South Africa (Tom Inglis’We Are One and Lionel Petersen’s Rejoice Africa) building on a collection that included several offerings from the likes of of Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Bob Fitts and Randy Rothwell.

On Repeat: What A Beautiful Name It Is

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 20:23:44 +0000

Finally pre-ordered the Let There Be Light album from which one of my favourite songs from this year’s Hillsong Conference comes.

Ace!

Nine Fridays of Summer: Coming Up For Air

Fri, 12 Aug 2016 21:15:14 +0000

It feels much longer than 12 days since I was last in London, mixing it with the young, free and saved at the Hillsong Europe conference but I suppose life and adulting can do that to you, particularly when that sometimes indecipherable line between work and life is crossed. Shed loads of emails and the cumulative effect of multiple weekends away finally caught up with me both in my work and personal lives, leaving me wondering if it was all worth it after all. All told, the amount of time I have spent scouring YouTube for snippets of the songs I heard, and the satisfaction going over pictures from that weekend still brings, suggests that there is still some lingering benefit.

Father's Day Blues...

Sun, 19 Jun 2016 22:33:41 +0000

Last year, I went to a different church for Father’s Day, keen to avoid the big song and dance that usually ensues on the day at my regular one. Being a very single thirty-six year old bloke — a few months shy of turning thirty-seven — does put celebrations of fatherhood in perspective, the realisation being that that phase of life is at least eighteen months away for me.

I suppose rather than bemoan my fate, I can ask myself the difficult questions, trying to wrap my head around why I am still a single bloke. To be honest, the year of being thirty-five was the one in which I most seriously began to think and see myself as a father. Still though, a couple of liaisons down the road, the sense is very much one of getting to the party a tad late.

Remember...

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 11:16:20 +0000

#99 - On Repeat - Jordan Feliz - Never Too Far Gone

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 11:14:17 +0000

&nohtml5=False

--- There’s no distance too far, that I can’t reach you There’s no place that’s so dark, that I can’t find you

#Reassured

#93 - Fred Hammond - I Will Trust

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 22:43:54 +0000

#Pondering

#86 - Of Hearts..

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 21:10:08 +0000

Listening a lot to this song, drawn in by all the hope it breathes…

#OnRepeat

#77 - On Repeat - Even Unto Death

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 22:54:50 +0000

Stumbled upon…

#EarWorm

In Conversation...

Sun, 13 Mar 2016 13:59:24 +0000

Quick plug for my radio debut, in conversation with @1Life_Saved and @HibbardSam about his new-ish single “In The Waiting” and God, Music and doing life (amongst other things)..

Show goes out at 2000hrs GMT today (13/03). Listen in on TuneIn or via our Online Radio Player. You can also browse our archives here.

#Debut

#67 - What A Heart Is Beating For

Wed, 09 Mar 2016 22:43:35 +0000

---

Why be afraid, no reason to hide Take the chance, put it all on the line Draw in a deep breath and throw open the door ‘Cause that’s what a heart is beating for

#63 - Even Now - Philippa Hanna

Sat, 05 Mar 2016 22:45:50 +0000

Stumbled on a Philippa Hanna interview on TBN UK earlier today, which led me to YouTube and a few hours burned.. The linked song is her late 2015 single, Even Now

#StumbledUpon

#60 - Questions for the Universe

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 23:28:37 +0000

#Sleepless

#57 - When The Rain Comes

Sun, 28 Feb 2016 23:15:08 +0000

–

I can’t stop the rain, but I will hold you ’til it goes away..

#Comforting

On Repeat - God's Favor - Donald Lawrence

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 21:46:35 +0000

Hold On, Be Strong… God’s got the final say

#OnRepeat

#51 - Beautiful Things - Gungor

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 20:17:53 +0000

Reminded of how much I heart Gungor by a conversation…

#EarWorm

#50 - Debut

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 23:30:06 +0000

On the day this challenge hit the halfway mark, I ended up spending the bulk of my Sunday evening prepping for, and interviewing, the truly delightful Sam Hibbard; an Aberdeen based Christian singer/song writer whose new single In The Waiting, dropped a couple of weeks ago. I definitely got the sense the wee lad - he’s still not 18 - is going places. It was great to get to chat God, Music, Youth and just catch up in general. First time behind the mics for me too, looking forward to more of these this year. I might have to come up with a funky DJ name if this continues.. :)

#43 - Wait For Me

Sun, 14 Feb 2016 21:02:20 +0000

From the Rebecca St James album Transform, which along with Joshua Harris’ book I Kissed Dating Goodbye ’threatened’ to define how Christian boys and girls related for my generation.. Great ideals though..

