Running up to the performance last week, I wasn’t listening to anything else but the sound of my own voice, and the sound of my recorded sounds. Whenever I did, I found that I forgot what I was trying to do with my own piece, so I stopped. How do singers and musicians do it? How do they retain all that information in order to perform? How do they sing and play an instrument at the same time? I can’t sing and move at the same time! How do they remember more than one song at a time? Respect to them all, even the ones I can’t stand. It’s REALLY HARD to do!
So afterwards on the way home from the School of Art on Wednesday, I got into the car, took my iPod off repeat from my backing track, and scrolled down the list looking for something warm and comforting. As soon as I got to it I knew. Elbow. I needed Mr Garvey to sing to me. I started the process towards the end of “Leaders of the Free World” letting it run into “Seldom Seen Kid”.
One track is my reset button. “Great Expectations” settles my body and my mind. I physically relax into the repetitive rhythm of it, rocked in a cradle. I try to sing along. But Guy is a better guy than I. I can get to the high notes and the low notes. Given a run up, I can hold the long notes. But I can’t do it all at once. My breathing is all wrong always, and I gasp. I just think he’s great.
Next Monday I’m doing something really exciting. When I think about it I feel quite wobbly. One of our local radio stations WCRFM have asked (or has asked? They both look wrong) me to record a programme – “Inside Tracks” with Pete Whitehouse. It’s a bit like Desert Island discs, but with more music and without the hindering factors of luxury item, and having to take all that Shakespeare and the bible (surely I could just build a raft with that lot and sail home?). It has taken me WEEKS to decide on just 10 tracks. Thinking of 10 favourites is not too hard, but to try to illustrate your life, and important events with just 10 is tricky (specially at my age)…. I had about 30, then realised when I cut it down that they were all bunched up in particular times, so had to re-think many times before settling on the final 10. I have now done this, and I’m fairly content, but saddened by the fact that Nick Drake nor Elliott Smith nor John Martyn made the cut. But this Elbow track was the first one I chose – no-brainer really. In times of stress I have sat in my car after a day at work and just played it over and over. Then by the time I’m home I’m calm, my heart rate has settled, my blood pressure has lowered and I can smile at people again.
