It’s a delicate business judging how much personal stuff to put in a blog. In the past I’ve written official blogs with a rich mix of personal and work entries. Then Twitter came along and much personal material, such as my famous series #reasonstolikeIstanbul, was swept away into the Twitterverse.
I’ve so far tweeted out around 270 #reasonstolikeIstanbul, by the way, on @leighturnerFCO.
Many people like personal material in official blogs and Tweets, as evidence that you are a human being. But what to include?
So I was intrigued when, about a year ago, somebody said: “You like music. Why don’t you tweet about that?”
I decided to try it. In December 2013 I began to tweet out “my favourite 100 songs”, one at a time, often after midnight, with the hashtag #LTfaves. Number 100 was the plaintive “Every little bit hurts” by Brenda Holloway.
The bad news is that with few exceptions, the list shows me to be still stuck in the 70’s. Or possibly the 80’s. Or the 60’s. It’s a far cry from the “Festive 50s” of legendary, late lamented British DJ John Peel, famed for their originality and obscurity.
For current music on the BBC, check out eg BBC iPlayer.
So far I have gone through my favourites from number 100 to number 51 (the awesome “Stay with me” by Lorraine Ellison). It’s been an enjoyable year-long journey.
So here’s my own 2014 “Festive 50” comprising songs 100-51:
100 Every little bit hurts – Brenda Holloway
99 Tonight I’ll be staying here with you – Bob Dylan
98 I’ll be your man – James Blunt
97 I’d rather go blind – Chicken Shack
96 Till there was you – The Beatles
95 Sweet home Chicago – The Blues Brothers
94 Something so right – Paul Simon
93 I don’t want to spoil the party – The Beatles
92 Dazed and confused – Led Zeppelin
91 No Regrets – Midge Ure
90 So long Marianne – Leonard Cohen
89 Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
88 I like you so much better when you’re naked – Ida Maria
87 Mercy – Duffy
86 The Snake – Al Wilson
85 20th century Boy – T-Rex
84 Nothing Compares to you – Sinead O’Connor
83 Lochinvar – New Riders of the Purple Sage
82 You make me feel – Carole King
81 Jersey Girl – Bruce Springsteen
80 The Nearness of You – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
79 I Just Can’t help Believing – Elvis Presley
78 Teenage Kicks – The Undertones
77 The Best – Tina Turner
76 Avalon – Roxy Music
75 If I can’t take it with me when I go – Eartha Kitt
74 What is and what should never be – Led Zeppelin
73 Send in the Clowns – Judy Collins
72 Shopping for clothes – The Coasters
71 Even so – Everything but the Girl
70 Crazy Love – Van Morrison
69 Come go with me – The Staple Singers
68 Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
67 Sketches of China – Paul Kantner, Grace Slick & David Freiberg
66 Man! I feel like a woman – Shania Twain
65 How sweet it is to be loved by you – Junior Walker and the All Stars
64 Du hast – Rammstein
63 Come Softly to me – The Fleetwoods
62 The Stroke – Billy Squire
61 Riders on the storm – The Doors
60 Since You’ve Been Gone – Rainbow
59 I only have eyes for you – The Flamingos
58 Rocket Man – Elton John
57 Come on over to my place – The Drifters
56 Bohemian like you – The Dandy Warhols
55 Love in an elevator – Aerosmith
54 Luka – Suzan Vega
53 Mannenberg – Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim
52 Yesterday once more – The Carpenters
51 Stay with me – Lorraine Ellison
If anyone would like to guess what songs are in the top 50, let me know. I plan to tweet those out during the year ahead – on @leighturnerFCO.
Thanks for listening.