Welcome to the world, Koben! This is a musical present, for you and your mum and dad, Becky and Doug, with much love from friends: Aileen, Cara, Chief, Ge, Gordy, Iain, Jane, Jess, Kim, Mairi, Missy, Monki, Nic, Roddy, Suilven, Suzy, Tam, Tiff.
We all have a soundtrack to our lives. When you are older, there will be songs that will bring back your childhood in an instant. There will be music that you love as an adult which you can trace to a spark lit when you were just tiny. There will be music that brings back people who are
gone, music that makes you happy, which resonates with you, brings you comfort and which makes you want to dance like a maniac (possibly all at the same time).
A bit of all that is in here. Each of us has chosen you some music from our own childhoods which has some special meaning for us; and some songs to pass on to you as our newest member of the next generation - some have sentimental meaning, some have messages and some are simply songs that your Mum and Dad's friends loved so much, they wanted to pass them on for you to enjoy.
x
AILEEN
Music Aileen Inherited ...
So it has to be Bob Dylan for me .. I was basically brought up on it. Which one was a bit tougher, but I've plumped for It's All Over Now Baby Blue. I remember swaying along to my dad singing this in the Scotia.
Bob Dylan - It's All Over Now Baby Blue
Also: had to include my memory of what feels likes every car journey, ever, as a child involving the rotation of the tape collection. I think there were maybe 3 or 4 tapes. I remember once being allowed to pick a tape from the counter of a petrol station :)
Anyway, I think we (the siblings) bought my dad a double whammy tape set of Elton John. We would rewind and play 'Sacrifice' over and over, belting it out from the back seat. I don't think I actually knew that it was called Sacrifice ... our version was a bit shouty and more like "SA-CA-RA-FIIICE" ... My parents were wildly amused by this (at first)!
Elton John - Sacrifice
Oh my god I can't believe I didn't say this one! This was the big treat song!!! Bararararabamba! I think I used to call it! :) I remember singing it loudly outside a holy cave on a family holiday... it's Los Lobos - La Bamba.
Los Lobos - La Bamba.
Music To Pass On ...
To pass on...so hard! I actually have guilt for all the other songs I love! Still, this one gets me every time. Reminds me of all the best feelings ever (in a clean way)...Pearl Jam - Alive
Phew! Xxxx
Pearl Jam - Alive
CARA
Music CARA Inherited ...
Womack & Womack - Teardrops My mum was always playing old soul stuff, but she was also into any upbeat newer soul stuff...and I remember her playing this all the time when we were wee. It's absolute 80s, but I love it.
Womack & Womack - Teardrops
The Jam - Town Called Malice The Jam were my Uncle John's favourite band, and my mum was a fan too. We had socialist values drummed into us from when we were just babas; my mum and dad used to go out canvassing for the Labour party back in the Neil Kinnock days, and my Granda had been a miner and then a steelworker in Ravenscraig. I remember always wanting to stay up to watch the general elections when I was young, but never being allowed to stay up late enough to see the results. I would go into my mum's bedroom the morning after to ask who won...it seemed to always be bad news (I was fourteen before I saw a Labour government). I don't think I really clocked why it was so bad back then (though my mum said there were times I wouldn't sleep because I was worried about the miners' strike!), but I knew old Maggie was a baddie. I still have the diary that I wrote in on the day she left Downing Street - I was seven, but I knew it was a good day! The Jam were pretty much the soundtrack to all that fight and disaffection...but in a very catchy way :) I chose that one specifically because my brother used to ask for it all the time but didn't know how to say it properly...he called it Cow Ton Alice :)
The Jam - Town Called Malice
Dire Straits - Walk of Life We used to go on holiday with the whole extended family - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great aunts...the whole shebang. Classic late 80s/early 90s self catering apartment holidays in Spain - towels on the sun loungers at dawn, paella for dinner...and inevitably one night of karaoke. This is what my dad and my brother used to sing whilst I hid in the corner. Total beamer.
Dire Straits - Walk of Life
Music To Pass On ...
The Beatles - In My Life My dad was a big Beatles fan and had all the albums on vinyl and loads of 7" singles...but I probably didn't start to really listen to them until I was in 4th or 5th year at school. There's no way I could pick just one favourite from their back catalogue, but this is definitely top 5! It makes me sad and happy at the same time...remembering and appreciating times gone by, but looking forward and feeling positive about what lies ahead.
