So the game is to provide ten personal notes about music and to invite friends to do the same hence continuing the tag.

*ahem* *tra la la la la la laaaaa* *cough,cough* *meemememeemememeee* *phew*

OK, I’m ready, here goes.

Do. I love it! Music is a part of me, it is something that I really notice when it isn’t there, it is an essential part of my psyche; I am listening to, making or engaging with music throughout the day, every day; those occasional days when I don’t get the chance are my darkest days, those are the days that drag, those days that I wish would end sooner rather than later, the days that lack rhythm, possess no melody to remember or any sort of beat to capture my mood. I like virtually all genres of music as long as it is good music. I know, I know, it is a personal view and what floats one person’s boat is a submariner’s torpedo to others, but seriously how some people can like some music, I just do not know! I also find it hard sometimes not to tell people how rubbish their music listening choice is! But I try to do this less often as it has rarely made me any friends ; )

I do struggle with individual songs and some genres of music too but that’s for later.

Re. My iPod: I genuinely don’t know how I coped before I got an iPod, music must have taken up so much of my day, finding it amongst the piles of records, cd’s and cassettes (I still have hundreds), taking them out of the sleeves/cases, sometimes discovering the sleeve/case was empty (that used to so annoy me), cleaning them, usually with a hefty blow to remove any dust etc. or for heavy soiling a rub on the front of my shirt to get the finger prints and dust off, placing the medium of choice in the appropriate music player, the right way round, finding the track of choice (never a simple or accurate process) just to listen to the song that I was in the mood for at that moment, hopefully before that moment had passed me by – what a palaver! With my iPod – I just wiggle my thumb, and voila, the tunage I desire is now literally at my fingertips – I love my iPod ❤

Mi. Mixes: I love to share my music, sometimes without people’s consent, I can’t help myself, I have noticed that I sometimes comment on Twitter or Facebook with a YouTube link to a song – I don’t even type anything, assuming that the music will say it all for me – kinda bizarre now I come to think of it (Mental Note: Add comment to YouTube links in future). But my favourite way of sharing is by producing mixes – used to be cassette tape, now CD and occasionally via some web radio/DJ service. I love compiling them, pressing them, listening to them and especially giving them. I am so fortunate to have some very good co-conspirators who also make music mixes so tend to receive as many as I give away, keeping my music tastes eclectic, fresh and unbiased. Variety is the spice…..so they say.

Fa. Top Tens: I have never been able to make a top ten, I have however made a top twenty and a top forty that both have a top ten at the beginning (or the end, suppose it depends if you’re a pessimist or an optimist). They are however quite rare, I made one in 2010, 2001 and in 1994 … I’m not going to list them here but the top three tracks haven’t really changed in the last thirty years.

So. Gadgetry: I have mentioned the iPod but I have to tell you about the iTrip my iPod Transmitter – without it, well I wouldn’t be able to listen to my iPod in my car – I can even listen to my iPod in ‘Carmen’ via an original VW FM radio because of my iTrip. But that’s not all, I am a sucker for music tech, I have at least one of everything, not going to list them but I have them, sometimes more than one, there is a piece of kit able to play music in virtually every room in my house : )

La. Making music: Doesn’t happen so often these days, I became a Dad and again, and before I could work out what was causing it, a third time, again! Then Neal (the other half of Relevant Elephant) became a Dad too, work, life etc. took over, but I still write and spent over fifteen years making and writing music with Relevant Elephant on an almost weekly basis. We both claim to be getting ready to go back into the studio but I will not be holding my breath…as although it makes me very sad to think I won’t be doing it again, it is just one of those things that happen and even though I did tell him what caused it, Neal is going to be a Dad again, again.

I can however take comfort in my daughters, Piano, iPods of their own, Electric Guitar, Singing, Stereo’s in their bedrooms, Flute, Violin, songwriting etc. etc. My house is always making music so, I am happy.

Ti. Performing it: There’s nothing like it! I know you want more than that, but I don’t think I can explain. I feel different leading up to, and just after than I do in life at any other time; and when I am on stage it is like nowhere else let alone not like anything else. It is the most wonderful thing I have ever physically done, sex is great and being a dad is awesome but going on stage is like both of them wrapped up into something else, in contrast it is also the scariest thing I have ever done, as scary as sex and being a father can sometimes be.

Do. Discovering Music: I love to discover new music (well new to me anyway). Introduce me to something that I haven’t heard before that I love and I will forever be in your debt.

Treble. Music I Just Can Not Stand: As I said I do like any style or genre of music as long as it is good however I struggle to enjoy any Western tunes (you know, Western, the whiney half of Country & Western) I used to hate Country music too, but then I discovered that a lot of my favourite tunes have a Country edge to them so I don’t dismiss it so readily but I still struggle with pure Country. There are plenty of songs that I can not abide and there are good ones that used to be played so often when I ran a nightclub (for nearly a decade) that I still struggle to listen to with joy in my heart but the only other style genre I can not stand is chart dance music, you know the sort, nothing of merit, just a repetitive beat, no melody of merit etc. but give the beat a twist and add a cracking little ditty to the tune and it could be one of my favourites – it is a fine line for me when it comes to dance music.

Bass. Music That I Love: This is my confession moment, so if you have endured this far, you deserve to hear some of my most embarrassing confessions: Generally I like really mellow or really raucous music and nothing that would be considered middle of the road – apart from a few styles that always seem to get my approval and I am genuinely embarrassed to tell you about them:

Songs that have cheesy spoken word within them (Barry White, The Rubettes and quite a lot of samples in Rap songs) like the voice-over used for 70’s movie trailers

Songs that have very high pitched or comedy voices as a feature or as the main vocals (Ween, The Rubettes, Wheatus)

Songs that have a quirky or unusual sounds as part of their DNA (Mr Scruff, Daniel Pemberton, Violent Femmes)

Songs that are naughty (Vivian Stanshall, Ween, Violent Femmes) or any mash-ups that are cleverly done.

Songs with made up words – doo be doo, doo wah diddy, boop de boop etc. etc.

Now, I’m meant to tag someone else to carry the tag forward – url-names tagged below.

I might not have named many songs or artists in my list so if you want to hear my musical musings you can have a listen at any of the following on-line utilities:

My Music Blog

Relevant Elephant (my band)

My friend Lori posted on her blog She’s Awake, a musical information game of tag and she said that she had wanted to ask me to be a part of it, so here it is Extra X-Wide P has joined this little game of tag started by Chrisinda on her blog A Little Wicked.