This week's Soundtrack To My Life is from Gwyn. I really can't remember how I got chatting to Gwyn on Twitter but I'm sure he will remind me. It was probably a random connection but one that has lasted a few years now. We share a love of music, quizzes and dead celebrities (more of that at the end of the post) and enjoy a good old discussion. Enjoy the journey through Gwyn's memories...
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Back during the Sixth Form I was continuously taken the piss out of for liking the Bee Gees, I couldn't see the problem myself, so what if Blur and Oasis were cool or if everyone else was listening to Madonna, I loved the Bee Gees. I think I'm safe in saying that everyone has a guilty pleasure in listening to their music anyway, you just hate to admit it. There's nothing better than getting ready to go out of an evening listening to Stayin' Alive with the image of John Travolta combing his hair in a mirror or strutting your stuff walking to the pub with the beats of Saturday Night Fever earworming in your brain. And who can say that they haven't done the Travolta moves on the dancefloor whilst grooving to You Should Be Dancing! To me this is the ultimate feel-good sound, a blast of 70's disco goodness, it sets me in the right frame of mind to enjoy myself and we all know this world needs much more of that!
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George Baker Selection - Una Paloma Blanca
Now, some of you might wonder why I'm choosing a song that was in the charts when I was barely 6 months old, but apparently this was my favorite song as a baby. When it would come up on the radio I'd go mental and start bobbing around like a meerkat on acid. Little did I know that Jonathan King, the notorious paedophile, would later release it on Top of the Pops in the same year, introduced by none other than Jimmy Savile. Yup, I sure picked a good one there. Luckily The Wurzels stole the tune for I'm a Cider Drinker, thus ensuring that I was influenced to be an alcoholic rather than a child molester.Queen - The March of the Black Queen
As a kid I was never into music, I was far too busy playing outside, building camps and making fires. I usually just listened to my mums music, which was always stuff from the 50's onwards or my sisters preoccupation with Bob Marley or Toyah. But one day my sisters boyfriend introduced me to Queen and from that day onward I was hooked. I'm choosing this song from the Queen II album, which is by far their best work in my opinion, because I first listened to it whilst reading a book by Colin Wilson called Spiderworld. I wont go into it too deeply but at the exact part of the book I was reading, this song was a perfect soundtrack, never has there been a perfect meld of imagery and music, but obviously this was all in my mind, but it influenced me to take an interest in film which eventually led me to take animation and film at university.The Bucketheads - The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)
Ahh, 1995, those heady days. I was 18, stupidly affluent and full of self-confidence. Back then our little part of Wales was an alcohol free area on a Sunday so the whole town would jump onto minibuses and travel just over the border to a place called The Grapes. Much can be said about The Grapes, during the week it was a lovely place to take your girlfriend for a meal, but on a Sunday it transformed into a drinking hole with loud music and lots and lots of women! It was the one place everyone went and when you're so full of alcohol and confidence, it was the easiest thing to pick up potential shags, and I did.Dirty Vegas - Days Go By
I'm choosing this song because the video is so awesome, plus the song is ace too. The narrative of the video compliments the lyrics but sadly I heard this song for the first time as my heart was broken. So this became my 'Every Loser Wins' song. I played it endlessly whilst moping and wishing I was dead. I'm one of those people who doesn't fall in love very easily, it has to be someone very special so when things don't work out I tend to take it badly. So at the time this was in the charts I had visions of getting back together with my ex and this song fit the bill nicely. Obviously I never saw her again, but this song reminds me of what can be, even if I never find it again.The Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
I'm going to cheat for my last choice as I'm going to pick a full soundtrack - The Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever - but if I have to pick one song it would be Stain' Alive.Back during the Sixth Form I was continuously taken the piss out of for liking the Bee Gees, I couldn't see the problem myself, so what if Blur and Oasis were cool or if everyone else was listening to Madonna, I loved the Bee Gees. I think I'm safe in saying that everyone has a guilty pleasure in listening to their music anyway, you just hate to admit it. There's nothing better than getting ready to go out of an evening listening to Stayin' Alive with the image of John Travolta combing his hair in a mirror or strutting your stuff walking to the pub with the beats of Saturday Night Fever earworming in your brain. And who can say that they haven't done the Travolta moves on the dancefloor whilst grooving to You Should Be Dancing! To me this is the ultimate feel-good sound, a blast of 70's disco goodness, it sets me in the right frame of mind to enjoy myself and we all know this world needs much more of that!
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Gwyn's website is called King of Ankh and it incorporates his blog, his design company and The Dead Pool! This is a bit of a macabre activity (a point scoring game for guessing which celebrities may kick the bucket over the next 12 months) but a whole load of fun with a weekly newsletter. It's too late to join in for this year but you can be added to the mailing list in preparation for next year. Give Gwyn a shout on Twitter for more details.
You can view all previous Soundtrack To My Life entries by clicking on the mix tape to the right. If you want to participate in 2014 please complete this form and I'll be in touch very soon.