Day 292 Goodbye good friend

A sad day today, one if my Leeds festival bands has had to be removed from my wrist as it needs to retire to my memory box. The wrist band was hanging on by a thread so rather risk losing it it was cut off. Enjoy retirement friend...

A musical journey August - Festivals

So this months musical post is inspired from the festival season that we've just passed. I've been lucky enough to attend a few festivals in past years and I love the atmosphere and the whole gathering. From the large festivals to the small local day festivals. It is something that I always look forward to ever year and I am always happy to go try new festivals I haven't been to previously.

This months post then are about 3 bands who I discovered at festivals. Well not me personally discovering them and unleashing them on the world, just 3 bands I never heard of before a festival, and have since liked them, here they are:

1; Little Man Tate
A band from Sheffield, and a band that no longer exists. They were quite a good little band and had a few good catchy songs. I saw them in 2007 at Leeds festival, I guess being from Sheffield they were always in the arctic monkeys shadow. My fave song of theirs was this, house party at Boothys...

2; Seasick Steve
I saw Seasick Steve in 2008, I liked his beard and his random was. In the programme he also was wearing the same shirt as me, could this have been a glimpse into my future, a hobo playing made up instruments at festivals?

3; Goldie Lookin' Chain
GLC a crowd pleaser, first seen in 2004, comic rap gold, with an array of crowd pleasing hits. On stage they opened the festival on Friday and were joined by their welsh friends, Dirty Sanchez. Many songs about random things later they made the UK rap scene cool. After this show I managed to see them another 3 times as they supported loads of other bands, my favourite song was, your missus is a nutter, tidy...

Day 235 - 239 The Festival

It's been a few days since my picture a day routine / challenge for the year. Don't worry I haven't given up I have been away to Leeds Festival and either not had mobile technology or not been in a fit enough state to form tangible sentences. Needless to say lots of pictures were took and a more thorough write up of the festival will come but now as sadly normal life is resumed I have did a mini montage of pictures to make up for the days I missed while away on my holiday, enjoy....

Day 234 The festival tickets

There here, there here ! My festival tickets are here and I'm off to camp, drunk and listen to music for the next 5 days, awesome....

A summers playlist

As my most regular readers will know I write a music inspired post each month. Usually this is my own critique of a new album I've recently bought or it is simply me just writing about the music I've enjoyed listening to in my car on my commutes to work, if you've never read any before here is one.

Any who the other day as I was writing the latest music inspired post I noticed a trend. It was that all the songs I was writing about made me think about summer, as soon as I hear the first bit of the song, for some unbeknown reason I can't explain I instantly associate and think of summer. So this inspired me to write another post, the one you are reading now, dedicated to a great summer playlist.

Now we all have playlists on our iPhone, iPods, laptops, heck some of us still use mix CDs or mix tapes, so here is what I would have on my summer playlist...

1/ The Old Crow Medicine Show; Wagon Wheel,

This song always makes me feel like summer, Firstly it's a simple song, not too complex with loads of different instruments and is quite easy listening. But the main reason why this to me is a great summer song is the memories I have linked with it. I first heard this song in the summer of 2007 when I was working in America. It became the sound of that summer for me, working in Minnesota I would hear it most days and so hearing this songs instantly takes me back there. The lyrics tie in very nicely and makes me think of my time travelling around as this song is about exactly that travelling around. It may sound very country, but I love it and that's why its on my summer playlist and makes me think of nice hot weather and the perfect song to listen to in the garden enjoying a beer....

2/ Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff; Summertime,

Again another very chilled relaxed song, this song obviously is associated with summer as it's all bout summer, hence the title. The lyrics describe summer time in the US of A and is a great song, again another favourite of mine to have playing as I am busy cooking over the BBQ with a nice ice cold beer in hand waiting to serve the perfect burgers....

3/ Dizzie Rascal; Holiday,

This song naturally makes you feel of the summer. Again another song that is about the summertime and the holiday season. I remember this song when I was working in Texas. The summer is undoubtedly hot there and I remember this song playing on the radio as I;d be driving round in my rental car and the sun is scorching hot. The weather is so humid that once you've cooled down and taken a shower and step out of the shower you start sweating again. This song is different than the last 2 on this list as its more upbeat, not as chilled out and relaxed and is of course a song that would have been played time and time again in clubs in Ibiza and ayia napa and the UK no doubt one its release...

4/  Sean Paul; Get Busy,

Not a song I particularly like but that's why Ive included. Huh? You may say why have I put it in my playlist but it's a song I don't like? Purely because it's a song that reminds of of Summer 2003. My and 9 Friends went to Falaraki on our first lads holiday. It was great but what I learnt that every bar pretty much owned the same CD  and played the  same song so for the 2 weeks I was there I remember this song being played around 100 times (probably more but I was quite drunk most of the time) So although it's not a song I particularly like it reminds me of that fantastic  holiday.It reminds me of my mate Disco Dave 'rubbing' sun cream on my back but not actually doing do so I ended up sun burnt. I remember my mates getting annoyed at me as I would wake up at 4pm in the afternoon and stay out til 6am as I couldn't be bothered with the heat and just wanted to drink. It was my send off to Uni and was so much fun, so this song earns its place on the list as it's the best of a  bad bunch of songs being played on holiday....

5/ The Streets; Fit but you know it,

Ahh The Streets, they were a great band. Mike Skinner was great at what he did telling a story. I saw the Streets in 2004 at Leeds Festival, when this song was released. It was my first time at a festival and so this song is not just connected to memories off that, but also memories of Magaluf in 2004 with my mate Disco Dave, and also memories of University. I  remember walking to and from uni listening to the Streets albums. Whenever I hear the Streets songs I usually picture the streets of Liverpool and my journey home. As I also said I saw them live in 2004 and I remember dancing to Van Halen 'Jump' as the Streets were running late so Colin Murray played some essential songs to keep spirits high. I then remember Mike Skinner coming on stage ad being fantastic and getting everyone to do a sun dance as it looked like it was going to rain, he was successful, it didn't ran all weekend and I ended up sunburned and then going to Magaluf and being sun burnt already!...

I'd love for other people to get involved and I am quite freely opening up my blog to everyone. I've never had guest posts or anything before so I wold love people to write to me and write about what songs they associate with summer and what songs they would have on there playlists. Even if you don't have a blog I'd love you to join in, just contact me and I'll put your words up on this screen. If you want to write about 5 songs that make you feel the summer buzz that would be great, similarly if you want to write how to make the perfect summer playlist or just want to write about memories of one particular summer I;d love to have loads of different peoples views and posts, so please feel free to get involved.

You can email me any questions at shastagr81@yahoo.co.uk or tweet me @Daley_84