The Tunes of Life

Dom Brock

** Side 1 ** Music, Artist, “Pink Floyd”, Shuffle: Volume level 5. Well, that’s not enough! A friend once told me that Pink Floyd would probably sound better while high on drugs. I’ve never got what he means by this; I can only assume there’s something he’s not telling me. Volume level 12 - that’s better. Now time to immerse my thoughts in my music. ‘Dogs’, the 16 minute brutish, shouty song about a cut-throat business in a massively capitalist world where everyone works all their life for nothing. It reminded me of where I was going. Work had become hellish over the last month and our boss had turned into a vicious dictator of a man - although he wasn’t much different when I first knew him.

The drive to work became more and more frustrating as traffic lights disobeyed my every command. I’m not usually a negative person, but I knew today wasn’t going to be a good one. Maybe it was just the brute force from “Dogs” putting me on edge. 12 minutes in and the Gilmour acoustics plinked and echoed around the car. The speaker boomed as the song changed. The first drumbeat of “Learning to Fly” rang around the car for a second before being smashed by the striking guitar. A great song, but frankly it wasn’t right at that moment. I needed something stronger, more invigorating.

Music, Artist, “Pink Floyd”, The Wall (Side2): Hey You. I wasn’t far from work and I knew that this was the song that would get me in the mood for the day ahead. Roger Waters’s cries for help made it very topical for the events that would soon occur when I got there. I coasted the car into the car park. The song hadn’t finished so I stayed put. The final cries of horror screamed and the vibrating acoustics faded away. My cue to exit. I got out of my car, locked it and pulled the handle to make sure, my mind a labyrinth of unanswered questions and trepidation.

I can’t bear the sounds of reality. Sirens, lorries and other ghastly harsh sounds. I had to get out my iPod and change that. Music, Artist, “Gorrilaz”,

“Demon Days”, “Dirty Harry”: “Gorrilaz” was the music I used for the flow of everyday life. I would walk to the beat, each beat a step on the ground. When

I did it, the people around seemed to do the same, almost if they’d become part of a melodic synchronisation with me and the music. The walk to work from the nearby car park wasn’t too long, but I managed to get through both

‘Dirty Harry’ and ‘Feel Good Inc.’ before I got there. As I approached the revolving door to my work I got ready for war. 178

This I felt was merely the quiet before the raging storm.

** Side 2 **

The cool air-conditioned office felt like a completely different climate to that outside. A breeze flew around the room, but in a very harsh and unsubtle manner, as if you were to open your car window on the motorway and stick your head out. By now I’d stopped my music completely. The office wasn’t a suitable place for the “Gorrilaz” beat. Something calmer was required. I scanned through my iPod to see what there was. “Dire Straits” and “The Sultans of Swing” wouldn’t be a bad choice. Its fast beat, slender guitar and repetitive drum beat usually put me in a good mood. I slid back up the list and saw my favourite band Queen. The best of the best when it comes to rock anthems. The only problem with Queen is that their music should be used when you feel joyous or when you feel on top of the world. It just wasn’t the right moment for something like that. Pink Floyd looked the most likely again. Floyd isn’t really a jump for joy band- there is rarely a song that feels like it is trying to appeal to the listener’s nice side.

Music, Artist, “Pink Floyd,” Wish You Were Here, Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V): The gradual rumble of the wine glass harmonica and synthesizer began as I walked over to my desk. John was at his desk, distracted by news as he usually was. Marcus was over to my right, glasses perched on the end of his nose, similar to how a robin redbreast would sit on a branch. Alan wasn’t in yet. He is one of those “Better late than never” guys who is always turning up at the last minute. I dropped my stuff on the desk with a crash. No sooner had I collapsed into my seat, I was approached by another co-worker of mine by the name of Steve.

“The boss is in a foul mood this morning.”

“Such a shame,” I said in my most sarcastic tone.

I decided to be as brief as possible. Steve was one of the most talkative men I knew. It would be nice to talk to him on some occasions; we had lots in common but it very quickly got to a point where his speech would turn to an irritating blabber. Once he even started foaming at the mouth as his saliva struggled to keep up with the movement of his lips.

