Soundtrack To My Life - Kylie

Please welcome Kylie as this week's Soundtrack To My Life contributor.  Kylie writes about being a parent of a premature baby and how that journey has affected them as a family.  You'll notice that today's choices have a bit of an Aussie theme running through some of them and that is because Kylie is originally from Tasmania.  However, this boomerang hasn't returned... we've got her for keeps! Over to Kylie and her musical excerpts.

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Hunters and Collectors - Say Goodbye

When I was growing up in Tasmania, all my friends were very much influenced by music from the UK and the States.I felt there must be a better way, an Australian way and I fell upon Hunters and Collectors. This song, Say Goodbye, is a very grown up pop song and an enduring favourite.


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Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him?

One of my favourite things to do as a teenager was listen to music programmes, Countdown and later Rage, the all night music programme. I discovered Joe Jackson, and quickly amassed a collection. Finally, in 2003 I caught him live at The Acadamy in Manchester. His voice was failing and the audience carried him through. It was an awesome moment as the crowd provided the falsetto for "is she really going out with him?"



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Redgum - I was only 19

I've always been very politically active, writing letters, protesting, whinging, and I love political music. I often wish I could stand on a street corner belting out a song like Billy Bragg. When thinking of political music, especially in Australia, there is a lot of choice, but perhaps my natural choice is Redgum, typically Australian, angry yet cheeky too. Although long over, when this song was released, the Vietnam War was still a hot topic. Although protesting had ended Australia's involvement, the implication was that veterans were often shunned, not supported, and this song helped address that.



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Oasis - Stop Crying Your Heart Out

Ten years ago I moved to England, thinking I'd be here a year or so. I had a lot of trouble settling in at first and often felt deeply homesick. I had no access to the internet at home, so often would go to the internet cafe at Debenhams in Manchester, now sadly defunct, and nearly every time I went this song would be playing, even now when I hear it, it brings up deep feelings of homesickness, and memories of that time.



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Luka Bloom - To Make You Feel My Love

In 2009 my world changed forever when my little boy, Joseph, was born at 27 weeks gestation. I turned, as usual, to music. Many songs from that time provided me comfort, perhaps the most poignant was Wires by Athlete, that I used to listen to and hang on to every day. But perhaps the song I love the best from that time, and one that has marked many points in my life is this one.



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You can find Kylie over on her blog - Not Even A Bag Of Sugar - which has both personal posts on but has also developed into a trustworthy advisory site where other premmie parents share their stories too.  One of her more recent posts talks about how grief is a personal emotion and people in the public eye can find themselves open to criticism if they don't conform to traditional ways of coping.  You can also find Kylie on Twitter as @kykaree.

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