The Beatles - In My Life
Solomon Burke - Down in the Valley This probably follows on from my mum's love of soul music...and my Granda's love of anything with brass in it. He used to play trumpet in the BBC dance band - at 16, he was the youngest trumpet player they'd ever hired. Solomon Burke is probably the first old soul artist that I discovered on my own, and I used to listen to his stuff a lot when I was at uni the first time round. Try listening to it without head bopping...!
Solomon Burke - Down in the Valley
Jamie Lidell - Multiply When my brother first moved away to live in Prague he started to send us all compilations of various tunes he thought we might like for our birthday or christmas presents. They were brilliantly random...stuff I'd never heard before, and I've mostly never heard anywhere else since! This was one that he put on a while ago, and it's probably one of the ones that other people might know. Modern upbeat soul - happy days :)
Jamie Lidell - Multiply
CHIEF
Music Chief Inherited ...
Lili Marlene was the first music I ever knew. It is a German love song popular during WWII but (oddly) was adopted by soldiers on both sides.
So, somehow, that song came to be the rather enchanting chime of my Mum & Dad's alarm clock back in the early 70s and so I must have heard it thousands of times - even before I had any idea what music really was.
Sadly, the clock is no more. But there are many versions of the song, mostly recorded during WWII, in both German and English. I've chosen a live recording of Marlene Dietrich (seemed appropriate) at the Cafe De Paris in 1954.
Marlene Dietrich - Lili Marlene
Zip forward a couple of years and I had a little more idea of what music was - but still had no concept of how it was made or what noises were made by which instruments. Enter "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac. I'm not sure any other song paints a picture like this one does. Let's see if it paints the same picture for you :-)
Fleetwood Mac - Albatross
My family's classic summer holiday was a two week camping trip to France. I think we did this five times when I was young. On an early trip, a tape turned up in the Volvo 245 Estate. Chet Atkins & Friends. To this day none of us know where it came from - but it became the musical wallpaper of our travels to and from France every year after that. The pick of the bunch is Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (Featuring Dolly Parton). Utterly enchanting!
Chet Atkins & Dolly Parton - Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
Lastly, my Mum's love of the Ink Spots rubbed off on me really quickly. I love the unique vocal arrangements and I love the fact that most of the songs all start the same way! But it's the nostalgia that really gets me - even if it is nostalgia for an era long before my time! We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me) sums the Ink Spots up nicely for me :-)
Ink Spots - We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)
Music To Pass On ...
No doubt you'll be hearing this anyway - but it needs to be an Irian Jaya song!
I've chosen "Chu Chin Chow" for a number of reasons. I think it should be a good song to grow up with - it features samples from many of our own childhood memories, as well as some quality nonsense (and your dad drumming!). But it's also the fruit of amazing friendships and collaborations and hopefully it will inspire you to find out about the stories behind them too.
Irian Jaya vs Talk M Klein - Chu Chin Chow
GE
Music Ge Inherited ...
Well, my parents had/have shit tastes in music, so I was on my own really!
The tunes I inherited are both Queen: In Only Seven Days and Leaving Home Ain't Easy. My family went to Llandudno year after year. There was a skatepark there, and over time, the owner just used to hand us over the keys and he'd bugger off on holiday for 2 weeks. Just the best memories of endless sunny days spent skating in what was basically our own skatepark :) There used to be a pretty meaty soundsystem in it, linked to an 8 track machine. The guy only has 3 albums - Beach Boys - 20 Golden Greats, Boston - Don't Look Back, and Queen - Jazz. Needless to say they are utterly ingrained on my soul.
Queen: In Only Seven Days
Queen: Leaving Home Ain't Easy
Music To Pass On ...
The tunes I want to pass on: Such a difficult one to choose, but there's something about dead junkies. They seemed to write the music that connects with me the most. Not sure what that says about me?! So, it's either Blind Melon, Mouthful of Cavities or Alice in Chains, Nutshell HQ
Blind Melon, Mouthful of Cavities
Alice in Chains, Nutshell HQ
GORDY
Music Gordy Inherited ...
There wasn't much music on the farm when I was growing up, so my inheritance track is Dirty Old Town because my dad has always whistled it since I was wee. Probably the Pogues version.