#ThrowBack #LifeInASong

#36 - Chasing Me Down - Israel Houghton

Sun, 07 Feb 2016 11:13:37 +0000

Have had this on repeat for most of the week… #EarWorm

#29 - On Repeat - Your Presence Is Heaven

Sun, 31 Jan 2016 22:31:10 +0000

Heard after a long time during worship today

#Ace

#9 -Back to Black

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 20:00:39 +0000

Overheard on the airport lounge’s public address system, Amy Winehouse belting out the lines to Back to Black.

A bit out of left field but enough to unleash a flood of memories from that summer of 2009.

#LifeInASong

1 - First Run

Sun, 03 Jan 2016 21:54:15 +0000

My first run since I cracked a couple of bones in my foot last October went without incident, all fifteen minutes of it. I took my usual route, up the Beach Boulevard and then towards the Beach Esplanade; the long, straight stretch of which I have come to love for the sense of exhilaration I get as my feet pound the ground in time with whatever song I am listening to.

On Repeat: Good Good Father

Sun, 22 Nov 2015 12:43:55 +0000

You’re a Good, Good Father It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are And I’m loved by you It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

On Repeat: Mercy - Casting Crowns

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 10:42:53 +0000

--- Healer of my brokenness My weary soul will find its rest You are my strength, the lifter of my head You’re greater than my yesterdays You hold me close today You’re the Lord of my tomorrows

Mercy, from the Casting Crowns Album Until The Whole World Hears (2009)

A Good Year of Sorts - A Playlist

Sat, 15 Aug 2015 09:56:26 +0000

\https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PLYbuHzHoxFuCf8ksItOz6ZdGAL_L8PR1W&w=800&h=315\

The continuum: loss, numbness, turmoil, (self induced) heartbreak, surrender and (finally) finding a peace of sorts.. Here’s to Beginning, Again…

The Playlist

Mad World - Gary Joules
Wish - Lighthouse Family
This Too Shall Pass - Yolanda Adams
Shadowfeet - Brooke Fraser
Father Me - Rick & Cathy Riso
Read All About It - Emeli Sande
Airplanes - B.O.B
Love Alone Is Worth The Fight - Switchfoot
Volcano - Rapture Ruckus & Jonathan Thulin
Redemption Days - Josh Ojo
Something New - Axwell Ingrosso
Shake - MercyMe

On Repeat - NF (feat Jeremiah Carlson) - I'll Keep On

Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:00:00 +0000

--- It’s like I’m standing in the rain and you offer me a raincoat But I would rather stand there and get wet than take the handout

On Repeat: Hawk Nelson - Drops In The Ocean

Sun, 22 Mar 2015 12:30:00 +0000

---

If you could count the times I’d say you are forgiven It’s more than the drops in the ocean…

On Life, and a Song

Thu, 19 Mar 2015 20:30:21 +0000

The end of the day Remember the days When we were close to the edge And we’ll wonder How we made it through the night The end of the day Remember the way We stayed so close till the end We’ll remember it was me and you

Freedom Is...

Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:00:00 +0000

.. A deep work (what happens in you is greater than what happens to you, and is deeper than the workings of the circumstances and situations that frame our daily life), a quick work (God takes a long time to do something quick - as long as it takes for us to turn away from what ever else we look to for help on to Him) and a lasting work (what happens through you is meant to outlast you, and true success is measured by how much it empowers the next generation to extend the work that we do). Or so says the phenomenal Joel A’Bell whom I stumbled on in today’s Hillsong London pitstop..

