There aren’t a lot of songs that make me sad, although I did already mention that if I’m in a particularly melancholy mood, the song that reminds me of a certain event might do it. The only songs that are particularly emotional for me are all of those on the first Coldplay album. Those teenage years were tricky, and unfortunately for Coldplay, they were the ones who helped me wallow in my angst.

This song reminds me of my mum, because we used to have this exact concert on, well, VHS probably, and we’d watch it over and over. The mullets, the high pitched voices, and the guy’s weird eye movements. What’s not to like? I don’t know if it’s just me, but the video goes out of sync halfway through which is a shame, but you get the general idea. Every part of this brings back memories. The weird guy clapping at the start, the “season” who rests his nose on the microphone, and the rather funky bass solo.

This song reminds me so much of my ill-fated attempts to go to the gym. I stuck at it for a while, but the gym was never a particularly comfortable place for me. Just hearing the beginning of this, and particularly seeing the video - which was often played on those weirdly silent TV screens - puts me right back to that place. I can even smell the odd gym smell, a mixture of exercising bodies, air conditioning and ineffectual cleaning products.

Does an entire year count as an event? When I saw this was one of the criteria for the thirty days, I immediately thought of Welcome to the Black Parade. F1 fans will know that it was used in the ITV video montage they played on their final race before coverage moved to the Beeb. It was the last race of 2008 and it was brilliant. The months leading up to it had been just epic for me for many reasons. If I’m in a particularly poignant mood and I hear the opening bars of this track, I may even find tears prickling my eyes, and that is a rare occurrence.

I’m afraid there’s going to be two Will Smith songs in a row. I’m terrible with lyrics. I always think I know all the words, and then only find out halfway through that I don’t. For some reason, I genuinely do know all the words to this, and I have no idea why.

I’m not that interested in Glastonbury, really, except for the bits and pieces I get to see on TV, and the excellent Big Picture features that appear afterwards. Live music is not really my thing, and when you throw in massive crowds, mud and camping, you can count me out. However, it’s hard to ignore the headlines when they scream that the Wombles are going to appear on stage at Glastonbury. Mr C informed me of this breaking news, and I scoffed. “Yea, of course.”

It can only be this. It is physically impossible for me to sit still to this. Impossible! “Will, we loved your last hit.”

If I’d actually given this any thought, I would have planned it better so that I could have posted the Backstreet Boys video today, my birthday. But I didn’t, so never mind, we shall move straight on to the land of nod. I can’t really listen to music to fall asleep, although I know I used to when I was much younger. These days it’s all about the podcasts. Nevertheless, this song does make me feel very relaxed and perhaps even drowsy.

The Backstreet Boys, obviously. I can’t help it, those years as an obsessed teenager are pretty hard to break. This is an album track, pretty popular in live shows, but not yet a single. Silly boys. I even chose this one for my blog version of Desert Island Discs a while back. And hey, if you don’t like the song, there are bonus subtitles to learn a foreign language with. Panico!

There’s no one I really hate, but there are people that make me roll my eyes when I hear them on the radio or see them on TV. This category seems odd, because if I hate them, why would I want to embed a video of theirs in my site? Oh well. This isn’t a band, just one person. I can just about put up with this video because it has Dawson in it. Yay for Dawson.

A recent post on Kottke linked to the first part of a four-part video series on Vimeo called Everything’s a Remix. It is amazing. There are only two parts so far, one covering music and one covering films. Mr C and I watched them together and it’s fair to say that both of the videos blew our minds just a little bit.

A while back, I seem to recall telling off someone, it may have been Alex, for watching A Christmas Carol when it was nowhere near Christmas. I’m going to have to take that back, I think. Just recently, it suddenly occurred to me that I should start looking at soundtracks. I’m watching more films these days, and they have good music in them too. Who knew? Anyway, all of this to say that I bought the Christmas Carol soundtrack and I have been listening to it even though it is not December. I’m sorry.

My music tastes are quite eclectic really, and_ I_ never know what I’m going to like, let alone anyone else. However, this is a song I probably wouldn’t normally enjoy - not a big rap fan, and although I do like a couple of Linkin Park songs, they’re a bit angsty for me. This, I absolutely adore.