The Pogues - Dirty Old Town
Music To Pass On ...
My track to leave behind is Bassheads "Is There Anybody Out There" (Banned White Label Version) because it's a classic from my teenage years and has a lot of great memories associated with it.
Bassheads "Is There Anybody Out There" (Banned White Label Version)
IAIN
Music Iain Inherited ...
I inherited two tracks - the first being Jimmy Shand's Scottish country dance classic 'The Bluebell Polka'; and the second Abba's 'Super Trooper'. The only time we MacLeods all listened to the same music was on mammoth car journeys to the islands during school holidays. My dad usually had dibs on the cassette player, and always plumped for Jimmy Shand and his Scottish Country Dance Band. He whistled along with the windows down and thumbs drumming on the wheel. When my mum and sisters had done enough huffing, the only non-toetappin' LP my dad sanctioned was Abba Gold...although it wasn't quite Abba Gold in the early 80s, but a greatest hits compilation we got at a petrol station in Tyndrum. I choose Super Trouper only because it mentions Glasgow. Otherwise it would have been Voulez Vous, with its memories of my sisters doing the blonde and brunette parts.
Jimmy Shand's Scottish country dance classic 'The Bluebell Polka'
Abba's 'Super Trouper'
Music To Pass On ...
As for a track from me to Koben, I could agonise, but will stick a pin in Mos Def's 'Umi Says' - it's sentiment is pretty joyous, and is from a record that means a great deal to me.
Mos Def's 'Umi Says'
JANE
Music Jane Inherited ...
The song I inherited is 'The Yingtong Song' by The Goons. My dad used to play us this all the time and we all learned the words to it n loved it.
'The Yingtong Song' by The Goons
Music To Pass On ...
The tune I would like to pass on is Dusty Springfield, 'Son of a Preacher Man' cos me and Emily always sing it and it just reminds me of my sister when I hear it, although not sure that's a great reason to pass it on. Another one to pass on would be Nina Simone, Feeling Good. Just cos it's a great song and it does make you feel good.
Dusty Springfield, 'Son of a Preacher Man'
Nina Simone, Feeling Good
JESS
Music Jess Inherited ...
So. Inheritance from my family consists of musicals from my Mum's side and Dad Guitar i.e. Gary Moore/ Chris Rea from my Dad. I have opted for doing this honestly, and therefore for sniggering purposes, as opposed to choosing things I would actually want D & B & K to hear.
My Mum was a choreographer for a Sheffield theatre company, they were actually very good, had some talented people amongst them, and I guess were my Mum's SYB. My childhood therefore involved large periods of exposure to Rogers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and classical ballet and opera.
What I have clearest memories of though are Saturday afternoons in Rotherham circa 1984. The stage is set for the playing-out of the ferocious rivalry, perhaps one-sided, between my Mum and sister-in-law. This involves undertaking domestic chores in order to remove all trace of humans and their activity inside a house.
This means my Mum played the soundtrack to Cats, Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera, while hoovering and singing along at the top of her lungs. I remember being wee-ish, and hearing the overture to Phantom of the Opera with the organ bit and going 'what THE DUCK is that'...I would listen to it and invent the accompanying pictures and costume and set...then got upset to find out later it's a ducking love story, and not a story about an organ monster and a squeaky lady...enter choice one: Overture from the Phantom of the Opera
Overture from the Phantom of the Opera
Choice two: Banished from Saturday supermarket shopping with Dad for putting too many Club biscuits and Umbongo in the trolley, I got to stay at home. I don't remember if this was an unsupervised game or not, but I would climb on the top bit of the sofa, crouch down, and wait for the drop in this tune: Nellie the Elephant by Toy Dolls then the objective was to leap as far as possible across the living room in one go, run around and do a lap as fast as possible and get back on top of the settee and wait for the next bit.
Toy Dolls - Nellie the Elephant
Choice three: I was lucky and had the Beatrix Potter box set of books as a kid and loved them. Also remember my Mum playing me this.... Beatrix Potter, Jeremy Fisher.
