I can't tell you how pleased I am to announce that today's guest on Be-Bop Friday (my irregular featurette written by people I like about their favourite artist) is C - head honcho at Sun Dried Sparrows. C's musings have been a regular fixture on my sidebar for as long as I can remember. Reading her blog is an antidote to all the ills currently befalling civilisation. Thank you for taking the time, C. And I look forward to a time when we can hold our Bloggers' Summit (in real life and without masks!) Let's all meet up in the year 2021, to paraphrase that well known polymath from Sheffield.
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"It’s a dreary, damp Saturday afternoon as I write, the kind of Saturday afternoon that anyone who grew up in Britain knows well. The kind that taps into our memories and effortlessly transports us to the most unremarkable yet evocative days of our youth. Afternoons when we dragged ourselves into town, sheltered from the rain in the jeans shops, fluffed up our hair in the reflection of the Freeman, Hardy & Willis window before diving into the record shop, eager to exchange the pound notes we’d been saving up for the most exciting thing in the world: a piece of 12" vinyl. The Clash, their first album, or Pink Flag by Wire, perhaps – in my case, anyway; whatever it was we favoured at the time.
But our love for those bands might be fleeting. It’s hard to have a favourite which lasts a lifetime; so much changes, both us and them. So instead my focus turns to a band who somehow encapsulate that very idea – the way we change as we wend our way through life, the influences, the everyday. The unremarkable yet evocative. Saint Etienne are the band I choose to hear on dreary, damp Saturday afternoons. But they are equally well received against the backdrop of Summer skies, crisp Autumnal Sundays, or street-lit city nights. I think a lot has to do with the fact that Bob, Sarah and Pete are my contemporaries - we share an English '70s past and thus also our middle-aged reflections. I wrote once before about how, lyrically, they soothe my unease at getting older by reminding me that, actually, it’s alright to be where we are now in our lives because of all the great markers along the way which made us who we are. So, that all seems a bit deep and philosophical, but somehow Saint Etienne convey it with natural ease and no pretension.
It would be hard to pick just one song, there are so many to choose from, but with lyrics which perfectly describe the youthful joys of buying our first records, 'Over the Border' from the album 'Words and Music', seems the most appropriate right now."
But our love for those bands might be fleeting. It’s hard to have a favourite which lasts a lifetime; so much changes, both us and them. So instead my focus turns to a band who somehow encapsulate that very idea – the way we change as we wend our way through life, the influences, the everyday. The unremarkable yet evocative. Saint Etienne are the band I choose to hear on dreary, damp Saturday afternoons. But they are equally well received against the backdrop of Summer skies, crisp Autumnal Sundays, or street-lit city nights. I think a lot has to do with the fact that Bob, Sarah and Pete are my contemporaries - we share an English '70s past and thus also our middle-aged reflections. I wrote once before about how, lyrically, they soothe my unease at getting older by reminding me that, actually, it’s alright to be where we are now in our lives because of all the great markers along the way which made us who we are. So, that all seems a bit deep and philosophical, but somehow Saint Etienne convey it with natural ease and no pretension.
It would be hard to pick just one song, there are so many to choose from, but with lyrics which perfectly describe the youthful joys of buying our first records, 'Over the Border' from the album 'Words and Music', seems the most appropriate right now."
Saint Etienne - Over the Border (2012)
Many thanks for your kind words John and for the opportunity to return the blogging favour, much appreciated. Here's to meeting 'over the border' in 2021 too - if possible!
ReplyDeleteThank you again, C, for a great piece of writing. 'Over the Border' now joins the ranks of the 2020 playlist.
DeleteI was once told if something isn't impossible, then it must be possible...
What a lovely piece of writing C and perfect choice of song - with personal adjustments to the timeframe, I think most of us could relate to the lyrics.
ReplyDeleteExcellent use of the rarely documented quintuple Swedey McSwede Face too!
Thanks TS, those lyrics alone tell us we're in good company, don't they? Plus, yes, they can be personally tweaked as required, perfect.
DeleteSome lovely writing from you of late C, what with the Spitfire post and now this one. Yes, some lovely memories there of things we can all identify with and the song is just wonderful. You have as usual succinctly described what many of us feel but find hard to put into words.
ReplyDeletePS Loving the new post-lockdown hair. We all had to let our tresses grow, and are embracing the enforced longer length. Here's to making what 'isn't impossible' happen in 2021.
Thanks Alyson, trying to get back into a little writing but not always easy I know you understand!
DeleteHaha, thanks re. the post-lockdown hair too! It was strangely liberating not being able to get a haircut for months, and enforced a change which I decided to embrace.
And, absolutely, re. the possible!