The first song I fell in love withI loved a fellow sixth-former, Sarah, at school. She kissed me once at the end-of-term party. I came home at 5am and played Love My Way by the Psychedelic Furs 18 times in my bedroom as the sun came up and my adult life began.
The song that is my karaoke go-toI once cleared a bar in the US by singing Losing My Religion by REM. I’m looking for another chance to let rip on it, although Stan by Eminem might be better. He sings one note, and it’s the only note I have.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric toRuby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town by Kenny Rogers is just incredible. I love the image of the sun going down and the shadow on the wall. The narrator has been left paralysed by the Vietnam war and is begging her not to go out looking for someone else, while accepting he cannot give her what she needs.
The best song to play at a partyI once danced with Rylan [Clark] to Shackles (Praise You) by Mary Mary. He has snake hips and I felt arthritic by the end. But I would go again if I had Rylan on hand.
The song I can no longer listen toI must have played Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell 2,000 times. The line “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot” is far too similar to the story of human behaviour, which is sad. The song I secretly like but tell everyone I hateMandy by Barry Manilow is soppy, melodramatic, silly, and I absolutely love it.
The key change towards the end is a car crash, but I don’t care. The song that changed my lifeI first heard Sound and Vision by David Bowie when I was 12. I thought it was so weird and brilliant that he doesn’t even start singing until halfway through.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