Beatrix Potter, Jeremy Fisher
I'm a greedy fud I know. Choice four: Dad legacy: Pink Floyd, Jean Michelle Jarre video, Bat Out of Hell, aaaand Jeff Wayne's Musical the War of the Worlds Part 1: The Eve of War. I was allowed to sit with giant headphones on, and listen to this on vinyl. Thunderchild is my favourite bit, the last bastion of hope against the Martians in the form of a steamboat. The artwork inside the sleeve of this is incredible, has the story, pictures, everything...I got confused about why all music wasn't that big and epic afterwards..there was also Status Quo You're in the Army Now but I'm not ready to talk about that.
War of the Worlds: The Eve of War
Music To Pass On ...
My track to pass on is kind of obvious. I think it's a contender for an anthem for all of us if we had to choose one. We all know it, we all sing it, it's already been part of our collective soundtrack for years, we all love belting out the chorus, Doug is at the helm, Becky never fails to look delighted to hear it and distribute drums to play it at 7am on booze-fuelled parties / tents / fields / kitchens / vans etc...it's connected to the reason we all met each other, has supplied me at least with endless happy memories, and represents a Special Group of People: O Negrume da Noite (Ile Aiye).....!!! I look forward to meeting Koben and being on Bogle-teaching-duties asap xxx
Ile Aiye - O Negrume da Noite
KIM
Music Kim Inherited ...
The track I inherited was Barbara Dickson's Caravan Song. We used to go to Glenshee as a family several times a year. More often than not Lee and me would be rattling around in the boot of our old Ford Estate called Bert (too much detail?!) Dad would be in charge of what tapes were played and a family favourite was Barbara Dickson (can't remember the name of album but the front of the tape was her all misty against a black background) We all used to sing along to "Caravan" and I loved it because I got images of travelling and adventures on a romantic long and dusty road! Did I get the lyrics right G? (I'm notorious for misquoting songs!)
Barbara Dickson - Caravan Song
Music To Pass On ...
The track I want to pass on is Caledonia by Dougie McLean. We also went to Dunkeld a lot as kids with my Dad. One of the first artists I remember loving was Dougie McLean. My Dad had bought one of his tapes from his studio in Dunkeld. Years later when I was 17 and on tour with the Scottish Women's Rugby squad for the world cup, I very shyly sang Caledonia after a match on the team bus (it wasn't very well known then). Apparently it went down quite well and it became a song we often sang feeling all patriotic-y! So many good memories. I love this tune.
Dougie McLean - Caledonia
MAIRI
Music Mairi Inherited ...
The songs I inherited are: 'You are my sunshine' by Ray Charles. One of my earliest memories was my mum singing this song to me and I love Ray Charles to have his version!
'You are my sunshine' by Ray Charles
Second one is 'With a little help from my friends' by Joe Cocker. This is one of the first tunes I remember my dad playing (and me liking) on the old turntable. Plus, it's a bloody good song!
'With a little help from my friends' by Joe Cocker
Music To Pass On ...
The tune I would like to pass on to the next generation is 'Le Fleur' by Minnie Riperton. It's uplifting and it always puts me in a good mood. She's a saucy, soulful lady.
'Le Fleur' by Minnie Riperton
MISSY
Music Missy Inherited ...
From my Mum & Dad - 'Troika' from the Lieutenant Kije suite by Prokofiev - This is one of my earliest musical memories; my parents ran a strictly classical-music-only family! I remember my dad playing this for me on countless occasions and Prokofiev is possibly my favourite classical composer. Then, of course, there's the whole Russian thing as well. I guess you could probably say this piece of music was the start of a lifelong fascination with all things Russian. (This is probably the most famous part of the suite but the rest of it is well worth a listen too)
'Troika' from the Lieutenant Kije suite by Prokofiev
From my Dad - Navidad Nuestra - Folk drama of the Nativity based on the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America; part 2 - La Peregrinacion (The Pilgrimage) by Ariel Ramirez - My Dad introduced me to this; my folks were never too pleased that my musical tastes didn't mirror theirs exactly, but my Dad has relented over the years, and this was something of an olive branch one Christmas, along the lines of "it's South American, so you'll like it", and it is beautiful. Also rather lovely for a baby born so close to Christmas :) (there's a whole suite of this too, but this is my favourite track)
La Peregrinacion (The Pilgrimage) by Ariel Ramirez
From Iain - Anti-Pioneer by Feist - Iain has been a fan for years, but I'd never heard of her until a couple of years ago when we went to see her at the Concert Hall. I'm not a great one for the singer-songwriter genre, but this was one of the most amazing, mind-blowing, spine-tingling gigs I have ever been to.
