Jimmy Eat World – ‘The Middle’

Whenever I hear this song it makes me feel very nostalgic. I saw Jimmy Eat World this year supporting Frank Turner and I reverted right back to my teenage emo phase. I’d forgotten just how much I love this song!

‘The Middle’ was the first song I learnt to play on guitar. It’s a rite of passage really to master this song when you’re starting out as a guitarist as it only has three chords but it still sounds quite cool. Not only is the basis of the song very easy to play, the solo is technically brilliant and it’s only when you go back and listen to the song after strumming along with the three chords for a while that you really notice. I went back after playing for about a year and learnt the solo and the licks in the first verse so it really is a song that grows with you as you grow as a guitarist.

The lyrics, no matter how cheesy they are, really resonated with me as a young girl guitarist. The lines, ‘It just takes some time, little girl you’re in the middle of the ride, everything everything will be just fine’ and ‘Hey don’t write yourself off yet, it’s only in your head you feel left out’, are comforting in quite a male centric hobby like playing guitar in rock bands. I was often the only girl in the group but that song had an albeit cringeworthy but tender message that helped a bit. Who knew Jimmy Eat World could be so philosophical!

Foo Fighters- ‘My Hero’

Trying to narrow this down to one song by the Foos is a tough task. They have been my favourite band since I’ve been in double digits. This song has gained new meaning for me in the past few years. I saw the rock giants at their UK stadium tour in 2018. The world renowned nicest man in rock and roll strolled out on a platform that extended way into the midst of the audience; just him and his trusted blue Gibson. I would say he performed the song as a solo piece but the 60,000 strong audience provided him with ample accompaniment that could make anyone’s hairs stand on end.

A week before this gig, an inspirational family member of mine lost his 7 year battle with prostate cancer. I questioned going to the concert but I knew he would’ve kicked me for missing it; he would always proudly show my guitar videos to his friends and knew Foo Fighters were a big part of my inspiration. As soon as Dave Grohl belted the words ‘There goes my hero, watch him as he goes’, I knew I was there for a reason. I looked up at the clear blue sky and sung this at the top of my lungs to my hero in the sky and it is a moment I will never forget.

Van Morrison- ‘Brown Eyed Girl’

Van Morrison is a fan favourite in my family with his skilful musicianship and rare harmonica ability leading to those catchy tunes that inevitably get stuck in your head no matter how much you are sick of them. ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ is a song I have grown up with. I was born with very deep brown eyes and from that moment, my Grandad attached the song to me.

Despite being released in 1967, ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ is a song that just refuses to age. Everyone knows the song and even if they don’t know the words, the ‘Sha-la-la-la-la’ bridge can be repeated in any state of sobriety and you will know where it has come from. Morrison will usually perform a different arrangement of the track live, I think more so that he doesn’t get bored of playing it every night for 50 years than anything else, but for me, the studio recording is a classic that is always going to be supreme.

Abba- ‘Dancing Queen’

Abba should really be a staple in any Greatest Hits list. They are just such a feel-good band that always cheer me up no matter the situation. This could definitely be contested but the best uni nights out for me are the Abba themed ones. Everyone knows the words and the moves and it’s just a good laugh.

‘Dancing Queen’ is the stand out Abba song because everyone seems to have a memory attached to the song. Mine is being on holiday and the hotel entertainment team absolutely destroying the song to the point where it was almost brilliant because again, it just made everyone happy.

Stevie Nicks- ‘Edge of Seventeen’

Stevie Nicks is the ultimate female icon for me. I adore Fleetwood Mac and all their music but Nicks’ solo single, ‘Edge of Seventeen’, is iconic for so many reasons. 17 is an age where you are at a sort of cross roads in life. You’re not quite at the age where you can do the things you want to be doing but at the same time you’re too old to be doing the things your parents want you to be doing.

You also have all these words from other people that you have to talk about for school whilst trying to find your own voice, reflected in the lines; ‘And I see you doing, What I try to do for me, With the words from a poet, And the voice from a choir, And a melody nothing else mattered’. At this point, music does become a type of release and this is what that song did for me. It was so different to anything I had listened to before and because it was such a strong woman singing the words, I loved it even more!

When I eventually bought a record player in the contraption’s revival a few years back, Bella Donna was the first vinyl I bought to play on it. I always think that listening to a vinyl is the closest you can get to being with the band in the recording room because it is such a 4D sound that you can almost hear where each musician is standing for recording. ‘Edge of Seventeen’ is one of those songs that benefits from this with the layering of the base line and the growing intensity of Nicks’ vocals. Again, I managed to love the song even more than before!