Northern Star/ Melanie C (1999): Albums of my Life: an A-Z

 being part of the wave of excitement over the Spice Girls. I was the age for it, about twelve, I guess. The fun, the cameraderie, the outfits and colour-- I loved it. I think I went to see Spiceworld at the cinema twice! Watching that film as an adult was a real disappointment; the acting and cheesiness is cringe-worthy, but the album Spiceworld is still as wonderful as ever. Never Give Up on the Good Times, for example, is such a feel-good, innocent pop record. When I listen to it I still visualise their accompanying dance move and it brings a smile to my face.

I had the platform trainers, the Ginger Spice-inspired red hair with a yellow-blonde 'money-piece' (self- dyed of course) and some questionable bright and flamboyant clothing items, and I loved it!

Then I got a bit older and too cool for all that pizazz! And the Spice Girls went their separate ways with solo projects, and I was curious. I remember either owning or borrowing from the library (and recording) Emma, Geri, Mel B and Mel C's albums. I enjoyed parts of all of them at the time, but it is Melanie Chisholm's Northern Star that stood out the most, both then and now.

Hedonism/ Bellowhead (2010): Albums of my Life: an A-Z

 ...happier times before this pandemic. Times when we weren't faced with restrictions and would think nothing of travelling across the country or being part of a crowd of people. Some of the most joyous pre-Covid moments were seeing live music, something I never did enough of as a youngster and sought to rectify some years ago. I guess part of why I didn't see as much live music in my 20s was due to my taste being more R n B based and not having the means to see the artists I loved live. As my interests broadened, my desire to seek out live music grew.

Seeing Bellowhead at Wickham Festival in 2014 and then in Poole in 2015 gives me a yearning to return to life where these sorts of opportunities were taken for granted. Wickham, where they headlined, was marvellous-- there's something about being in amongst a crowd of middle-aged folkies that feels like home! There's a real connection with the music and a lack of inhibition that emanates from such crowds. In contrast, the gig at Poole's Lighthouse was a sit down affair, but despite the enforced seating, the crowd were up on their feet before long, leaping and frolicking, shaking the living daylights out of the rather flimsy auditorium seating.

Dancing Machine/ The Jackson 5 (1974): Albums of my Life: An A-Z

...watching 'Moonwalker' as a kid. I was a Michael Jackson fan from a young age and soon got to liking the Jackson 5 too. The first CD I ever owned was Michael Jackson's 'Ben' at 9 years of age. I had cassettes of some Michael Jackson albums and some Jackson 5 ones too from Boot fairs that we would visit on a Sunday as a family. My dad would always like to find bargains and any time we would see a Michael Jackson tape he would get it for me because he knew I loved his music. I realise that not only do kids today miss out on the thrill of physically owning an album and playing it over and over because what they own is the limit of what they can listen to; but also that not every parent is as nurturing of their child's interests as mine were.

Back to 'Moonwalker'-- there was a brief part of a montage of Michael's earlier music which featured him dancing with a robot. The small clip featured a section of 'Dancing Machine' and it always stayed in my mind, but I didn't recognise the song. Later in life I heard the song and, of course, loved it. 

'Dancing Machine, the album, came to my consciousness most probably in one of my returns to Jackson's earlier music after one of my many hiatuses. I found him at 7 or 8 years old when 'Dangerous' was out. I then returned to him in my late teens and early 20s, finding a few new Jackson 5/ Jacksons tracks due to the internet opening up a few more avenues for music exploration. A friend from Primary school who had complimented my MJ T Shirt at a school disco became a good buddy to me at this age. He was probably the only person who I've been able to muse with about about my devotion to Michael Jackson's back catalogue and feel like there was a shared degree of enthusiasm. I re-kindled a love of  MJ materiaI at this point; I'd love to reconnect on our shared love of music one day.

10 songs to run to...

Ironically, as I write this I have to admit I have been less than proactive with my keep-fit regime recently. Actually, even that's a porky pie- the closest thing to exercise I've done recently is hoovering the house! But before you judge, I am planning a Summer holidays shake-up (more to come on that in a future post!).
 
Here are 10 of the songs that get me motivated when I go running:

Acapella by Kelis: 
This track has an addictive beat that will get you motivated and helps keep my stamina up. In fact, the whole of Fleshtone is good for running to because of the bass lines and electronica-vibe.