Anti-Pioneer by Feist
Music To Pass On ...
For my tracks that I would like to pass on to the next generation...
Rollerskate by Matias Aguayo - This could also count as an inheritance track (first time I heard of this song and this guy was a Jess's leaving weekend at Loch Awe - thanks Gordy) and was my musical saviour when life just got a bit too tough to cope with earlier on this year. I had it on constant repeat and it seemed to make the clouds lift a little. It just makes me think of good friends, nights spent dancing, summer sunlight through the trees, happy times. It has been my saviour song this year, I think everybody needs one sometime in their life. Music as a healer, as a balm.
Rollerskate by Matias Aguayo
We are stars - The Pierces - My soppy, romantic side coming through. Another beautiful gig that Iain and I went to a few years ago. I just love the sentiment of "I can imagine nothing worse than to sail this universe without you"...
We are stars - The Pierces
Unsungsong - The Herbaliser - If Iain and I ever succeed in organising our wedding and actually getting married, I've always fancied this track for our first dance. You're all invited by the way. :)
Unsungsong - The Herbaliser
MONIQUE
Music Monique Inherited ...
The track I inherited is John Martin's May You Never, a beautiful song and reminds me of my dad and playing music with him.
John Martin - May You Never
Music To Pass On ...
The track I want to pass on is Jennifer's Rabbit - Tom Paxton. Mum's friend used to sing it to me and my sister when we had music nights when we were little. I never heard the end because I always fell asleep before then ;)
Tom Paxton - Jennifer's Rabbit
NIC
Music Nic Inherited ...
Very difficult. The tune I inherited was 'A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash'. Reminds me of car journeys going on holiday and the difficulty in naming your boy.
'A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash'
Music To Pass On ...
The tune I want to pass on is Marvin Gaye's 'Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)'. Epic funky soul, Marvin's sweet voice and singing about economic issues which still face us today.
Marvin Gaye's 'Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)'
RODDY
Music Roddy Inherited ...
My inheritance track is You Are My Sunshine. I didn't really inherit this as such as it's not something I actually listen to. My folks both had/have a mixture of great/fucking woeful taste in music, some of which definitely had an impact on me, but I have a very early memory of them singing this song together all the time, in harmony; it's kind of 'their' song i guess. I used to say it annoyed me but secretly I quite liked it. I think it was the Everly Brothers' version they had, but I can't seem to track it down. I can only really think of my mum & dad singing it anyway. Here's the version from O Brother Where Art Thou.
You Are My Sunshine
Music To Pass On ...
My track to pass on is Take It Easy by Hopeton Lewis. I've loved this song for years but started listening to again recently, since Sonny arrived. It's just instantly comforting and sound advice for a wee 'un!
Hopeton Lewis - Take It Easy
SUILVEN
Music Suilven Inherited ...
Dire Straights - Sultans of Swing
Music To Pass On ...
Prince - Little Red Corvette
SUZY
Music Suzy Inherited ...
Absolutely anything from Graceland by Paul Simon, but I've plumped for 'That was your mother' because it always makes me want to shuffle about (and it seems apt that he is singing to his kid). My Uncle Nick (my youngest and therefore nearest to cool Uncle) gave us this on a homemade tape and being one of the few tapes we had, my mum played it non stop in the car - it's still the only album I know all the words to. It's the first album I remember really enjoying for myself and also the first time I heard any sort of African music - and also it naturally led us to his next album with the Obvious Child on it, which probably has a lot to answer for in terms of Weegies of a certain age knowing what samba reggae was before joining SYB ...
Paul Simon - That was your mother
From my Dad ... my Dad had a hideous intersecting interest in jazz (Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Stan Getz, that sort of jazz) and a kind of novelty music (think any George Formby, Mairzy Doats and Doazy Doats, 'A' You're Adorable). Somewhere in the overlap of these two enthusiasms come The Ink Spots. It always seemed to me that all their songs were based on the same four chords but that didn't stop my Dad loving them all. He probably would have picked When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano but I have picked Your Feet's Too Big because this is the one that captured me as a kid and still makes me smile.