Light of Christmas - Owl City (feat TobyMac)

Thu, 25 Dec 2014 09:24:23 +0000

&safe=active

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

On Repeat #21 - All Things New - Hillsong Worship

Sun, 06 Jul 2014 13:39:00 +0000

All Things New has quickly become my favourite song from the 2014 Hillsong Worship Album - No Other Name

---

My faith is in things unseen Bringing life where it has not been Speaking things that are not As if they were I am alive in You

On Repeat: #20 - Planetshakers - The Anthem

Sun, 18 May 2014 20:44:31 +0000

&feature=kp

On Repeat: #10 - Thousand Foot Krutch - Forward Motion

Sun, 09 Mar 2014 21:13:50 +0000

---

Let’s keep it moving in a forward motion, If we can hold on, we can cross this ocean, There’s no sense in lettin’ our emotions, Get in the way, until the door keeps closin'

On Repeat: #8 - Tenth Avenue North - Worn

Sun, 23 Feb 2014 21:31:26 +0000

--- I wanna know a song can rise From the ashes of a broken life And all that’s dead inside can be reborn Cause I’m worn

On Repeat: #6 – Hawk Nelson – Faithful

Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:29:29 +0000

---

… No matter how many times I break You promise always to keep me safe You’re my rescue when I’m spinning outta control…

On Repeat: #5 - Hillsong - With Everything

Sun, 02 Feb 2014 22:35:46 +0000

It has been a weird week of sorts at mine - death and a bloke I knew fairly well, and a not quite friend zoning by LK... Thankful regardless…

The Story Behind The Song: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - Delirious?

Sat, 27 Jul 2013 21:24:41 +0000

Back in ‘94 when Delirious was still the house band for The Cutting Edge, a local youth event run by the Arun Community Church in Littlehampton, doing music full time didn’t look feasible, nor was the possibility of multiple Dove Awards and a Grammy nomination. In fact between leading worship at the cutting edge events and keeping up with a hectic schedule of gigs across the UK, the group that would become arguably the UK’s greatest Christian contemporary music exports had to hold down day jobs to keep things ticking.

Glorious Ruins

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 19:30:09 +0000

The lyrics:

---—- When my courage ends Let my heart find strength In Your presence

Selah

#11 - Carry Me - Josh Wilson

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 10:00:54 +0000

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9huooelamNA&w=540 ] Carry Me - Josh Wilson ————————– ♫ I’m at the end of myself/ I know I’ve got nothing left/ Feels like I’m stuck in the valley of the shadow of death/ And I’ve been down here so long/ I just can’t find my way out/ Oh God I don’t stand a chance/ Unless You carry me now ♫

#10 - Colton Dixon - You are

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 11:00:25 +0000

American Idol alum (Season 11) Colton Dixon’s ‘You Are’

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM8hxE-j4T8&w=540 ]

---——————————————————————————————————————– ♫ When I can’t find the words to say how much it hurts/ You are the healing in my heart/ When all that I can see are broken memories/ You are the light that’s in the dark ♫

#5 - Worn - Tenth Avenue North

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:04:41 +0000

Worn - Tenth Avenue North ---———————– ♫ Let me see redemption win /Let me know the struggle ends /That you can mend a heart that’s frail and torn /I want to know a song can rise /From the ashes of a broken life /And all that’s dead inside can be reborn /Cause I’m worn ♫

#4 - On My Own - Ashes Remain

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:00:29 +0000

The fantastically named Ashes Remain - and their back story.

#3 - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Amy Winehouse

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:00:12 +0000

Uplifting and depressing in equal measure..

#2 - Hope Will Lead Us On - BarlowGirl

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:00:12 +0000

Pity it’s their last song.. Lyrics here.

#1 - Steady My Heart - Kari Jobe

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:00:45 +0000

My favourite part:

And I will run to You And find refuge in Your arms And I will sing to You Cause of everything You are

Lyrics Here.

On Repeat: When The Tears Fall - The Newsboys

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 15:31:35 +0000

For the good, and the not so good ….

On Repeat: Outta My Mind - Anthem Lights

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:05:43 +0000

Rediscovered thanks to UCB Radio

Lyrics here:

The Day Before You - Matthew West

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 10:22:53 +0000

On repeat.....

