holding on for tomorrow
the funny thing is that i never technically said i’d do a blog every day for ten years; just that i’d carry it on for ten years in total. nonetheless, a few people took it that way, and now i’ve set a precedent by doing 25 or so days straight, my natural stubbornness is pretty much forcing me not to miss a single one. i wish i’d been this conscientious at school. actually, i don’t. i did fine at school. no point in false modesty. or in falsely boasting to have been one of the cool kids when in fact, i was keen to get in to a good university.
anyway, this is the toughest one yet: i’m sitting with the baby sort of perched on my lap, typing one-handed, and against all my instincts i’m not using capitals because the shift key is basically out of reach. i feel a bit like archy the insect in the ‘archy and mehitabel’ poems, which, incidentally, i recommend you read, if you want to read something ace. or like thom yorke.
nonetheless this is my only chance today to update the blog. from tomorrow, i’m hoping i should get a bit more time to write, so perhaps there will something of interest in the blog, which hasn’t happened for a few days. in the meantime just to quickly update you on the ipod challenge. the astounding number of people keen to help convey the ipod around the world and back to anna are now being mobilised into an organised force by a small team of… well, organisers. if you haven’t already, take a look at the google map on the forum. the whole thing makes me very happy and is the first major triumph of my optimistic efforts. although it will only really be a triumph if it does actually work. but it’s lovely to feel that people even want to get involved. more on this, and the tysic, later this week.
i am playing the baby ‘veckatimest’ by grizzly bear which is probably my favourite album of last year. he’s so far been given a wide but quite scattershot musical education by my wife and i, who have pretty different, although overlapping, tastes. he’s heard buddy holly, the beatles, super furry animals, flaming lips, frank sinatra. apparently you can get baby versions of some popular classics, but there’s no time for that – we’re going straight in with the real stuff. i bought my first single (dancing in the dark, by bruce springsteen) when i was 4. and i want him to be twice as good as me, all round. no pressure.
Posted by Knox on May 8, 2011
i kind of like the omission of capitals – i often do it myself, though am wary of irritating people by doing so.
i love that kit’s getting a musical education from the word go – growing up, in london we had only 4 english records at home: thriller, can’t slow down, kaya and hotter than july, and the rest was nigerian stuff which we just weren’t that into at the time. in tonbridge, i was exposed to my foster sister’s tastes, which when i was young were wham and shakin’ stevens, though we had a load of my foster parents’ rock and roll to even that out a bit. i’m not sure, but i think my first single purchase was a cd, ‘why’ by 3t, though i think the first cds i ever had were ‘cats’ and ‘grease’ soundtracks, that came in these random cards you could get, with cds in…
Posted by Lally on March 27, 2010
You are a model for us all. Catching up on TYSIC, and impressed with how you are hanging in on the optimism challenge.
Completely blew mine because my computer went south after ten+ years and the roof/ceiling are STILL not fixed: water coming in through the hood over the stove and the wall around where I plug in the microwave and toaster. (Kinda hungry.) Neither of these “portents of my imminent horrible failure and death” is my fault, and my sweetie and family offered me a new computer, so I was only without one for a week! I am really fine and fortunate–just need to correct my reaction and improve things generally. I will talk to the property “managers” again tomorrow and then concentrate on having fun over the weekend and focus on the positive for the week ahead. If I try harder and do better, I’ll have less guilt sloshing around, right?
Hurray for all of you, and thanks for the good examples and stories.
Posted by Charlotte Edmonds on March 23, 2010
Teehee, my first musical purchase was a few CDs on offer (3 for £5) – probably compilations of Bach, Mozart, and Handel. (I’ve now grown into more along the lines of Elgar, Shostakovich, and Sibelius) My first proper album purchase was this January: ‘Aces High’ by Voces8 – a must for A Cappella fans
Well done for the one-handed blog post – whenever I have to type one-handed I just give up! Dedication from you!
Posted by clara81 on March 23, 2010
I’m ashamed to say my first musical purchase was Kylie Minogue on cassette…. I saved up my pocket money and made my Dad go to Ourprice to buy it. He still hasn’t forgiven me!
My son (4yrs old) is very much into his Dad’s music, mostly contemporary folk. He has asked to listen to Mommy’s music, but we’d have to cough strategically over quite a lot of it! Not quite ready to explain why he shouldn’t use certain words just yet…
Posted by Rachel on March 23, 2010
Who needs capitals anyway? And don’t worry, I’m not one of the cool kids either, oh well. As for music…being a 90s kid, mine will have either been Spice Girls, S Club 7 or Steps. Cringeworthy stuff.
Posted by Steph on March 23, 2010
Ahh man. Dancing in the Dark is a great song. Although I don’t really mind my first album being Avril Lavigne. I still know all the words to this day but I maintain that I should have been born in the mid 70s so I could have been an 80s teenager.
Posted by Al Kennedy on March 23, 2010
I like the capitalisation-eschewing blogging style, very e.e.cummings.
My first single was hugely embarrassing – The One And Only by Chesney Hawkes, on 7″ vinyl. That said, the embarrassment didn’t stop me going to see him play a club near us when I was at university and singing along.
Posted by Rachael on March 23, 2010
The first singles I bought were PJ and Duncan, I had them all on cassette tape. If it makes it any better though they weren’ t the only people I liked, I just had to wait for my dad to get home to put the Beach Boys-Surfin USA record on.
Posted by Meg on March 23, 2010
Also, I’m glad you’re not giving up on your interests just cause you have a kid. My dad seemed to stop caring about music once my brother and I were born, it took finding his old tapes of Gang of Four and the Ramones to convince me that he was probably pretty cool once.