I’ve struggled with this one, probably because I took it a bit too seriously. I spent a good couple of hours agonising over lyrics and thinking, well, I do like this song and it is sort of me but that doesn’t really fit. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression… Then I got over myself, and decided this would do because a lot of the time I am “off again in my world.”

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved this song, but it is an example of the Glee effect. I’ve talked about Glee before, and I’m still impressed with how it has opened up music of all kinds to a wider audience. But, and it’s a pretty big but, it can also ruin songs for you. Now, I cannot hear Gives You Hell, without hearing Rachel Berry saying: “here’s your picket fence, love,” in that mock-angry-but-butter-wouldn’t-melt-really way. It’s not bad, really, but it just doesn’t fit the song, and I can’t take it seriously.

This song has been following me around for the last month or so, and anytime I turn on a radio there it is. Funny, because it has radio in the title too. It gets stuck in my head, going round and round. “Nothing on but the radio, the RADIO!”

If I was doing this the right way round, this category would come immediately after “song you keep hearing on the radio” which has a nice symmetry to it. I have ruined it, of course, by being both contrary and backwards, but still. A song I wish I heard on the radio can only be something live that would never be played, or only in exceptional circumstances. Instantly, that means We Will Rock You. Sure they play Queen all the time, but not this kind of Queen. This is my favourite song from the musical (although not my favourite song by Queen). I recommend skipping to 3:35 for less musical and more music.

I have never really been a big album person. Right from when I bought my very first one, I was keen to make sure that I liked at least a couple of songs on there so I would be getting value for money. And of course, once again, this is the kind of thing that iTunes has changed. I don’t need to buy albums now. I can’t remember the last full album from a single band that I bought.

I’m not sure this really counts as angry, but when I was struggling in those early days of trying to reach a 5k running distance, I used to listen to this song over and over and it got me through. I can’t really explain why, but there’s something about it that definitely spurred me on. I’ve never seen the video before today. That’s an odd one.

The last few days have been a tough criteria for me. I don’t really think, oh I am in this particular mood, I will listen to this. I suspect iTunes and the shuffle feature have ruined that for a lot of people. Still, I know this song is mostly quite cheerful and it makes me happy to hear it, which is almost the same thing. The Chain is not the only music that I associate with F1.

Technically, I should probably put the entire Parachutes album from Coldplay here, because I listened to that A LOT when I was going through tough teenage times. Because of that, though, I can’t bear to hear it, so it would be a bit of a waste of time. Instead, I’ll go with this. It makes me think of my BFF. It was one of those songs, for her, that is pretty depressing but she could listen to over and over again without being sad. I have a couple of songs like that too, but this was hers, and it makes me wistful.

Well, of course, I have kind of missed the boat on this one. Or more correctly, I got on the boat and got married already, with just some silly music to walk in the room to. Songs were not important, it was about being married and getting our hands on the champagne. However, let’s say that I was going to do the wedding again (shuddering at the thought), and do it differently, with songs and stuff. I reckon I might play this.

I’m not so good at formal events like this, and I don’t particularly want a fuss at my funeral. Although, of course, I’m hoping not to be conscious of what’s going on when it does happen, so the organisers could make as much fuss as they want. Music isn’t something I’d particularly given thought to at a funeral, but eventually, I found something I’d like. Imagine the scene, the coffin travelling towards a fiery inferno and out bursts…

Ahh, Tim Minchin. There aren’t many of his songs that are lacking in swear words, although it’s worth a warning that there’s a bit of a swear before this one gets going. Take my wife. Plink!

Well, sort of. When Garageband became available on the iPad, I made a good effort at the best bit.

I can play the piano a little, and the guitar even less. I’ve always wished I was better at the piano, but I don’t really have the patience to put the effort in. I had this track in one of my many music books, and I tried to play it many times before eventually I gave up, and mostly stopped playing altogether. Not because of this song, I might add.

I’m not sure there is any song that makes me feel guilty. Isn’t that a weird emotion to be related to a song? Happy, absolutely. Sad, yup. Even angry occasionally. But guilty? I thought about it for a long while, but this is an odd concept. Nevertheless, I have come up with something. You know, as an F1 fan, it’s difficult to like Ms Scherzinger, but I do very much like this song. So, it might be a guilty pleasure. Or something.