I logged into the computer and heard the processed ‘welcome’ sound over the music. The sound of sliding guitar chords echoed through my headphones as the intro cut quickly into the main part of the song. The work I had been involved in was a pretty half-hearted operation. It was a computer programme which was very unreliable in near enough every way. Some days me and the guys would even have trouble getting it to start and that could literally be half a day wasted because of it. 179

None of us were particularly happy doing the job, but we all put in an effort which we considered acceptable.

My boss’s door swung open and hit the wall before squeaking back the other way. The shadowy figure of my boss appeared at the door. He walked into the light slowly; his eyes had bags, his hair was a mess and the shirt he wore was creased. He looked a real state as he headed over towards the coffee machine in the corner of the room. Trampy would be one of the kinder words I’d use to describe him. He gazed around the room making sure that his force was on task.

“Dom, I need to see you in my office, its important”

“Err……when exactly boss?”

“Now would be nice”.

He signalled to me with his fingers to follow him. I shifted up from my seat and stood up again, the music now starting to build.

** Side 3 **

Bag on seat, key in ignition and CD in stereo. Time to get away, far away. I hadn’t been in the office long enough to go through the whole of ‘Shine on you Crazy Diamond’ so I synchronised the CD with my iPod and continued from where I was. I let the Sat-Nav decide which pub I’d crash down in. It plonked me far away on the western side of Sheffield at a place called the ‘Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn’. The big green smudge over my Sat-Nav reassured me that I wasn’t going to have to deal with traffic again. I was fed up from the slow progress I’d made on my morning commute. The joy I would have, never having to do it again.

Out of Sheffield and through the satellite villages I cruised. Though it wasn’t evening, the shadows of the houses stretched across the road, almost turning the road into a checkerboard of light and shadow. The ‘Wish you Were Here’ album had just finished. By now Pink Floyd felt just that bit too mainstream and industrial. The music didn’t match the landscape I was seeing. I wanted music that wasn’t layered up and thick like Floyd. Something more natural was required. I ran through the list of artists in my head. Which band had a natural sound with a steady pace? Two sprang to mind. Noah and the Whale with their pretty songs like ‘5 Years Time’ and ‘L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N’ about love and modern life. The other was a far more local band. Elbow from, ironically,

Manchester. Their music topics range from joy and the happiest moments, all the way to drinking and smoking yourself to death. Even though the topic sounds depressing, it is conveyed it such a beautiful way that you don’t really notice. 180

Their music has this warm, soft texture that no other seems to have. A mesh of guitar, piano, occasional violins and Guy Garvey’s swearing create a strange peacefulness compared to other artists.

I went for ‘Elbow’ and immediately put them on shuffle. Their music was all very similar -sounding and to me, a very consistent quality so it wasn’t like Floyd where I would only get half the story in that one song.

** Side 4 **

As I made my way through the platter of Elbow songs before me, the landscape changed further. The satellite villages disappeared and turned into rolling hills and sweeping valleys. As I drove down the pothole-laced road, I noticed the remains of a castle on the hill. What a painting that would be against the ultramarine sky. A sign then flashed past the car. I just turned my head around in time to see what it said. “You are now entering Castleton”. Ahead was a small, stony village. The houses were roofed with slate and the window panes lined with wood. So this is where the Sat-Nav wanted me to go. Now to find a place to park. I couldn’t imagine it would be easy being such a small village, but I slotted the car on the kerb relatively simply. I waited for the track to finish and then I was off.

The river I was walking by had a certain freshness about it despite its dirty demeanour. It’s not something you get to experience in Sheffield. The village felt far more natural than the city. Castleton also had a very medieval feel to it. I continued down the street admiring each of the buildings. As I turned the corner there was a flowery building with a sign hanging off the side. ‘Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn,’ it read. The pub! The building looked as old as the sign sounds, but I didn’t care. I pushed the heavy wooden door and walked inside. As I leaned against the bar I reflected on what an awful day I’d had. I could just about remember what my boss had said to me as ‘Shine on’ played in the background.

“I said this would be a difficult job, but you said you’d be capable. It turns out you were wrong….”

I couldn’t bear to replay the sacking all over again. I reached for my iPod in my pocket. I knew exactly what to play.

Music, Artist, Pink Floyd, The Wall (side2): As I slipped deeper and deeper into my drunken state, I let the guitar solo of ‘Comfortably Numb’ smash into my ear drums, with every note pulsing through my mind and feeding the fire inside me - or maybe that was just the brandy. Everything I needed to complete my day.