tape girl

I was having a clear up (again) in my bedroom & found a bag of cassettes (I was going to write stumbled across but that made it sound like I'd fallen over them - "I'm not surprised" I can hear my mum saying "the state of your bedroom")

Now for any young drama queens out there cassettes are an audio format (a bit like a CD but older) & if you wanted to record anything to you to press record & play at the same time on your tape recorder.  You could record tape to tape at high speed on fancy stereos (think old school ipod) & the music sounded like Pinky & Perky (...oh never mind).

This treasure trove of nostalgia included:


The original Now That's What I Call Music - which reminded that side B of cassette 2 was always the dodgy side

A tape of some friends from university's band - which I still love & I wish I had the kit & know how to digitize it as I would share it as they are great.

A cassette of Mick Brown dedicating 'Rush Hour' to me & my sister number 10 in my last claim to fame list

A load of compilation tapes that I made years ago & although it's a dead format I cannot bear to throw them away.

It reminded me that I used to cut out photos from magazines for covers for my tapes

but I also used to name my compilations

this one is called Jason Donovan's Chest because that's what's on the cover (going for the Ronseal approach)

Lurking at the bottom of the pile were two tapes which I knew even before looking at the track list were heart break tapes.  

The first one 'Emotions' is your standard fare of weepy mix tape; some early Beatles tracks, Everything But the Girl (before they  went all dance on us), Crowded House & Simply Red.  I barely remember what heartbreak it was over (but think I can guess because of the inclusion of the Simply Red track).  But if it was that guy I'm wondering, why was I tormenting myself over him?  He was a dick.  I didn't love him, I liked him, he made me laugh (sometimes), but he was definitely not worthy of my tears.

The other one is just labelled Summer 95 and this one is properly sad.  I know by the date (as well as the contents) what this one is all about). 
I can just picture that poor sad little drama queen listening to her tape weeping into her pillow, nursing a broken heart.  A good cry can be so cathartic to get it (them) out of your system, but there is a fine line & I'm sure on occasion I crossed over to wallowing in it. 

Being that I probably unkindly dissected a mix tape an old girlfriend made for Mr D I thought I would share the track list:


Side A
Return to Innocence - Enigma (I know but that would fall into one of the songs HE liked)
Cross My Heart - Everything But The Girl
Love is Here Where I Live - EBTG
Apron Strings - EBTG (obviously working my way through the Everything But The Girl back catalogue)
Everybody Hurts - REM (guaranteed weepy.  I want this song at my funeral.  I want EVERYONE to cry)
No Need to Argue - The Cranberries
Jealous Guy - John Lennon
You've Got Me Thinking - The Beloved (classic of the time)
Favourite T - The Lemonheads
Bell Bottomed Tear - The Beautiful South
Linger - The Cranberries
Caroline - Misty Oldland (yeah, me neither)


Side B
I Need Your Loving - Baby D (original is better)
Badhead - Blur
Take a Bow - Madonna
No More I Love Yous - Annie Lennox
Back For Good - Take That
Sour Times - Portishead (got to love a bit of Portishead)
Driving With The Brakes On - Del Ametri
Across The Universe - The Beatles (another on the list for my funeral - love love this song)
Heaven Help Me - EBTG (again!)
The World Is Stone - Cyndi Lauper
They Dance Alone - Sting

I did say I have eclectic taste in music (Mr D insists that means it's a mix of good & shit). An unusual mix I'll admit but the odd gem in there.


Just in case you need a good cry. 

 Hopefully it falls under the 'good' music in my collection x

Claims to fame part 3 (this has surely got to be the last one...)

Well hello, it's been a while hasn't it?  Life has been getting in the way a bit but thought I really should get back into this blogging malarkey.  

I've realised I'm getting nowhere with my 40 before I'm 40 challange & so I've spent the last few days looking into how I'm going to organize a kick ass party. That's a huge headache isn't it as trying to co-ordinate dates with friends holidays & I think some people that I really want to be there aren't going to be able to make it.  And then there's the whole dilemma of kids/no kids?  My biggest girl gave me sad eyes when I floated the idea of a grown ups only party but I'm really liking the idea of taking off my mummy badge for a night & letting my hair down...

Anyway, following my claims to fame part one & two I have managed to scrap the bottom of the barrel and dredge up some more claims to fame to complete my trilogy of blog posts

1.  Joan Collins was in front of me in a queue in the food hall in M&S Marble Arch.  Well technically she was 2 people ahead of me but the woman in front of me freaked out when she saw who it was & ran off (leaving her shopping on the conveyor belt).

2. Saw Willem Dafoe in a dim sum restaurant in Soho looking like himself.

3.  Peter Purvis refused my offer to iron his shirts

4. Buster Bloodvessle from Bad Manners going into a bank.

5. Nicky Campbell - took himself too seriously

6. Alasdair Stewart - loud & very friendly

7. Carol Volderman -she did her own make up (& was very orange)

8. I saw Geoff Capes open a May fair when I was a kid

9. Ruby Wax & Gary Rhodes who were filming a sketch together for comic relief.  You could tell she hated him.

10. Met Mick Brown who played "Rush Hour" by Jane Wiedlin as a request for me & my sister

 

 remember this one?

11.  I was factious to Andy Crane when I was about 15

16.  Saw the band James in a BBC tea bar

17. Met Stephanie Lowe (Mrs Phillip Schofield), Andi Peters & Simon Parkin who used to present 'But First This'

18. Jimmy Carr took the piss out of me because I laughed too loud & too long at a joke about cystitis.

19. Ben Shepherd said hello to me on some rushes I was transcribing

20. I ignored Caroline Aherne in reception at ITV

21. I saw Brenda Blethyn outside a pub in South East London

22. I worked with Ricky Grover who was an audience warm up man but he later played Andrew Cotton in Eastenders

23. A actress who auditioned for a student production of mine & I didn't cast for the project went on to be in  Queer as Folk & Spooks (obviously crushed by my rejection).

I think that has got to be that for now.  But what are your claims to fame?  The dodgier the better as far as I'm concerned xx