When the Spice Girls first came out, when there were five of them and before they started dating footballers and having babies, I was a big fan. I like a good bit of pop music, and with all that Girl Power stuff, these ladies spoke to me. So much so that I remember having a special compilation video, taping all appearances by the Spice Girls on Top of the Pops and Royal Variety Performances and Noel’s House Party. I do believe that is what YouTube now call playlists, but back then it was hard work!

I blogged about the 30 Day Song Challenge, pondering whether I would be able to do it or not, and after giving it far too much thought, I’m going for it. One thing to note. I’m doing it backwards. I don’t like that it starts out with your favourite song. That should be the culmination of 30 days hard work. Thus, today, I begin with my favourite song from this time last year.

Last night, on something of a whim, I downloaded the Glee app for the iPad. Don’t stop reading yet! Regardless of what you think of Glee, it’s making some incredible changes in engaging people with music. The app itself is pretty clever, and a genius money-spinner at the same time. You pick a song (a couple are free but most cost about £1), it comes up with karaoke style lyrics, and you record yourself singing it.

A lot of the blog memes and challenges pass me by, but occasionally there is one that catches my eye and the 30 Day Song Challenge is one of those. I’m not sure where it’s origins lie, but I have seen it posted by a few friends, on Facebook, on blogs. Most recently, Lukeh took up the challenge with the genius idea of using Posterous so as not to spam his main blog.

In my running update this week, I referenced the column of advice that was remixed into the most excellent Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrman. Once it was in my head, I remembered what fabulous advice the song has, and I re-listened a couple of times. Here are the bits that I have taken to heart and try to live by: Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. And as a bonus, I adore the line: “Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.” But I took advice on that elsewhere rather than the song, and gave up Cosmo a long while ago.

A long while ago, when my best friend and I would get together, we used to dream of going to live in Florida. I’m not sure whether it was the sunshine or the proximity to the Backstreet Boys that was the key influencer, but whatever it was, we wanted some of the Florida life. To get a taste for it, we would listen to radio stations from the FL area. It was different and exotic and quite exciting.

I’ve been epically busy this week but Apple don’t seem to care very much about that. First they released the latest version of their mobile software which meant a dozen gadgets needed updating. The very next day, just as I thought I was going to be getting something done, Garageband became available on the iPad. Productivity = out the window. For an entire evening, I was all about the music.

Several times on this blog I have talked about how very excellent the Four Chords song is by Axis of Awesome. And it is fabulous, I’m not going back on my word. At the same time, though, it’s fair to say that those four chords have ruined my musical life. Twice in the past couple of weeks, Mr C and I have ended up racking our brains for hours and hours trying to work out where we know a song from, and it turns out to be somewhere in the megasong.

We recapped Mr C’s top five films at the very end of 2010, and after a little bit of pondering (and a little bit of tardiness on my part), he’s back with his top five songs released in 2010. It was a good year for us and music, after a few years of not being that interested in the output of that particular industry. So, here are his top five: Forget You - Cee Lo Green. “One of those songs where nothing before it had been anything like it. The style of the video was unique, and captivating. Not particularly bothered if it’s the version with or without the swearing. I love the retro references too, like Atari.” This Ain’t a Love Song - Scouting for Girls. “It’s the follow-up to every other love song. Every pop song is about saying sorry and getting back together, and much like Forget You, this is the bit that comes after - where they’ve given up and are moving on. It’s also a fine pop song, and it’s also quite amazing they’ve done something that is different to their other songs. I didn’t think they had it in them.” Amazing - Bruno Mars. “What a talent, what a songwriter. I also like his new song, but that’s 2011. Aside from the fact that he seems to have nicked Jason Mraz’s style, he genuinely is one of the talents of 2010.” Written in the Stars - Tinie Tempah. “The song hangs on the chorus, it’s one of the best choruses… blindingly good. Probably made slightly better by the fact the rap isn’t very good. Worth putting up with Tinie for the chorus.” Mine - Taylor Swift. “She’s the new Shania Twain, it’s as country as I’ll ever go in my whole life. However, I like the premise of it, the storytelling. It’s like a mini-movie in a song.” Honourable mention goes to Shakira with Waka Waka, which Mr C debated over for quite a long time. It’s really far cooler than Taylor Swift, and great fun, but not quite as memorable a song. Personally, I thought it took to long to get going, as well, but that’s me and not Mr C.

