The Soundtrack of my Life

Soundtrack of my life: 2012 – Survival (Muse)

Is this not the best made-for-a-sporting-event song ever, er, made? I think so. The Olympics in London this year was a cool event and proved, to me at least, why England should be hosting the 2018 World Cup. That aside, the Olympics came at the end of one hell of a...

Soundtrack of my life: 2011 – Levels (Avicii)

We've made it all the way to 2011 and guess what? Complete underwhelm-ment. There were a few catchy songs released last year, but as catchy as they were, equally unmemorable they are. No classics. So, what am I to do? I can't get this far and choke. I have to choose...

Soundtrack of my life: 2010 – Wavin’ Flag (K’Naan)

This song was everywhere during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Why? The 'Celebration Mix' version was grabbed by Coke to be their anthem for the tournament. That meant it was in the stadiums, on the telly, on tournament cash-in music mixes, everywhere. So, being...

Soundtrack of my life: 2009 – All On Our Own (Midnight Youth)

There aren't too many Kiwi bands on my list so it's somewhat appropriate that, as the last decade ended we can get something local in there. My second son was born in 2009, but I'd be pushing it to say this piece of music dove-tailed with his emergence. Again, it's a...

Soundtrack of my life: 2008 – Human (The Killers)

I like The Killers. Not for their name (no, I'm not a psychopath...) but for the decent music they produce. And this is pretty much my favourite song of theirs. Again, a simple explanation. Not because I may be running out of steam with this project, but because the...

Soundtrack of my life: 2007 – Shadow Of The Day (Linkin Park)

My first son was born in 2007. Having kids is the most mind-altering experience you will ever have. Bar none. When Nathan came along the sun definitely set on my previous life, while opening up a whole new, far more fascinating, unknown path ahead. Stated rather...

Soundtrack of my life: 2006 – Crazy (Gnarls Barkley)

This is another tough one. In the year I attended my first World Cup, you'd have thought a song from that period would have stood out. But no, not really. Hips Don't Lie just doesn't really cut it... Crazy does stand out as something I listened to and liked from 2006...

Soundtrack of my life: 2005 – Dakota (Stereophonics)

The Stereophonics are back on my soundtrack after a short, one year, absence thanks to this great track. Why is it great? Because it was the last song to be cut before I finally settled on my wedding song. Well, that's one very main reason. It also happens to be just...

Soundtrack of my life: 2004 – In The Shadows (The Rasmus)

Damn, 2004 was a tough year to find a decent song. Many of the best songs that charted in '04 were actually released in '03. So I'm having the same dilemma now as I did back in the 1990s. That's easily solved - I'm going to cheat a little. In The Shadows was first...

Soundtrack of my life: 2003 – Maybe Tomorrow (Stereophonics)

As great a tune as this is, and it is really great, it's extra meaningful to me as the sentiment expressed in the very title could be the definition of my life. Until recently (hopefully) at any rate. You know...don't do today what you can put off until tomorrow....

Soundtrack of my life: 2002 – Escape (Enrique Iglesias)

This choice is completely egregious and self-obsessed... Look, it's a decent pop song and the pretty boy can sing. But the the music video contains a certain ex-(sort of) tennis player. And that's why I like it. Simple. Here's the Wikipedia...

Soundtrack of my life: 2001 – Island In The Sun (Weezer)

This is the song I chose for my wedding. Yes, I was trusted with that one thing, which was a big call by Jean given my decidedly '80s taste in music. Our wedding took place in Vanuatu so, logically, I thought I couldn't screw my bit up by choosing a song with a title...

Soundtrack of my life: 2000 – Never Be The Same Again (Melanie C feat. Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes)

Wow. The year 2000 already. The turn of the millennium and, guess what? No Y2K bug. Never Be The Same Again came out at about the same time Jean and I visited the UK for the first time. We had a car for about a month and toured all over the place. London, Lincoln,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1999 – Right Here, Right Now (Fatboy Slim)

If I'm honest, it was tough to choose something from 1999 that really touched me. The charts were full of Boyzone, Westlife, The Spice Girls, The Venga Boys, et al. Hurts my ears just thinking about it... At least this is a little different. And it sounds good before...

