Tag Archives: music

Thoughts

My first album – Mariah Carey. What was yours?

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My first musical purchase
Mariah Carey on cassette

When I go home to Clare, I often find myself taking a trip down memory lane in some way.

Today I was poking around looking for something when I stumbled upon the first musical purchase I ever made. It’s Mariah Carey‘s album Daydream on cassette. A bit scratched and dusty but still playable. Released in 1995, I remember buying it just before Christmas and playing it to death on the giant stereo in the living room to the point where my sister wanted to unravel it.

The musical snob in me is disgusted and disappointed that it’s not something awesome and hip but after listening back to it, I forgive myself – it’s seriously catchy stuff and it is so typical of the era. I’m slightly shocked that I remember nearly all the words and every Mariahesque lilt but then again I’ve always had a weirdly accurate memory for musical things.

Here’s my favourite song from the album (for shame!). I challenge you not to start chair-dancing to it with me. If you’d rather the roller-blade, crop top, 90s-fest video, here you go.

So come on, spill, what was your first album/single you bought? Could it be any more cheesey or embarassing than Mariah Carey?

Random

I can has Ukulele?

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So all that listening to the amazing Luka Bloom yesterday got me thinking about how much I wish I could play guitar.

I bought an acoustic guitar with my first paycheque from my first ever job at 15. I didn’t know much about them and ended up being sold a huge thing with a thick fret and steel strings. Not very playable for someone with short girlie fingers. So I learned a few chords but never did much else coz well, it hurt and I struggled to make chord shapes with short little fingers.

So yesterday I thought “what about a little Ukulele?” and I might just go ahead and give it a go this weekend.

So Ukulele connoisseurs, any advice on what to buy/not buy/where to go in Dublin for one?

Events

Luka Bloom at the NCH this Saturday

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I heard this song on the radio this morning and have probably listened to it 20 times since. I’d forgotten how much I love his voice, his lyrics, his interpretations of the songs of others and above all his style of guitar playing which happened about when he had to alter his method due to a serious round of tendonitis.

So who is Luka Bloom? Well he’s the younger brother of Christy Moore born Kevin Barry Moore in Kildare in 1955. The stage name is a marriage between Luka from Suzanne Vega’s song ‘My name is Luka’ and Bloom from James Joyce’s Ulysses.

He has released a stack of albums over the years with his own rather unique flavour of folk/soul/jazz running through them. Luka is live in the National Concert Hall this Saturday with Eddi Reader as part of the ESB BEO Celtic Music Festival 09. Check out more of his music on lukabloom.com or say howdy on Facebook.

I happened upon this video below earlier when indulging in some of his live clips on YouTube. It was filmed as part of a documentary about him called ‘My Name is Luka’ a stone’s throw from my house in Ballyvaughan, Co.Clare where he apparently spends quite a bit of time. He talks about how songs can connect people and places even if they’ve never been there before. Got some gorgeous shots of the beach in too – look forward to visiting it at the weekend.