Chrome, Smoke and BBQ – Now, I might’ve borrowed the title from ZZ Top, but that’s where it stops for the band and me! (Resists the urge to act like a Rock Chick, or at a least a former Rock Chick!) I never was, and not for the lack of trying!

I love music, and in that way I suppose I’m truly unique! ;D  One of my first few posts– Abba or Wham? You know who to blame! discusses how some of our earliest childhood memories were probably made to music that our parents enjoyed, and have left a lasting impression on the direction our own music choices would take. Music is, and has always been my greatest escape route – it’s the calmer of nerves, the settler of upsets, the maker of magic!

I often think that music has gotten more important to me as I’ve ‘aged’. Not in a way that it is in our youth – you’re not feverishly in love with any one musician – (this premise is not applicable to an 80 year old singer whose last name is Cohen, for him my girlish devotion is endless)– but, generally speaking, you’ve formed your tastes and know what reaches you. And then you begin to layer those base notes with more! 🙂  I often wonder if our territorial obsessiveness with our hobbies, music, movies, fiction have to do with escaping from the incessant chiming of smart phones and emails that require redress at 5 am? After all, one man’s 5 am is indeed another’s 11 in the world we wake in! Does being a film guru, an expert climber, an obsessive coffee brewer who takes over the whole process from scratch give us reprieve in a world where most of the day is accessed with the sweep of the mouse..and we stop periodically and think of the different ways we can access our senses – we garden, we bake, we craft, we paint. We pet the dog!  I often watch my husband dash to make it out of the door just before rush hour’s perverse Odyssey holds him hostage; I rush about organising housework and blogwork , ballet and swimming, playdates and homework all to the meticulous tick-tock’ing of a clock (well, I try) and I fear that there’ll come a time when we’ll inchworm home and be forced to reckon that deadlines, commintments, places to be are indeed the foremost reality of all our lives! Magic, romance, meaningful everydays’ are the stuff of urban myths…

Amidst the scurrying and the scuttling, and the sharing and bartering of cheese; once in a way something comes along – a song, a book, a place, a new love – and we stand mesmerized- like a moment of hope in a dystopic film, in a space and time diffusion that draws us momentarily into the reverie of a life we want, we dream of. A feeling that immediately lifts us, albeit temporarily from the bills that needily beg our attention, the mail that needs sorting, the crushed bug under the couch, a carpet that needs hoovering-and settles us into a  home  that holds a reverberating heart resonating with crackling fires and memorabilia connecting your past to this moment; of remembrances gone and good times to come -a  gentle hand unveiling tomorrow as a bounding spool of thread. Yes, that’s what music does to me – fills me with ebullient optimism! Not for nothing that music has been an encompassing presence in almost every religious/philosophical persuasion! 🙂

Summer is probably when conviviality is at it’s peak ; and with the arrival ofthe Great British Summertime and a modicum of sunlight, we’ve got to be forced back indoors… nothing gives summer it’s due better than BBQ’s and Al Fresco dining! Hoildays and family time in the sun, buzzing with the excitement of something new and getting away from it all! (Do however prepare yourself to have to listen to Beyoncé in a century-old street cafe in Bologna – for such is the curse of standardization and conformity! )

We’re starting off our own little celebration here at The Intrepid Misadventurer HQ – after all we, move on to Bournemouth in August, so every weekend is booked to be spent with friends we’re leaving behind! Here’s my playlist that will foreground my memories this summer – it showcases a few Indie/Folk Artists with a large presence! I hope that you’ll enjoy what’s been playing on loop for me! Those of you, who like me are quite passionate about ’80’s music, do listen ..most have a distinct retro vibe! (Argh, imagine calling the ’80’s retro!! )

I’m working on a few Indian-styled BBQ food posts (think Tikka Kebabs on skewers and Coriander-lemon-ginger King Prawns) in short, things that wash down well with beer! 😉 Watch this (scrummy) space for more!

My 12″ of Summer! 🙂

 I would be chuffed to bits if you’d leave me your personal favourite track (feel free to also write about the memory that goes with it that makes it special)…I could be introduced to something new, or reminded of a song that’s got burried in time. It’s the closest thing to a ‘music swap’ which I would like to do once just for the sheer joy of i! 😉 Anyhoo, for now.. let the music play on!

You might also enjoy some of my ‘real’ posts that are not influenced by sun, song or other such euphoriants!:)

Nature, Nurture and Apples falling from Trees!

Retro-Chic and the Cult of Neo-Sobriety!

My lovely bloggy friend Hannah over at Budding Smiles made a playlist too (some great songs!) If you’re as nuts about music as us – do check it out… 🙂 x