I sit and type this while I’m listening to Meiko’s Reasons to Love You. I feel myself settling. I couldn’t sleep – I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms from my ‘crackberry’ (a story for another day). It’s such a beautiful tune. There are a lot of songs that do this for me. Calm me. Keep me grounded. Make me happy I’m alive. What’s really weird is that I didn’t care much about music till after secondary school. Sometimes I think about my life in terms of music and I’ve often thought about documenting the ones that have made an impact so here goes:
· Ooh Ooh Baby (Eugene Wilde) – OK, so maybe this is cheating considering that this came out when I was about 1 but according to my mum it was the first thing I sang. I “remember” it or maybe (more accurately) I have manufactured a memory of it since I was told. Baby Chimmy obviously had exquisite taste since I still love this version as well as Foxy Brown’s cover.
· Sacrifice (Elton John) – I only recently worked out what year this is from because my mum pointed out that it was her 40th birthday. It was a Saturday and we were all home. My dad had his music on and Sacrifice came on after a whole bunch of reggae (yeah I’m not a fan). I remember nothing else from that day other than watching my aunt Nen dance and singing along with Sir Elton.
· Heal the world (Michael Jackson) – reminds me of December 1995. A whole bunch of my maternal cousins and I were in my Grandfather’s house a lot. I love that house and I’ve had so much fun there. One night we all sat in the bar singing this song. It was also the night that my 6 year old brother got beaten up by his 3 year old cousin – still cracks us up.
· Sitting up in My Room (Brandy) – Well this really should be the entire Waiting to Exhale album but I needed to pick one so I’ve picked this. It was the year after my cousin Brian was born so we spent lots of time at his mum’s the summer of 1997. It was also the year when I was finally allowed to go out with my friends. I remember getting in trouble because we went for Attiyah’s party or leaving do or something and didn’t get home till 8pm – seriously my heart was in my throat when I eventually made it back. I wondered how everyone else knew what the lyrics to the songs were (I can’t hear lyrics without total concentration and repeated play and I also thought my cousins Linda and Agodi were the coolest people ever because they danced so well to this track.
· Are you that Somebody (Aaliyah) – My brother and I got to spend some time with our cousins in Port Harcourt autumn 2008. This was a big deal because it was one of the very rare times I was separated from any siblings in childhood. I loved Aaliyah, did the baggy trousers and little top thing for ages. I remember my sister and other brother acting uninterested and like they didn’t like this song because they were envious of our tales of going swimming, eating suya, being somewhere different.
· He wasn’t man enough (Toni Braxton) – My first proper boyfriend hated this song. I remember conversations where he dissed Toni for the atrocity for her lyrics while I laughed. He cracked me up all the time, still does. So this song brings back good memories of spring/summer 2000 which was one of the highlights of my life.
· Oops I did it again (Britney Spears) – I was going to pick Seven Days (Craig David), Most Girls (Pink), Doesn’t Really Matter (Janet Jackson), heck even Scrubs (TLC) because all of those songs were part of my ultimate playlist in Autumn 2000. This was the year I visited London for the first time and realised that all my years of prejudice were seriously misplaced. This was the trip I met my late Aunt Nneafor for the first time (RIP aunty), the first time I went to a cinema, the first time I hung with my godfather socially. It was the first time I bought an album. Britney gets the spot because Oops was my first album.
· A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton) – I spent Autumn 2002 in the US. My aunt got married and I flew out with my father to represent our family at the wedding. It was the first time in memory that I spent time by myself with my father. We bonded over Murder she Wrote (which I adore to this day even though my friends and family think I’m mental for that). I went out to see my cousin Comfort in her university in Missouri and Be Not Nobody was one of the albums she had. I remember us driving, being silly, laughing and singing to A Thousand Miles with the wind in our faces – just having a great time.
