Musical Minds

It is 10.30pm on Saturday night and I am sat on the train heading back to Lausanne after an afternoon working in sunny Aarau – a small German-speaking city in the North-ish of Switzerland. Sunny and Northern are not two adjectives I have often used together too much in my lifetime, but strange things happen.

I am listening to a band called Daughtry and their album Break The Spell. It is one of my favourites right now along with Coldplay’s latest album. I stumbled across Daughtry by accident really – I heard one song of theirs on the radio, caught the name, and included it on my list to Santa, and Mr Claus produced the goods. Well, actually, it was Auntie Joan and Uncle George, and a great gift nonetheless.

Certainly one of the more random musical discoveries for me. I generally hear two or three tunes, and eventually buy an album. Unless it is Jon or Barry, our old friends, and it’s a no brainer. Play.com usually just send it without me having to click ‘buy’…so certain they are of the purchase. This one was a little more random, but a successful one.

It got me randomly thinking, what makes us like songs and bands? Now, I may perhaps be setting myself up for a few jokes with that comment. But genuinely, what makes you like a band or a song? Is it the tune? Is it the words? Is it the singer? Is it the title of the song? The voice?

It is not particularly easy to put one’s finger on it, and often it is a mixture of a few of them. For me, a large number of the songs I like and consider my favourites are because of the words. I have a couple of songs in my head these days with the words firmly imprinted in my mind and it is much to do with some of my thoughts recently. Analytical Bobby listens to the words of so many songs, and it is the reason why I grew to be a Barry fan. Those lyrics that I appreciate and associate myself with are often the ones that I prefer. I will not claim that to be the reason why I like Bon Jovi – that is more a style and a sound thing. I know, I know….leave it.

But before you start furiously scribbling on my Facebook wall and mocking me, I have another question for you. What is to say that what you hear through your ears is the same as what I hear? Do strawberries taste the same for you as they do me? What if Strawberries actually taste like Cabbage to you, but strawberries to me or vice versa? So nobody likes Mushrooms, that I accept and rightly so. But you get my point.

I guess that is what makes us all unique. The truth is, life would be very boring if we all liked the same thing. So if you like Mushrooms, then you’ll understand why I like Barry Manilow and Bon Jovi. You’re a bit weird too, but that’s fine, I won’t hold it against you!

The Same But Different

Amid all the random travel here and there in the last couple of months, it has meant that I have reached two New Bobby World Records of watching movies and listening to music. I am far from being a big movie fan, and my motto has always been ‘Why spend ninety minutes watching a movie when there is a footy match to watch?’ That still applies, but there are limitations on aeroplanes.

I am currently on another long haul flight and I have just seen The Expendables. I think I realised I was different to most kids when I was young as I was never one for Predator or The Terminator. I would take a comedy or revert to football every day of the week. I just kind of felt that this was something I had to do and would make up for my lack of watching all those other classics which I’ve heard so much about but never seen.

It was reasonably entertaining, and thankfully there was some good humour mixed in with the action scenes. I would even go as far to say that I enjoyed it for a mindless ninety minutes.

This time, I feel like blogging and sending emails but on one other flight recently, I watched five films back to back. Granted, my travel buddy was sleeping like a baby so that made a difference, but still, it was another Bobby World record. From Salt, to Karate Kid, to The Other Guys….I have seen them all. I may have turned the corner and become slightly more normal. Heck, I even have a shortlist of movies I would love to see – Due Date, the little Focker one, and then the one with Tony Soprano called something with the Rileys. I am on movie fire right now.

Music-wise also. Now I get hammered from pillar to post about my music taste. Firstly, I don’t care and secondly, this blog probably won’t help. I am thrilled about the concert prospects for 2011, and I am raring to go. Similarly to the movie situation, maybe this was because I went to something like one concert in the first 22 years of my life. A deprived child one may say, but I never had an interest. In 2011, I have tickets lined up for Bon Jovi, and good old Barry Manilow already and I am not finished! Kings of Leon are on the hit list and I read that The Killers will reunite in April for a new album. Coldplay are planning a new album early in 2011 also, and that is a pretty special list of all my favourites touring or hitting the charts once again.

I did promise my street cred would plummet further.

These days, I have been listening to two new albums – James Blunt and Kings of Leon. Both of which nail it for me. Blunt has always been ok for me and I’ve enjoyed some of his tunes but never in large quantities. This album however is pretty upbeat and I am enjoying it thus far. The Kings of Leon album is another classic from them.

Maybe I haven’t quite turned the corner musically, but I’ll keep plugging away while staying loyal to my favourites regardless of the large number of people it upsets. In fact, one of my missions for 2011, will be to impose my music on certain people and drag them to the Esteva way of thinking. It may not work, but I’m sticking to my guns.