Soundtrack of my life: 1998 – High (Lighthouse Family)

This is one of those tunes that just feels right. It works well, fits together nicely and is full of decent sentiments. High is a really effective late-1990s tune that still sounds as good today as it did back then. This isn't much insight from me on this one. It's...

Soundtrack of my life: 1997 – Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve)

My goodness. It's staggering to think this iconic song was released 15 years ago. Fifteen freakin' years?! I can't even remember what I was doing in 1997 but I do remember what an antidote this song was to all the Spice Girls bosh that was polluting the airwaves....

Soundtrack of my life: 1996 – Three Lions (Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds)

This is the best football song ever built. It was launched to coincide with England's hosting of Euro '96 and exploded. A catchy terrace chant married to a solid tune and coupled with some insightful lyrics meant Three Lions became legend. Something that started as a...

Soundtrack of my life: 1995 – Wonderwall (Oasis)

What would a project like this be without one of the biggest bands of the '90s, much less one of their biggest songs? A bloody disgrace, that's what. Probably a good indication of the quality of Oasis' work came recently. I recovered my old CD copy of the album,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1994 – The Sign (Ace of Base)

As we head into 1994, my first year out of university and in the 'real' world, I have to admit I'm struggling to find any really great and memorable stuff. (But don't worry, things pick up over the next few years.) Many of the songs that charted in 1994, the ones...

Soundtrack of my life: 1993 – Ordinary World (Duran Duran)

Duran Duran are another band from my 1980s-inspired musical youth but, to me, this slightly later song is their best work. I dunno, I just like Ordinary World. And sometimes that's about all you need. It's a large sweeping song and, if you're one of the three people...

Soundtrack of my life: 1992 – God Gave Rock And Roll To You II (Kiss)

I've been a little naughty including this in 1992 but, technically, I can just about get away with it. So I will. The song was actually released in 1991 as the soundtrack for Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, but the album on which it appeared didn't come out until 1992. So...

Soundtrack of my life: 1991 – The One And Only (Chesney Hawkes)

The One And Only is the classic one-hit wonder that identifies all one-hit wonders. It's a nice positive, upbeat song and classi early-90s. It was actually one of the biggest songs in 1991. Then that was about it for Chesney Hawkes (maybe having a name - and hair -...

Soundtrack of my life: 1990 – What It Takes (Aerosmith)

And so we tick over to the 1990s and, I have to say, the music selection suddenly takes a dive. Thank goodness, then, for Aerosmith. What It Takes is a good theme tune for my first year at university, living away from home, sort of out on my own. My biggest memory of...

Soundtrack of my life: 1989 – Simply The Best (Tina Turner)

Here's another anthem to add to my list. It was so popular here when it came out, then made a comeback when Turner teamed up with Jimmy Barnes to use this song to promote the NRL. The sax solo is magnificent. Simply The Best is a great song to mark the end of the...

Soundtrack of my life: 1988 – Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson)

This is my favourite Michael Jackson song, although probably not for the obvious reason that the lyrics are very self-responsibility focused. No, it's because the first time I heard it was actually when watching one of those gratuitous American awards shows (the...

Soundtrack of my life: 1987 – Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd)

I mentioned Learning to Fly in an earlier year. This is the song that got me curious about Pink Floyd and led me to their other, even greater stuff. Pink Floyd's music is, well, big. Even though this is somewhat different to their earlier stuff it is still sweeping,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1986 – Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)

Crap. I have to pick just one song. I guess I knew this year would eventually come! I narrowed it down to a final four, from which I eventually picked my winner. The other three, for the record, are: You Can Call Me All by Paul Simon, Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer and...