· Cluck Cluck (Product GB) – I love dancing even though I really can’t dance. In December 2002 my cousin Mary got married and the family descended on Port Hacourt (Nigeria) for the wedding. The wedding after party was my first “night party” and I had an amazing time dancing with the best dance partner I’ve ever had – Amari. I never saw him again but I will always think about that night when I hear this played
· Sweetest Goodbye (Maroon 5) – I bought a minidisc player as a personal xmas present in December 2004. My sister had Songs about Jane and this, along with Usher’s Confessions, became my album of that period. My twin cousin got married, I got drunk for the first time with Com, I had a blast sneaking in and out of Grandpa’s for night parties, my cousins and I bickered over where to sleep, I saw a ridiculous wedding, I got caught snogging a man in public – scandalous! I t was a great Christmas!
· See you when you’re 40 (Dido) – Ok, so it’s a little unfair to name this song in isolation. George Michael’s I can’t Make you Love me, Keane’s Somewhere Only we Know, Usher’s Work it Out, Whitney Houston’s Love Will be Waiting at Home, and Boyz II Men’s Doin Just Fine, among others, play a major part in what was a difficult time in my life. Dido, however, was the person whose lyrics (yep I suddenly became a lyrics person) I most empathised with in what was my first heart break.
· Who Knew (Pink) – I was obsessed with this song. Like literally. It came on and I had a shiver go right through me. It hit my core. It reminds me of spring/summer 2006. In Manchester. I was sharing a flat with June. It reminds me of my first trip to Nigeria that I totally paid for. It reminds me of laughing incessantly with Comfort. It reminds me of J – and danger. It reminds me of Lanre – my ex best friend slash major crush slash perfect boyfriend material. It reminds me of the most fashionable time of my life. It reminds me of lingering evenings with friends. It reminds me of nights out sipping wine. It reminds me of the only 15 months of my life that I didn’t live with family. It rocks!
· Mr Brightside (The Killers) – This is a special song for me. It is on my list of all time favourites – maybe even in the top 5. It reminds me of living with Jen in Mauldeth Road – the recovery from the breakup, nights out on the Manchester student scene. It also reminds me of the 9 months or so when we had interns at work my second time round in Manchester. Cheap drinks, getting thrown out of Revolution, Nando’s, stupid dares, rocking up to work (with only a quick shower in between) after spending an entire night out, bickering over music in the hire cars on the way to work, football, hotel hopping, annoying housemate, fantastic housemate, 2 hour walks around Manchester city centre at 2am – the list is endless. Fun! Fun! Fun!
· Mrs Officer (Lil Wayne) – The first time I heard this I didn’t even know who sang it or what it was called. I was on my way to a lounge bar in DC with Comfort and Ochu and it started playing in his car. I love the beat or rhythm or something and I wanted to know who sang it. I got a major shock when I heard it was Lil Wayne because I had consigned him and his music to the bin that I reserve for the rubbish that is trotted out these days as popular music. So it reminds me of that trip to the US for 5 weeks in autumn 2008. It consoled me when I turned 25 but couldn’t celebrate because my friend was a minor and I wouldn’t go out without him. It reminds me of Houston, St Louis, Wilmington, Baltimore, New York, LA. It reminds me of new people and great experiences. It reminds me of family.
· Strong Thing (Banky W) – I spent the entirety of December 2009 in Nigeria. It was the first time in 7 years that I spent longer than 10 days at home. I was my cousin’s maid of honour in a beautiful wedding – second best one I’ve ever been to. It was a period when a friendship evolved. It was a period I thought I was losing my closest friends. It was the first Christmas I spent in Abuja. It was the first time our family was split in half over the holidays. It was when I realised that I had to end the longest relationship of my life. It was from when I thought I might have met the man I would marry. It was a time of reconnection but also a time of confusion. Banky W was there all the way
· Tie my hands (Lil Wayne) – Imagine that! If anyone had told me Lil Wayne would turn up in this list, I would have laughed here’s his second entry. I listened to this song very reluctantly the first time. I fell in love with London. I’ve watched deep movies and read deep books. I made a start with learning Italian. I finally appreciate red wine. I went to Asia. I have met awesome friends. I finally carried on with Grey’s Anatomy which I stopped watching when I found out Preston Burke left. I even ate cauliflower for the first time in a decade at least (not that it will be repeated anywhere other than in India). It kinda defines/symbolises 2010 for me – discovering awesomeness despite unjustified reluctance from me.