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 10:30:31 +0000

iLike…

Beneath Your Beautiful - Labrinth ft. Emeli Sande [ Lyrics]

The Sunday Song: I Won't Go Back - William McDowell

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:41:34 +0000

Audio only:

The Sunday Song: With Everything - Hillsong

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:41:06 +0000

Days like these make me miss NCLC more and more… Sigh…

The Sunday Song: What A Heart is Beating For - Chris Rice

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:15:25 +0000

Pity the blog’s no longer updated…

The Sunday Song: Just Another Mountain (Jamie Slocum)

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:00:59 +0000

Lyrics here

The Sunday Song: Moving forward (Israel Houghton)

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:49:08 +0000

Choreographed by the young lads in church today… Relapsed faith or not, these songs still tug at my heart strings.. Sigh..

From the Album: Power Of One [ Amazon] [ iTunes] [ Lyrics]

Skillet - Yours to Hold

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:56:42 +0000

Stumbled on this song whilst clearing out music on my old computer, and I fell in love with it all over again. 60 plays and counting in just over a day.

On Repeat: History - Matthew West..

Fri, 06 May 2011 21:21:41 +0000

Just because it’s one of those days….

On Repeat: Long Distance..

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:46:15 +0000

One of those so apt songs that leave one kinda depressed….. Sigh..

On repeat: No weapon...

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:31:35 +0000

Another one of those songs that defined a season for me.. 1999, 300 level, juggling a ton of issues, looking for somewhere to read one of those Saturdays and I stumbled on the CFI choir practising for a music fiesta..It was my first Fred Hammond song. And I was hooked..

On repeat: Iya Basira...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:31:37 +0000

One of the unintended consequences of my little 10 day holiday was rediscovering some styl-plus music from back in the day (and being made to watch Nigerian home videos ad nauseam). I somehow have been unable to remove the Iya Basira one from my head…. :(

On repeat.....

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 08:30:44 +0000

We still await the promised Lauryn Hill rebirth….. I’ve had these two on repeat all day……

Can’t take my eyes off of you

Tell Him

Musings: Male/Female Duets...

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:55:57 +0000

They say life is about simple pleasures - everyday things which we are wont to make light of - which taken together serve to generate an ambience of normalcy around us. Each week, I will attempt to identify one simple thing I have grown to delight in… from my otherwise uninteresting life.

When the subject of music, and my taste with regards to it comes up, I always declare unequivocally that my taste is eccletic. In the past week for instance, I have listened to Eminem, Donnie McClurkin, the Backstreet Boys, Kenny G and today Heather Headley.

For the First Time....

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:19:06 +0000

I’m finding myself increasingly enchanted by The Script….

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJv57zE2To]

Nostalgia: The summer that almost was

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:46:20 +0000

The Script’s Break Even just came on the radio, and as usual it brought back memories. In the main they are somewhat pleasant memories, even though the lyrics to the song are particularly sad.

Capital FM played the song ad nauseum last summer, and in a way it became the signature tune for that summer of my life - blighted by so many could haves and would have s. Summer started ok; my days being filled with the boringly mind numbing task of completing my dissertation. In between, I threw in attending a wedding across the Atlantic in Houston, planning my move back to my old Nigerian job and being very good friends with TheB. Capital FM was my constant companion at the time, as I stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning slogging things out. In an uncanny way, it seemed the song became a self fulfilling prophecy - Bisi and I never progressed beyond the friends zone, the Nigerian job fell through, and I missed a first on my degree….

What I have been listening to....

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:22:31 +0000

Mary J Blige’s Stronger and Carlos Whittaker’s God of Second Chances

7 random quotes... and 2 songs......

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:14:17 +0000

1. That a mad man decides to dance naked does not mean that sane men should beat the drums ~ West African proverb.

2.Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor Frankl

3. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. ~ Winston Churchill

Don't waste...............your mugging!

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:20:00 +0000

I heard John Piper tell a story in a message today from his “Don’t Waste Your Life Conference” based on the Julio Diaz story…

Apparently the guy’s a social worker and, like all chronic Bachelors, frequents a particular diner for his evening meal on the way back from work on Fridays. On this day, he was ambushed by a would-be mugger. Rather than attempt to struggle, Diaz proceeded to offer his coat, and then dinner to the teenager.