Good Music...Ill Health

Another bit of a ramble.

Anyone who enjoys music will always remember and associate music with events in their life, people, relationships, good times, bad times etc.

Even the most uplifting of songs can pull you down when it’s associated with a painful time. This of course works the other way; there are heart-breaking songs that you can listen to without feeling anything.

The list goes on.

I tend to listen to a large amount of music including most genres but, like a lot of people, I am very mood orientated in terms of what I listen to and when. For instance I could be constantly listening to a few different bands for weeks, then go off them and skip past them for months or even years before I feel like listening to them again.  A couple of examples include Sam’s Town by The Killers; an album that I’ll always love yet I don’t think I’ve listened to a single song off for over two years, and Black Holes & Revelations by Muse; an album (their last great album might I add) from around the same period but again I haven’t listened to for a long time. (New York State of Mind I’ve already gone into in another post).

 I can’t listen to the same music all of the time, which is probably why I struggle choosing favourites. I think the same probably applies to other forms of media, including blogging…

Anyway, moving on.

October.

Anyone who lives (not suffers!) with diabetes may have a similar story to tell, so I’ll make it quick.

It was getting colder, it was darkening, getting out of bed in a morning was gradually getting more difficult, and winter was approaching. (Oh and the whiskey was making a regular appearance). I’d started to feel like I wasn't getting enough sleep. I’d manage to get through the day alright but then stay wide awake all night with an unquenchable thirst. I’d finish bottles of Lucozade in no time and was drinking water in crazy amounts, often followed by many visits to the toilet. I was generally feeling overly-tired, and thought that more energy drinks and sugary foods would help though it was actually making it worse. After a couple of weeks I found myself leaving food and not being as hungry as I usually was, whilst still drinking ridiculously and feeling ever more tired. My parents came back from a break away and worryingly stated that I’d lost weight and I ‘looked like I’d been on drugs’. My boss at work also commented that I ‘looked like shit’ (they’re all really sensitive you know) so I was sent home early. Another few days passed before I decided to go to the hospital and get myself checked out. Everything after that I've probably already mentioned.

Anyway the point of this little tale is the music. Whilst all this was happening, a couple of well awaited new albums were released. The 2^nd Law by Muse, and Battle Born by The Killers (I mentioned these two bands earlier to point out how I hadn't listened to them in a fair while).

What should have been a good few weeks of over enjoying and analysing of two great bands’ latest efforts ended up being a fortnight full of fatigue and a great struggle for concentration. The reason I wrote this is because I recently decided to listen to some of the most recent albums of some of the artists I like. When these two appeared I had a genuine overwhelming feeling of melancholy (my favourite mood of course…) and a strange nostalgia. How they mix is beyond me. They are both good albums, it’s just that they will always remind me of an ill time and an ill person. So in the end I don’t think I really enjoy listening to them both, though not through a lack of trying!

In case you aren't familiar with songs from the albums, here’s a few links to some of the more interesting songs:

 This 'Animals' by Muse.

 (This one really does make me feel somewhat awful)

'Panic Station' also by Muse.

(Pretty upbeat song, not too bad, track 3 on their last few albums always seems to stand out)

 'The Way it Was' by The Killers

A bit nostalgic this one for some reason.

I'm sorry if this seems like a bit of a plug for music but I don't care, it's what matters to me. Maybe my next post will have a bit more of coherent theme!

Loui

Hey Man, I'm holding a fucking beverage here!

It's been a while, quite a while in fact.

I feel I have to get something written down, maybe the first glimmer of creativity this month!

I've been so busy enjoying myself and thinking of things to do that I've not had the time to actually put pen to paper, or fingers to keys if you want to be a smart arse.

I say enjoying myself but what I actually mean is that I've just been really busy, both at work and out of work. I'm not quite sure whether I like my social life at the moment, especially after recent events and certain things coming to light, not all of which is bad might I add.

I rarely have high expectations when I leave the house on a night out. Pin-balling between pubs and the occasional club in a tired, run down town doesn't really do it for me anymore. Maybe I've reached the age where nightclubs are for the younger, reckless types and a quiet drink in a wine bar is for older, more settled  folk. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood or I'm a grumpy git, who knows?

The weekend...

At the weekend I went to visit my old uni flatmates in Nottingham. I hadn't seen them for at least six months and it was well overdue for us to catch up. We met up and found ourselves in the local very quickly. The local pub of my university life hadn't changed in character, but everyone seemed just a little bit different, like the place was missing something. The regulars in this particular public house are not young folk like ourselves; they're mostly above 50, have very colourful pasts and carry a beer gut. This is a fact that I always happened to love about the place. 

Anyway, it turned out that it was missing something; a couple of the old regulars, 'the old guard' as one drunkard chose to describe them, had moved on (one had died, the other had just had enough of the place). Aside from this sad difference in the place (and the fact that the closing hours were earlier for some reason) I was genuinely glad to be there spending time with old friends, having a few beers and a few laughs, whilst enjoying a rare weekend away from a sleepy village and a comatose town.

Between the 3 of us we'd had a completely different 6 months in terms of what we'd been up to and I think we enjoyed each-others company for the most part. I couldn't wait to get down there and see what was happening and what had changed, but after 2 nights in that city I honestly couldn't wait to get back home and back to my own little world. 

One thing caught me off guard when I finally got home after a somewhat rushed, albeit drowsy drive north: apart from us 3 catching up, nothing major had changed. Everyone in the pub was the same, had the same drinks, clothes, attitudes, sense of humour, nothing had ultimately changed. This, although twas what I had originally hoped on the way down, unsettled me. 

I'm well aware of how it reads: someone writing about a pub like it's of huge importance, but it's one of the few places I actually enjoyed being and it really puts things into perspective, whether in a good way or not...

Loui