We've been rather quiet at this blog as of late. A mixture of amazing weather, hard work and football every single day, is my personal excuse. I've not found the time (or the need) to put pen to paper, or rather, thumb to phone screen lately.
I've still been listening to music though, lots of music. The sun does something to music. The sun makes punk rock faster, it makes metal heavier, it makes music more fun. Obviously it doesn't work for everything, I couldn't imagine listening to 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ while sat in the garden, or ‘Mr Writer’ by Stereophonics isn't exactly BBQ music. Great tunes though.
Let's talk Spotify. Isn't Spotify brilliant? You want summer songs? Just type ‘Summer’ into Spotify and you will find endless playlists with Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Sum 41, and Bruno Mars. My personal favourite summertime song is at the bottom of this post, and it's not up for debate, it's objectively the best summer song of all time, you will agree, and if you don't, you're stupid, wrong, and probably ugly!
On the subject of Spotify, and I realise I am just rambling on by now, have you ever had a school crush? A boy or girl that you fancied? Then you get on Facebook years later and have a little look for them. They are rarely how you remember. They are either absolutely stunning and living a life of pure glee, or they are a mess, and when you dig deeper, you realise they were always a mess, you just had bad taste. Well, Spotify lets us do that with records.
I recently gave it a go. I listened, for the first time in 10 or something years to ‘Californication’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in its entirety. I know you're probably thinking “Why has it taken this long for you to listen to it?”, and my answer is, I don't think it's Chili’s best album, probably not even in the top 3.
She is gorgeous! Californication is a wonderful album. A strange change in shape for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, they stopped rocking and started to roll. This is a chilled out, funky album, with a set of lyrics as deep as the North Pacific. It almost doesn't sound like a Chilis album, it's something else, maybe that's why I didn't want to like it. Personal highlights are ‘Parallel Universe’ and ‘I Like Dirt’. The album was the comeback for guitarist John Frusciante, and it sort of reignited the bands fire after the drug-fuelled shit-fest that was ‘One Hot Minute’, and it kicked off the bands later years, preceding their masterpiece ‘By The Way’. But 15 year old me didn't care about this. 15 year old me cared about these funky guys making catchy, soppy and almost spiritual music. 15 year old me had the right idea. It's not always about the bigger picture. If you like it, like it! It's a summery album, and it's fantastic.
Of course, there is always a flip side. The girl you fancied in school who, looking back, wasn't all that! You think about her and smile, but after a bit of research, she is a hot mess. In this case it's ‘The Gift Of Game’ by Crazy Town. Wow! I loved this album back in 9T9. I remembered that ‘Butterfly’ was a nice, summery song. It's shite, the whole album is shite. What was I thinking? ‘Revolving Door’ is degrading, its childish, it's disgusting. I didn't care when I was 15, she was a skank, and I fancied the pants off her.
Of course, I don't go through Facebook, stalking past flames. I don't even have Facebook. I just wanted to write a funny blog. I've grown from that 15 year old, I've matured, I accept people, I'm not shallow, and I take nothing at face value. However, that 15 year old loved music for what it was, never feeling the need to dig deeper, read between the lines or get involved in the politics. In that respect, that 15 year old was more grown up than this 34 year old.
Oh, and the best summer song ever?
Len - Steal My Sunshine
Told you you'd agree!
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