Sleep Walk - Santo & Johnny

Sleep Walk is a beautiful instrumental from 1959 featuring the tranquil sliding steel guitar of the Farina brothers, better known as Santo & Johnny. This song has always been in the background for me and one that knows how to kick in during nostalgic moments. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a friend's covers band playing Sleep Walk at a local gig recently - they did a great job of it, too.

Sleep Walk featured as the recurring theme during the nightmare sequences in La Bamba, the 1987 movie about the life of Ritchie Valens. It never fails to slow me down and momentarily take me to a peaceful, reflective place.

Song for Guy - Elton John

Song for Guy

Elton John

Song for Adam

18/7/1974 - 9/11/1993

RIP

Life isn't everything.

Lovely Day - Bill Withers

Driving into town yesterday, Bill Withers' Lovely Day was playing on the radio. I was in a rush and thinking about my busy day ahead; that stress all melted away after hearing just a few bars. Simply by describing everyday life and seeing how wonderful even the simplest things are, these lyrics have the ability to instantly make things feel better in Withers' typically understated style.

While watching the news on tv last night, I saw a story about a flashmob in a London tube carriage that was actually an orchestrated marriage proposal. What did the choir sing? Lovely Day - a great choice and of course she said yes!

You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) - Meat Loaf

I have been listening to Bat Out of Hell in preparation for Meat Loaf's Guilty Pleasures tour next week. Listening to an artist's music over and over before a concert is something I always do and really helps me enjoy the show more. I'm hoping for a show featuring lots of theatrics but am especially looking forward to my absolute favourite Meat Loaf song: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night).

The song starts with one hell of a bang and scales up even further into a full blown attack on the senses in the best possible way. I love the piano lines, the rock guitar runs punctuating each third line and the in-your-face female backing vocals during the verses. The second verse goes on longer than expected but just prolongs the experience. The dynamics in the bridge and vocal ending contrast the intensity of the rest of the song, completing this celebration of sound.

Turn it up and sing it loud. I do.

Murder on the Dancefloor - Sophie Ellis Bextor

Here's an earworm that has followed me around for years: Murder on the Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis Bextor. When I was backpacking around Italy back during 2002, there was a café that offered everyone staying at our hostel a daily breakfast deal. It was quite a trendy place and I'd start each morning in Rome with a strong coffee (standing up!) and pastry, contemplating the day ahead. Only a few of the staff spoke English so I was pretty much immersed in standard Italian each morning. It was a great way to rekindle the little Italian I remembered from my childhood.

I was always amused to hear English speaking songs dubbed into different languages. In nightclubs, the guys  singing along in English thought that made them god's gift to you. This song was playing on high rotate (in English) throughout Europe at the time and I could guarantee it would be playing every single morning in that trendy café. Just hearing it now instantly transports me back there - good times when I'd plan my day of sightseeing before setting off through the streets of Rome, assured that the very next morning, Sophie Ellis Bextor would be ready to greet me with a coffee once again.