It's My Birthday and I'll ...

.... play the music I want!

What a week it has been! That dread phone call on Monday morning that a close family member has been rushed into hospital. Tuesday receiving almost the worst possible news regarding the prognosis. Thursday discovering that a misdiagnosis has been made and the situation is not as black as we (my spouse, children and my siblings and their respective families) believed it to be.

Almost a whole day of the past week has been spent in the car, if you add together all the travelling time.

And today, Saturday 5th May, is my birthday. Born in 1956, I am 56 years of age. (I've always felt a bit cheated that I'm not a year older, because then my birthday would have been 5.5.55).  It was FA Cup Final day that day as well. Manchester City beat Birmingham and City's goalkeeper, Bert Trautmann (a former German POW) played much of the game with a broken neck.

Maybe because I am old, the FA Cup seems to have lost its magic over the last few years. A Chelsea - Liverpool final should be a cause for great excitement, but perhaps we've become too used to watching the great teams play each other on telly

Enouth of the "old man ramblings"!

Today, I have decided to choose my three favourite songs of the moment .... three songs that are guaranteed to put a smile on my face and, horror of horrors, have me singing along to when I am on my own in the car

NB: As a child, I was a soloist in a church choir. As an adult, I cannot hold a single note!

So, in reverse order, my Damn Fine Birthday Tunes are ....

3. Default - DJANGO DJANGO (from the album Django Django)

Variously described as "psychedelic", "art-punk", and "organic electronica", I would stick my neck out and say all three descriptions are nonsense. What we have here is, to borrow a slogan from Stiff records back in the 70s, is "Pure Pop For Now People"

You can sing along to it, you can dance to it, it is ridiculously catchy.  I love it!

2. Girls - DEEP SEA ARCADE (from the album Outlands)

I love Australian bands!  The last few years has seen some of my favourite music come from down under - Tame Impala, Midnight Juggernaut, The Morning After Girls, etc ...

However, Deep Sea Arcade may be the best of the lot ... great songs, clearly influenced by 60s pop (Monkees, Beach Boys, Beatles) but with an added twist in that they are also clearly influenced by the "Madchester" sound

Cannot recommend album highly enough.

And finally ....

1. By The Sea - SUMMER FICTION (from the album Summer Fiction)

This probably comes as no surprise to those that know me, as have been lauding this lot to the max since I first heard this album.  This is one of those great tracks that makes the hair at the back of my neck stand up whenever I hear it. Even now have it as my ringtone!

Definitely one of my favourite singles of all time, let alone just now. It has everything ... great tune, lyrics, vocals and the simplest, most effective guitar solo. And its under 3 minutes. Pure Pop Perfection!

So there we have it .... Three brilliant songs to brighten up any day and, especially, my birthday.

Normal service resumed next week, folks