Soundtrack of my life: 1985 – Money for Nothing (Dire Straights)

1985 was my first year at high school and, as much as I'd like to share a story of angst that brought me to this song that then led on to a character defining time in my life...I can't. High school wasn't that remarkable from either a positive or negative point of...

Soundtrack of my life: 1984 – You Might Think (The Cars)

For a while The Cars were about the only group I listened to. They were big back in the mid-1980s and really popular, without appearing too mainstream. That suited me fine. You Might Think is a nice positive, uplifting song that screams '80s and it had a cool little...

Soundtrack of my life: 1983 – Blue Monday (New Order)

Now we're really delving into my youth. In another good year, Blue Monday stands out as it is one of the few pieces of music that has been imprinted on my brain from the moment it was released. I remember watching Blue Monday on RTR (check out this countdown!!) like...

Soundtrack of my life: 1982 – Sirius/Eye In The Sky (Alan Parsons Project)

Wow! What a great year for music 1982 was. So many really, really, really good (and memorable) songs to choose from. Survivor's Eye of the Tiger still stirs the soul (yeah, seriously, even with that classic '80s video), while Our House by Madness is another classic...

Soundtrack of my life: 1981 – Believe It Or Not (Joey Scarbury)

I could have gone with the safe option from 1981 (In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins) but then, when I thought about it, that would be against what I'm trying to achieve here. Looking back there was some decent music on the charts in '81, so I guess that makes what...

Soundtrack of my life: 1980 – I Got You (Split Enz)

As we enter the 1980's I promise I'll introduce a few more songs you may not have heard of or, at least, might be a little more obscure than what I've chosen so far. The super groups are super groups because they're, well, super, so they were clearly what anyone who...

Soundtrack of my life: 1979 – Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

I like Pink Floyd's music a whole lot. I came to them quite late, with the release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, in particular the song Learning to Fly. That, to me, was a big, big song. If I only knew... Soon enough I discovered The Wall and all that entailed. Then...

Soundtrack of my life: 1978 – Running on Empty (Jackson Browne)

Most people my age and younger will probably know Running on Empty from the movie, Forrest Gump. If I'm honest, that's probably where I heard it first, too. No matter. To me this is not only a nice, uplifting tune, but it also makes me think about what I've done and,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1977 – Hotel California (The Eagles)

Hotel California is one of the few songs from which I can still recite (I would never, never, ever, ever say sing) most, if not all, of the lyrics. That, in itself, is an achievement worthy of note so this song just has to be on my soundtrack. Putting that aside,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1976 – Livin’ Thing (ELO)

Okay. Here's the thing. For 1976 it was either this ELO classic or Dancing Queen (yes, ABBA). Now, as big as ABBA was, and as long as they've lasted, I couldn't, in all good conscience, choose an ABBA song on my soundtrack. It's just not something any self-respecting...

Soundtrack of my life: 1975 – Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

I know, I know. This is a cliche. But hear me out. I came to know Queen properly about a decade after Bohemian Rhapsody was released. Maybe a bit more. They were, are, brilliant and ended up being one of a small pocket of groups I came close to obsessing about (in a...

Soundtrack of my life: 1974 – Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield)

In a year when four Wombles tunes made the UK top 100 we're going for something a little different. Actually, a LOT different. Technically more of an album than a song and, my research tells me, released in 1973 rather than '74, we're still putting Tubular Bells on...

Soundtrack of my life: 1973 – Live And Let Die (Wings)

I could have gone for another Elton John song (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) but that just doesn't seem right. So we'll go for this classic instead: Live & Let Die by McCartney's Wings. If we're honest, my first memory of this is from the Bond film of the same name. Now,...

Soundtrack of my life: 1972 – Rocket Man (Elton John)

Here's a nice safe start. My 1972 soundtrack song, and the first on my 40 year playlist, is Rocket Man by Elton John. Obviously, as a zero year old in 1972 I didn't actually hear this song when it first came out. My Dad was a bit of an Elton John fan (to the point he...