Friday I'm In Love: Before I die.

The other day at work, my friend asked me what bands I would most like to see before I died. 

I couldn't think of a single band. 

When people put me on the spot I get all flustered and I could only think of stupid bands (The Spice Girls), or ones that I've seen already (Tegan & Sara). And to make matters worse, her answers were all trendy (Radiohead, Daft Punk, Portishead) and so were everyone else's. 

But I couldn't stop thinking about it. What bands would I most like to see? Out of all the bands, ever, there must be someone that I would most like to see. Surely.

I didn't take my first steps on a dance floor as a baby just to have no answer to this question. 

But I thought long and hard about it, and I came up with a list, and I could probably tell you one memory related to each song: 

Bjork. 

I think my dad introduced me to Bjork. Or maybe when I was a kid I just really liked the umbrella dance routine in 'It's oh so quiet', either way, I now own all her albums and went through a stage when I wanted to listen to Hyperballad every day. 

The Cure.

I like their upbeat stuff more than their gothic stuff, but I just can pass up all that big hair. I liked 'Love Cats' long before I realised who The Cure actually were. And then in year 11 it was really cool to listen to them, and I jumped on that bandwagon for life. 

The Smiths.

I listened to The Smiths a lot in years 11 and 12. They remind me of my friends Leah and Susan, when we'd stay at each others' houses and drink cheap champagne. Those were the days... 

Arcade Fire.

I'm pretty sure that my aformentioned friend Susan introduced me to Arcade Fire. When Brent and I were in  Glasgow, we went to a pub that had this album playing on repeat. Now that's all I can think about when I listen to them. Ahhh... Scotland.

Tom Waits.

Mostly I like the way Tom Waits sounds like he's been drinking lots of whisky and smoking even more cigarettes for a really long time. But it's all beautiful. I think my dad also introduced me to Tom Waits. I remember him listening to it as a kid, and I had no idea why he wanted to listen to that weird guy with the deep, crackly voice.

What bands would you most like to see before you die?

Friday I'm In Love: Dance dance dance.

Most of these songs have featured on apples & almonds at one point or another, but there's good reason for that. All these songs make me wanna bust a move in the lounge room, and sometimes even on the street. Most of these songs have been around for a while, but they're still good, if you ask me. It's an odd mix of songs, but put your dancing shoes on for Friday.

The Strokes: Last Nite.
I really like proper British songs where you can hear their cute accents. I often listen to this album on my way to work and this song always comes on just as I'm starting to walk through the park, and sometimes I have to stop myself from dancing in the middle of the park.
 

Kimbra: Cameo Lover.
I've talked about how much I like Kimbra before. But her new album just came out and it's really great. She's really pop-y and dance-y, and I have to admit that I really like pop music. There. I said it. I like pop music.
 

The Knife: Heatbeats.
This song reminds me of parties at my friend's house back in the day when we used to drink vodka cruisers. Those were some good times.


Foster The People: Call It What You Want.
I'm not normally into dance music, but this song is just really good.
 

 Florence And The Machine: Drumming Song.
I like to turn this song up really loud on my headphones and jump around. Those drums sure get me going!
 

The Cure: Close To Me.
I've always liked The Cure, but my love grew stronger when I lived with some other girls who loved them as much as I did. It reminds me of drinking tea on our front porch.

Michael Jackson: Billie Jean.
You can't go past Michael Jackson to get your feet tapping. Classic.