Posted by Meg on March 23, 2010
Damn, your first music purchase was Bruce? That’s impressive.
Makes me a bit ashamed to admit that the first thing I bought for myself was Backstreet Boys- Millenium. Quickly followed by *N Sync- No Strings Attached.
Posted by David Calder on March 23, 2010
I am secretly disappointed that my dad didn’t start buying the NME for me when I was born. It would have been an amazing library.
A word of caution Mark: don’t force him to listen to this music. When he becomes a teenager he will need to rebel against something and might go in search of ‘classics’ such as Britney, Whitney and er, Steps. You have been warned!
No concrete updates to my TYSIC this week but I have had lots of great ideas that I have been making a note of. Right, I think I better join the forum.
Posted by Jen on March 23, 2010
I may have been the only 10 year old to buy Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s So Far as their first album in the year 2000. I was raised with a tremendous, varied, and excellent collection of music. Which made it interesting when I started really getting into music, because everyone else was listening to the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys. I’ve still got some friends who hardly listen to any music, which I have to attribute to them having parents who were big Bon Jovi fans.
Posted by Carl on March 23, 2010
In keeping with the short and sweet nature of the blog:
Mark, it’s cool how dedicated you are and this is clearly reflected in the enthusiastic following you have gathered.
Night night. x
Posted by Anji on March 22, 2010
I like the lower case blogness! It feels like your breaking the rules. And sometimes it’s good to break the rules. Especially when you have a good reason for it, and it’s not a rule that would end the world.
I worry my music taste and knowledge is really lacking. It would help if I could remember the names of songs/bands/music in general. I think I probably just have to accept I have failed in the music world and am beyond help. However, I think I am ok with that.
Posted by max on March 22, 2010
The lack of capitals makes this entry incredibly cute ahaha. Well done Mark!
And I completely agree about the music. The only reason I wanted to have a kid when I was younger was to introduce him to all the incredible music available in this world.
Posted by Phill Sacre on March 22, 2010
I’m rather envious of your baby, Mark. When I was younger all I had to listen to were my Mum and Dad’s (and sisters’) old records. ABBA, Cliff Richard, The Shadows, XTC (oh yes, we’re only making plans for Nigel…), some random thing narrated by Bernard Cribbins, and some other random 60s and 70s stuff.
Actually it’s slightly scary to think that that stuff was all on vinyl – kids today (does that make me sound too much like a grumpy old man? I’m not 30 yet!) wouldn’t know what to do with those weird bits of plastic. Even DJing is moving away from vinyl, rapidly. It’s a sad time for vinyl lovers
Posted by Lisa Brunders on March 22, 2010
I wish I could see the map, but I’ve not got a computer, and it won’t load on my mobile.
It’s very devoted of you Mark typing with the little en on your lap. I think I’d worry if you missed a day, which is silly, and it’s on of my tysic’s to worry less – so I won’t worry if you miss a day, and neither should you!
Posted by Marie on March 22, 2010
‘Dancing in the Dark’? You were so much cooler than me as a child.
My first album was ‘Kylie’ when I was about 5, then my music tastes went even further downhill. Cue lots of Take That (who I still love), Boyzone and every other half-rate pop act that existed in the 90s. I have shameful memories of singing along to PJ & Duncan, and learning the dances to Steps.
And seeing Spiceworld in the cinema. Twice.
*shudders*
Posted by Anna on March 22, 2010
You think typing whilst holding a baby is bad, try typing and breastfeeding at the same time. Actually, don’t, that would be a bit weird, what with you being a man and everything. Anyway, it takes quite a lot of practice.
Isn’t brainwashing kids to like the same music as you the main reason to have them in the first place? Though the boy seems to be developing his own tastes already, he likes Elvis (which is good) and Paolo Nutini (which is less good). He’s also learning that daddy’s Oasis CDs are fun to throw on the floor. I think our house will be a better place once he learns to throw them in the bin.
Posted by Lydia on March 22, 2010
It was a dread (one of many) of mine that my children would develop a poor taste in music. I didn’t know how I would manage to listen to doof,doof,doof music and not lecture them on what ‘proper’ music was as my dad had done. I’ve been lucky so far, Elliot ( boy 1) is unbelievably cool. He’s 11 in May, I have just been browsing Ticketmaster to see who he could go and see as part of his birthday treat.
George, (boy 2) I think is going to be difficult. He is often heard saying things like ” why does everyone in this family love music so much, it’s poo pants”. He’s only 7 so there is time to save him yet.
Posted by elin on March 22, 2010
Sounds like twice as good is a good goal. I’m surely twice as good as my parents! At least at being weird…
So, update on my progress.
I’ve been a good girl. I opened my exhibition on Friday, and it went really well, i had around 150 visitors in the ten hours it was open, and it was pouring rain all weekend, and the gallery is a small student driven one which doesn’t advertise other than with 40 small posters, so that’s quite a good number. And i got very positive feedback from everyone, and especially the dean and master coordinator, and I got two possible buyers… so all very well. But now I’m exhausted. Too tired to go home, so I’m sat in my studio at school. Very tired, but with a happy smile on my face.
Posted by Misha on March 22, 2010
Somewhere in a photo album lies a picture of my Dad gamely typing one handed with my brother in his other hand. Like me he has long fingers and so can reach the shit hey one handed; I think its a skill you acquire.
Oh and a link for the google map (WIP) http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=uk&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=33&msid=115225875140989805988.000481ff79af0bbeb3f88&abauth=4ba0f32eXhBraki-ynz6R4YGoQMlq0dihZ8