Five things you didn't know about me.

Yep: for a long time I thought I might be able to escape it, but the '5 things meme' has reached Koekelare. Thank you Neville - I'll remember... ;-)

I could tell you I can't really imagine going through life without music, but that would hardly be much of a surprise, would it? But - just for the fun of it - I tried to link the five things you (probably) didn't know about me to a song/clip I have always liked. Here goes:

1] As a child (and later on too, of course - at least until the network decided to stop the show in 1987) I always watched Toppop, a music show on Dutch television presented by Ad Visser. The only time I can actually remember looking away, feeling uncomfortable, was when Nina Hagen made her Toppop debut with Unbeschreiblich Weiblich in 1978. Don't laugh: I was, after all, only seven. And let's face it: until then, I had thought all women were warm, soft and gentle and certainly nothing like this...

By the way: as I got a bit older, I also got over my Nina Hagen phobia...

2] The first album I ever bought was Too Tough To Die by The Ramones. The opening track of the album is Mama's Boy. Confession number 2: during my first summer camp my parents had to come and get me. I was too homesick to stay (hey, I was six, okay :-) ).Yep, I guess I was a bit of a mama's boy too:

3] Confession number 3: I am afraid of heights. Not the heights you reach when you're standing on an average ladder, but serious heights. They make my knees go weak, make my hand palms sweat and make my head spin. I guess that's more or less the definition of acrophobia... Anyway, the first song that made me feel equally dizzy and realize there was other, more disturbing stuff out there than the average mainstream pop/rock/punk was Death Valley 69 by Sonic Youth (originally released on Bad Moon Rising from 1985). It gave me the creeps but boy, did I like it... I am not such a big Sonic Youth fan today (and yes, I have more or less shifted back towards the mainstream when it comes to music), but Death Valley 69 is forever engraved in my ears (could that be the cause of my tinnitus? - call that a free extra confession). Perhaps it will now be in yours too:

4] As the opening dance for our wedding, I had suggested I Want You by Elvis Costello to my wife... well fiancee at the time. A great song. But when she found out what the song was really about, her enthusiasm quickly diminished. We eventually chose the Carole King classic You've Got A Friend, but in a version by the fabulous Housemartins. Confession number 4: I would not choose it again; it is, let's face it, kind of tacky. But the things you do when you are young... Anyway: here's The Housemartins 'live' on Top of the Pops with Me and The Farmer (I didn't find their version of You've Got A Friend on YouTube) from their 1987 album The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death (watch out for Norman Fatboy Slim Cook on bass):

5] Call it a new year's resolution that is doomed to fail (moreover so since I do not believe in new year's resolutions, remember?), but as from today I no longer smoke. Am I going to miss it? You bet. But I have noticed a few times already I can do without a smoke for several days in a row. And since smoking bans are emerging in more places than ever, I guess I might as well pack it in. Besides: which parent doesn't want to set the right example for his kids? And then a final confession: I hate being drunk and I hate drunk people. I can't even really remember the time I was drunk for the last time (must be somewhere in my student days). Mind you: I do like a nice beer from time to time, and I enjoy a good glass of wine, or the odd single malt every now and then. But as soon as I feel I'm reaching my limits, I switch to something non-alcholic. I guess this really is the end of my rock 'n roll years. No more cigarettes and alcohol:

I suppose it's my turn now to tag five other people. But you know what: if you feel like picking up the meme, go for it. I am curious about a few secrets from so many people I have no idea who to choose first. I know: I'm a bit of a killjoy. Well, let's say that could have been the sixth thing you maybe didn't know about me. I just didn't find the right song to match it. :-)

Comments

[Kami Huyse]

Nice, this expose has a lot of style.

[Serge Cornelus]

Thank you Kami. I did put in hours worth of work ;-)... Anyway: glad you didn't make fun of my many flaws. :-)

[a3eindje]

Iedereen heeft wel van die 'jeugdzondes' zeker?
Ik heb (toen ik een jaar of 13 was) met alcoholstift op een witte buitenmuur 'I Love Henny Vrienten' geschreven. Moeder Eliana en vader Luc konden dit niet echt appreciëren. Wetende dat we toen nog in een benzinestation woonden en ieder voorbijganger dit kon lezen.(hum,hum)
fijne avond nog
veel liefs
a3eindje

[Serge Cornelus]

Henny Vrienten? Dat getuigt wel van goeie smaak, toch... :-) Hij heeft trouwens een fijne nieuwe plaat uit. Mocht mijn petekind dat nog op nieuwjaarsbezoek moet komen, dit lezen: hint, hint...

[Andrew Wake]

Happy New Year Serge and thanks for an entertaining and very musical meme!I must say I feel exactly the same about high heights and in another coincidence I too have been a non-smoker for seven days!

Hope you and the family have a good 2007.

Andy

[Serge Cornelus]

Thanks, Andrew. Hope the same for you too! And: don't quit quitting... :-)

[Sidney]

Happy New Year! Wish you a year full of music with no cigarettes and alcohol! ;-)

[Serge]

Thanks Sidney, same to you!