Here I am with another list, and I can tell you that this one came about solely from my desire to talk about the first item mentioned below. These are my top five songs with brand names mentioned in them. It’s not really product placement in the “money for saying our name” sense, but more where reality clashes with culture. Let’s get right on with the list. Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down

Yesterday, Gavin posted a great link in the Sidepodcast comments - 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ghostbusters. For once, this is a list where I did not, in fact, know any of the items on it. To be honest, though, they aren’t all entirely fascinating, but you must keep reading to the end to uncover this gem: …you won’t find the music video on the home video version of the movie Ghostbusters, due to a plagiarism suit brought by Huey Lewis in 1984. Lewis charged that the tune to “Ghostbusters” was essentially the same as “I Want a New Drug” by Huey Lewis and the News, which came out six months earlier.

Have you seen a new site called Compare My Radio? It’s from some lab type people at Absolute Radio, and is currently in Beta, but it’s a very clever idea. Their short little blurb says: Compare My Radio tracks UK radio stations’ “now playing” information and makes sense of it so you don’t have to. The basic premise seems to be to find a radio station that is right for you, depending on what you want from it. You can search for an artist and find out who has played them the most

If you haven’t seen the latest music video from OK Go, then you must view it now. I know. Wow. Right? It’s taken me a while to be convinced that it is actually real but after reading a great behind the scenes piece on it, I’m gonna go with it. Some facts you need to know:

There’s been a story doing the rounds recently about the Billboard Top 40 Money Makers, with U2 topping the list. I mentioned this to Mr C, as he’s a former crazy fan who now just keeps an eye on what they’re up to. He questioned the idea, and that led to a fascinating conversation. I wanted to blog some highlights, as it raises a lot of questions. Credit: Andrew3000/Flickr

Eight Songs The song choices are by far the hardest part. My mother left her choices on the previous post, and told me that it took her the best part of an hour to narrow it down to eight. I’m not sure how long I’ve spent thinking about this as I chose them over a period of several days, by writing one, then going away to ponder and picking it up again later. Here goes:

A while ago, they finally debuted Desert Island Discs as a podcast via the BBC. It took a while to sort out due to rights restrictions both with the music played, and with the original format owners, but it’s there, available to download, hosted by Kirsty Young. I only listen to the people I’m interested in, such as the recent David Tennant episode, but it’s good to have the option. For some reason I have a mental block when it comes to radio via the iPlayer so podcasting is a good way for me to get this content.

For a long time, the Christmas Number One single in the UK has been rubbish. I don’t remember the last time there was a decent song at the top, but then again, there haven’t really been an enormous amount of worthy festive songs released recently anyway. For the past few years, the Yuletide number has been dominated by the Simon Cowell sponsored X Factor winner, and that’s usual a cover version of a song that has nothing to do with snow or Santa or anything.

For a while now, Mr C and I have been engrossed in the Spotify world, only just managing to stop from signing up for the premium service to get rid of the pesky ads. It is too much money and not quite worth it, but only just. Now though, I’m starting to wonder what we ever saw in it. The fact you can play music from many different genres, decades, albums for free is good, but there are drawbacks.

From Mint.com: View the full image for more stats.

It finally happened - the App that has been hitting headlines for weeks now has made it into both the Android and iPhone store. There was a lot of doubt over whether Apple would allow the app into their store, particularly over in this corner of the web. However, it’s there, it exists, and it’s time to see what all the fuss is about! Here’s a first impression review of the iPhone app.

The BBC have always been good at pushing forward new music, even as the industry changes around them. It used to be supremely hard for unsigned artists to get their music heard, but with MySpace and Podsafe music, it’s easier for word to spread. Although this is better for artists, I imagine it might make the BBC’s life a little harder - there is such a wealth of music out there, you have to wheedle out the good stuff. I can speak from experience and tell you that trawling through podsafe music is not fun!

Over in the US, the purchase of digital music over CDs is rising. The NPD Group released some statistics suggesting that digital sales now make up 25% of the overall sale of music, and that figure is only growing. From the press release: Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said Russ Crupnick, vice president of entertainment industry analysis “But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010.

This is singularly the best moment from Never Mind the Buzzcocks ever. In my opinion, Buzzcocks got better when Simon Amstell took over, although some of his humour was, it’s fair to say, evil. Bill Bailey also made a great addition, and his weird moments could be very amusing.