Music

As witnessed by the picture on one of the other pages, I play the guitar (self taught), and piano (properly taught). I tend to play completely different music on the two, partly due to the nature of how I learnt. On guitar, I usually strum along to whatever’s on the CD player, although I have learnt a few songs ‘properly’, of which Anji, by Davy Graham, is a particular favourite. On piano, I play almost entirely classical music, with a little jazz thrown in. My favourite composer is Chopin, and I am in the middle of learning several of his Nocturnes and Waltzes. I also enjoy Brahms and Beethoven. Jazz-wise, I love Gershwin’s music, and a long standing ambition of mine is to be able to play the whole of the piano solo version of Rhapsody in Blue (29 pages!).

I created the website for, and look after, the Mutopia Project (www.mutopiaproject.org), which is an archive of public domain and open source sheet music, most of it classical, typeset using the incredible LilyPond music typesetting program (www.lilypond.org).

Of course, I spend much of my time listening to music as well. It tends to be pop, rather than classical, but not modern chart music. I’m more into older stuff, often from the sixties and seventies. I’m more of an album person than a singles person, although one day I plan to make a list of desert island songs. For now, though, here are my (current) favourite ten albums, along with a few comments.

Album	Comments
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds	It’s top of the list for alphabetical reasons, but this is also probably my favourite album of all time. I’ve owned it for years now (in fact, I now have five different versions on CD...), and still haven’t got tired of it. I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times strikes a chord every time I hear it. I've seen Brian Wilson twice, both times in Liverpool. The Smile tour in 2004 came to the Empire theatre, and was absolutely fantastic. He played the Summer Pops in 2005, which was very different—mainly hits, but he also played Wouldn't It Be Nice, probably my favourite song from the album.
The Beatles: Abbey Road	For many people, Revolver, Sgt Pepper or even the white album is their favourite Beatles record. I think this one eclipses the rest, though. With George Harrison’s outstanding Something and Here Comes The Sun, the incredible harmony of Because and John + Paul’s final real collaboration: the second-side-medley, I love it from start to finish.
George Harrison: Brainwashed	Of all the post-Beatles solo albums that were released (most of which I own), why have I chosen this one? It is simply the most coherent (and underrated) collection of superb songs that any of them released. Band On The Run (Paul McCartney) and Imagine (John Lennon) were both superb records, and Ringo’s self titled album was great fun, but Brainwashed beats them all hands down. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there...” The title track is my favourite, George at his acerbic and humorous best.
Carole King: Tapestry	The sticker on the front of the CD case reads “Every song’s a classic”, and it’s absolutely right. Carole King (along with her husband Gerry Goffin) wrote some of the most classic songs of the sixties and early seventies, and her own incredible versions of Natural Woman, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and You’ve Got A Friend are on this album. Maybe she wasn’t a natural singer, but the songs speak for themselves, and the piano-led arrangements, in conjunction with her distinctive voice, make this a truly great album.
Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl	This is one of those “people and place” records, in that hearing it takes me back instantly to a particular place and time. An aural Madeleine de Proust. That aside, though, it outshines all of his 60s work, and the opening track, You’ve Got It is fab. By strange coincidence, it was finished off after Roy’s death by Geoff Lynn (amongst others), the same as George Harrison’s Brainwashed above.
Paul Simon: Graceland	When Simon and Garfunkel broke up in 1970, who could possibly have predicted that Paul Simon’s greatest musical achievement was still fifteen years away? At primary school, we had a teacher who used to play Homeless in assembly, probably not long after the album’s release. I didn’t really get into it for another fifteen years, though, and when I saw Paul live in Liverpool in 2002, he played almost every song to a rapturous reception, including the title track, which is my personal favourite.
Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends	The non-musical track on this album is possibly one of the saddest recordings you’ll ever hear. Voices Of Old People was recorded by Art Garfunkel in NYC and LA in the mid 60s. Old people’s homes haven’t improved since then, and if you don’t cry when the nurse repeatedly asks the old lady if she’s “happy here”, you never will. The music is fantastic too, including the brilliant but underrated Overs, as well as my favourite track of theirs, America. This was performed to perfection when I saw them live in Amsterdam in 2004 - a performance which was preceded, bizarrely, by the playing of most of George Harrison’s “Brainwashed” album.
The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead	I tend to listen to the Beach Boys - happy music - when I’m feeling upset, but when I’m feeling really depressed, only the Smiths can cheer me up. Morrissey lets you know that you’re not the only one feeling that way - however bad you’re feeling, he seems to have felt worse, and written songs about it. My favourite Smiths songs, Ask and Hand In Glove aren’t on this album, so possibly I should have listed their greatest hits instead, but this is a more coherent listen.
Dusty Springfield: Dusty in Memphis	“Just a little lovin’, early in the morning, beats a cup of coffee for starting out the day...” It sure does, hun, and Dusty is one of the few people who can sing the line like she means it. Not just an album built around the stunning Son Of A Preacher Man, but an incredible collection of songs from one of the earliest gay icons. Other classics include Breakfast In Bed and the opener, Just A Little Lovin’.
The Love Actually Soundtrack	A compilation album? From one of the cheesiest English films ever? Actually, I loved the film, although I can understand why many people can’t stand it, but the soundtrack is great. From the hilarious Christmas Is All Around to classics like The Beach Boys’ God Only Knows and Joni Mitchell’s haunting re-recording of Both Sides Now, it just flows so well. The first track, Girls Aloud’s version of Jump also takes me back instantly to clubbing in Manchester during my MSc.