The Merry Month of May Music Meme

Pauleen at Family History Across the Seas has put up a fun meme – the Merry Month of May Music Meme. The instructions are:

“The Merry Month of May Music Meme: a meme for your amusement.

“Since the whole point of this is to have fun, retrieve memories and generally chill out (very 60s!), feel free to amend/add/subtract. I’m not even going to ask you to do the usual checklist of have done, want to do, don’t want to do. If you feel the urge, go ahead, you know how it works. And, geneabloggers, yes there is still family history value in this: give your descendants a laugh, let them get to know you with your hair down. Don’t forget, anyone can join in – it will make it much more fun.

“I’ll be posting my responses later today and I’m even going to try to be spontaneous – first song/music that comes into my head. If you decide to join in please let me know via the links below (it’s supposed to be fun, so I’m not going to learn about linky-doo-dahs).”

I have linked to songs on YouTube along the way, since I was watching so many as I wrote this! The YouTube links are also relevant as video clips really emerged in my era (“my era” makes it sound so long ago) and I consumed music on TV shows such as “Countdown” or “Sounds” as much as I did on the radio or listening to albums. I have tried to avoid versions with advertisements, but some of them make you listen to five seconds of an ad before you can click Skip Ad.  Don’t feel obligated to watch any of them!

1. Song(s)/Music from your childhood:
   Lots of ABBA. Lots and lots. See 3. and 4.
   There was the usual Purple People Eater as others have mentioned, and similar silly songs. By my childhood “Bananas in Pyjamas” was among them. I remember hearing it on the radio, when we were away on holidays in our caravan.
   The ABC seemed to play “Butterfly Ball” between every kids program.
   Children’s art show Take Hart used what I now know is the beautiful “Cavatina”. That brings back fond memories.
   For something completely different, there was “Up There Cazaly” (I did grow up in Melbourne, after all!).
2. Song(s)/ Musos from your teenage years:
   There were too many songs and acts to think of them all. Off the top of my head, either because I liked them or they were big names are:
   Australian/NZ - John Farnham, INXS, Pseudo Echo, 1927, Ice House, Crowded House, Mental as Anything.
   International - Pet Shop Boys, U2, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Wham!, A-Ha, B-52s – plus all sorts of over-the-top acts that were so prevalent in the 1980s eg Dead or Alive “You spin me round (like a record)”.
3. First live concert you attended: ABBA! It was the Melbourne concert in 1977. I was all of six years old. I had the album. I had the T-shirt. I had the lunch box. I had the socks. I still have the programme.
4. Songs your parents sang along to: My parents both liked ABBA. I remember my Dad singing along to Fernando.
5. Song(s)/Music your grandparents sang/played:
   They had a single of the Baby Elephant Walk, which they played a lot for my benefit. I can’t remember them singing or playing other music, but I remember my grandmother saying she liked The Village People.  
6. Did your family have sing-a-longs at home or a neighbours: No.
7. Did you have a musical instrument at home: We had an organ which my mother was learning to play, and I had a recorder for school.
8. What instruments do you play (if any): None. I once took up the bagpipes, very temporarily. My fingers weren’t long/wide enough to cover the holes on the practice chanter properly. Oh, and I wasn’t allowed to practice within a certain radius of the house. Quite a large radius, as I recall. It was winter. I lasted about two weeks.
9. What instruments do you wish you could play: I think it would be nice to be able to play an instrument but there’s no particular instrument that calls to me.
10. Do you/did you play in a band or orchestra: No.
11. Do you/did you sing in a choir: No, never could hold a tune. I was in a small number of amateur musical theatre productions in my 20s, always in non-singing roles.
12. Music you fell in love to/with or were married to: Our wedding dance was “It had to be you” (Harry Connick Jr).
13. Romantic music memories: Listening to the The Whitlams as background music in the early days of dating my husband. It’s not romantic music, but I still associate it with romantic times.
14. Favourite music genre(s): Very hard to say. Either “Popular” or “Alternative”, with a hint of Latin or Dance.
15. Favourite classical music: I will plead some degree of ignorance on this and the following questions. I do like music in these genres (other than country) but I couldn’t name anything in particular.
16. Favourite opera/light opera:
17. Favourite musical:
18. Favourite pop:
19. Favourite world/ethnic:
20. Favourite jazz:
21. Favourite country or folk: Country is not my thing.
22. Favourite movie/show musical:
23. Favourite sounds tracks:
24. What music do you like to dance to: See 14.
25. What dances did you do as a teenager: We didn’t really have dances that everyone did, unless you count Nutbush City Limits which made an obligatory appearance at each school social.  Slightly post-teens came the Macarena – again, an obligatory once per event.
26. Do you use music for caller ID on your mobile: No.
27. What songs do you use for caller ID your ringtone: I had “Starlight” (The Superman Lovers) as my ringtone on a previous phone. My current phone doesn’t let you use songs as ringtones.
28. What songs do your children like or listen to: My six year old informs me he has outgrown The Wiggles. He has not informed me what he has moved on to.
29. Favourite live music concerts as an adult: I’m not sure why it is, but I have only ever been to three live music concerts. ABBA as a child, 1927 as a teen, and Michael Jackson’s “History” tour as an adult. I’m not so much a fan of Michael Jackson myself. I went with my sister, who was desperate to go but couldn’t talk any of her friends into an overnight trip to Sydney during University exam period. We had terrible seats, but the concert was good.
30. Silly music memories from your family: My sister and I as teens - in front of the TV energetically copying [too embarrassing to say which group] dance.
31. Silliest song you can think of: I’m too Sexy.
32. Pet hate in music/singing: People who sing at you. Don’t sing at me.
33. A song that captures family history for you: Sorry, stumped on this one. 
34. If you could only play 5 albums (assume no iPods or mp3) for the rest of your life, what would they be:
    “Watermark”, Enya
    “Singles”, New Order
    “Discography”, Pet Shop Boys
    “Laundry Service”, Shakira
    “All that you can’t leave behind” U2
35. Favourite artists (go ahead and list as many as you like):
    Too hard! It depends on my mood.