The Ink Spots - Your Feet's Too Big
And one from my sister ... O Superman by Laurie Anderson. I love this, still listen to it and it sounds just as modern today as it did 30 odd years ago. It reminds me of being allowed in my glamorous big sister's room at night, which was all warm fag smoke and incense and powdered lemon tea smells. Also, Laurie Anderson is a very cool lady and was Nasa's first (and last I think) artist in residence. What's not to like?
Laurie Anderson - O Superman
Music To Pass On ...
I inherited this and so I am also passing it on - Wonderful Baby by Don McLean - which my folks had on another home-made bright yellow cassette tape and is the song that my dad used to sing me when I was wee and I now sing it to Betty Bea as a bed time song. It's a link between her and the Grandpa she didn't get to meet and it's for passing on because it represents parental love to me. The yellow cassette tape also reminds me of every party my parents ever had because they only had one set of tunes they played on these occasions, on another yellow cassette tape recorded entirely from the radio and marked 'Party tape'.
Don McLean - Wonderful Baby
Oxygen by Willie Mason This is a bit cheesy but contemplating what the future holds for the next generation can sometimes be mildly intimidating- so I picked this because it's a hopeful song from our generation to the next one - and also a tub-thumper done by just one voice and a guitar which is pretty impressive.
Willie Mason - Oxygen
Finally, 'So Glad to See You' by Hot Chip; I'm passing this on to you because I really like the sentiment, which seems fitting for the occasion! The song has a lovely warm feeling to it and also came out at a particularly happy time in my life. Also I think when you are a bit older you might find the idea of the birds swinging their asses as one a bit funny....
'So Glad to See You' by Hot Chip
TAM
Music Tam Inherited ...
My Dad was a plastic components sales person after he left the army in '78 (not a coincidence perhaps, that I was born that year!). His job involved driving hundreds of miles each week, with his big case of components at the ready - prepared to dazzle would-be customers who tended to be electronics companies. Anyway, sometimes if I was off school (when I was about 8,9 or 10) and my Mum was working, I'd get to go along with him - sometimes we'd be going somewhere relatively local like Edinburgh, other times we'd be eating up the motorway miles down to York, Leeds and other northern English towns. I think the experience of this formed the basis of my love for long drives...I was racking my brain trying to pick one of the songs we might be playing on one of these voyages (I often brought my own tapes when I was a little older) and the song I keep hearing in my head is this one, so it must be right - the tune I inherited is Band on the Run by Paul McCartney
Band on the Run by Paul McCartney
Music To Pass On ...
To pass on ... Song of the Clyde. When I was a little lad, at family gatherings we often did a bit of 'round robin' of performing songs - Scarlet Ribbons, the Road to Dundee, Sisters and many more I can't recall.
The most commonly one requested of me (which was handy given my relatively modest repertoire) was the Song of the Clyde - a simple but joyously patriotic Glasgae tune. I was always more than happy to oblige.
What was always my most favourite part of this tune is the final verse; it's almost delivered in the form of a rap and who knows perhaps it played its part in influencing my interest in this style of music in later life..
This is the song I want to pass on as it is shockingly unknown by Weegies (certainly among people I know, anyway) and really this song should be celebrated and belted out at full volume upon leaving the pub for home. Especially if walking along Broomielaw.
[Editor's note: I imagine Doug is going to love this one]
Song of the Clyde
TIFF
Music Tiff Inherited ...
The tracks I inherited .. I stole my Dad's Frank Sinatra LPs when I left home. It's A Swingin Affair is my favourite - standout track 'I Got It Bad and That Aint Good'.
Frank Sinatra - I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
The Beach Boys was the first cassette album I ever bought and I've been obsessed with them ever since. My Mum bought it with me at Tam Russell's record shop in Bishopbriggs - and I chose 'God only Knows'.
The Beach Boys - God only Knows
Music To Pass On ...
For the next generation, my two choices are: 1. Sly And The Family Stone - Everybody Is A Star - love the words, uplifting and inspiring without being cheesy or patronising.
Sly And The Family Stone - Everybody Is A Star
2. Flaming Lips - Do You Realise? - amazing song, amazing words. True poetry and a beautiful way to look at something dark and scary in a positive way.
Flaming Lips - Do You Realise?