Ode to a Toad (In The Hole)

Afternoon Bloggers :)

So after a hectic week of English food I FINALLY HAD YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS!!! OKAY SO IT WAS TOAD IN THE HOLE BUT IT WAS SENSATIONAL!!!, Great nights out, Hanging McDonalds trips that followed the world's most ridiculous sleepover, Football that turned into an abomination as Mateo, Mike (Kellie let him out for an hour to play!) and Ash almost died from what was seemingly Alcohol poisining, turned out they were just humongous woofters! And losing Poker in epic fashion on what had to be the most unlucky table ever, (i mean how can you lose on two pair Jacks and Aces?!?!) followed by an wonderful late night Italian meal to wrap up a brilliant week with the guys and gals, I found myself here on Monday, my day off of Uni, wondering hmmmm, what the bleeding nora can i write about?! And then i thought to myself, as i sit in relative boredom awaiting the moment my doorbell rings and Mateo and I rejoin our computers with our Umbilical LAN Cord and Footy Manager 2011 kickstarts again, what are the two things that i could be doing which have the power to really change my mood?

The first of course is watch a film. Now if you really know me you will know that I pride myself in being a little bit of a film geek :) Films are important to me, they can define moods and if they are truly brilliant, they can define generations and cultures.

But sadly i shall leave my film lecture for another day, today i chose the latter, and that was Music.

I chose music for one important reason, and that is Art. Music is an Art, and a form of Art that i can appreciate, because to me, i see no importance in a painting hanging on the wall of some building in Paris, yes i understand the talent of said artists, the way they can toy with the imagination of people with a bit of paint and a blank canvas, i respect them on that point, but for me, Music is the purist art form, musicians, for me, are like gods, with their music they can and have defined cultures, generations and people.

Music can affect the mood you arein, if you are sad, music can make you happy, if you want to party, music can get you going, music brings people together no matter your situation, religion, language, gender or skin colour. Through music we can make friendships and relationships, we can overcome wars and borders and find who we really are.

I came to Cadiz expecting to experience a new country, a new language and a new culture, but the one thing that is always the same, the one thing that truly unites the world in Music. Wherever you go people are listening to similar things, dancing to the same beats and humming the same tunes. It is becuase of this that Music is so important to me. I see music as one of the defining factors in peoples lives. There is always a song to describe a situation, and there is always a soundtrack to somebody's life;

The Soundtrack to my Life; 10 Songs which define me:

- Skinny Jeans by Eliza Doolittle
- I Love Rock n Roll by Joan Jett
- The Writer by Ellie Goulding
- Mr. Bojangles by The Rat Pack
- Me and my Shadow by Robbie Williams
- Don't Stop Believing by The Glee Cast
- I Don't Want To Be by Gavin DeGraw
- Billionaire by Travie McCoy
- With You by Chris Brown
- Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson
- Bonus Track This Is Real, This is Me by Demi Lovato

These songs all mean so much to me and when i listen to them i feel a different way everytime, they all affect me or even infect me in their own unique way, and this is the magic of music.

To continue this idea i would like to go on to present some of my closest friends to you, now you may say i have already done this so many time previously, but you all know what friendships mean to me, Friends, like music, Mould a man into who he will be, and so i would like to present to you my friends, but through music, each friend will be presented along with different tracks which i believe defines them, and how i feel about them and who i see them as.

James Walsh: One of my closest friends, James and I have been on many an adventure together since meeting 3 years ago. I'd trust him with my life. James is a happy go lucky guy and a hopeless romantic. He is, to me, an Internet legend due to his brilliant debut videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFGn34vyj6c&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUn8q3c4kwI&feature=related . And so it would be very easy for me to use to westlife songs but for me there is much more to James than just his brilliant wit. Firstly i chose Tipsy by J-Kwon to descrbe the James everybody has seen before, on a night out, hammered and loving life. Secondly i chose Whats Luv by Fat Joe and Ashanti to describe his hopless romantic ways, he would be very happen to settle down with a nice girl but his need to be a LAD gets in the way!!

The Lish: Oh the Lish, a ladies man with a heart of gold. A loyal friend with a big heart to match his big ego. For Lish I chose two opposite songs, two songs showing the two opposite sides of Pieter, the LAD side is defined by Club Can't Handle Me by David Guetta perfectly showing Pieter's desire for it to be known that he is indeed a boyo, he is a big cheese and is there to party hard and shark his way around the club. But the other Lish you know if you are close enough to him is the one that cried to Marley and Me, the Lish that enjoys sitting with a Bargain Bucket and soppy film with his mates and for this what better song is there than True Colours by Glee Cast.

Kike: Two great individuals brought together by Galletan Romance and a helping portion of Sleaze from Mike, hey a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do!! For these two wonderful people, encapsulated in the single term Kike, i chose two songs, two simple songs that display two different sides to their relationship; Firstly we have the brilliant song that is I'll Make Love to You by Boyz II Men, i could have chosen Freak Me by ANother Level but i think this song perfectly explains the romance, the sickly romance we are submitted to day in day out instead of the x-rated passion we have to hear ;), but we all know that there is another song to describe this budding love, and that is, Its a Man's World by James Brown. Sarcasm? Of course! Kell definitely wears the trousers :) But who knows, maybe i'm wrong, maybe eventually the song that will in fact define this couple will be... hmmm..... The Wedding March!!!!

Mateo: The little guy with the big heart, Mateo is a loyal friend making the most of every opportunity thrown at him, for you Mateo 2 songs, 2 very different songs, but both very meaningful, firstly like for me i chose Billionaire by Travie McCoy, i did so because Mateo is driven to succeed, he recognises the value of money and, for me, i destined to earn lots of it! The second song i chose is true to its word and needs no introduction or really any explanation; Larger than Life by The Backstreet Boys, although he only ammounts to 5ft stretched out Mateo has a heart ammmounting to 6ft and a persoanlity to match it. He is never out of the loop and always seems to make us laugh no matter the situation, a valued memeber of the group and a great friend, hey and who knew that we only met 3 months ago!?!?

Ash: A 12 year old face on a 40 Year old's body. Ash is a whole lotta dude. A gym goer with a love for partying.... hard!!! Ash loves nothing more than to party the night away with his mates and being one of the lads. For you Ash i chose Evacuate the Dancefloor by Cascada, not only because with you on the dancefloor not much more can fit on, but because often you can be the life of the party and when your in a club, and on it, people better watch out because very little will stop you from having a great night!

Sam: A misunderstood midget, Sam makes us laugh day in and day out with his endless gayisms and campness, although we all know that somewhere, deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep down there is a red blooded male fighting to make it past his obsessions with Rihanna, Cougar town and Greys Anatomy!! For you Sam i chose 3 songs, 3 songs that each explain how much we love you and what i know you think and ponder; Firstly we have Somebody to Love by Queen a legendary song about ones long search for that special someone. Secondly i chose Naive by The Kooks, i chose this to explain your side that we all know and love, the gullable Sam-Wise, the Sam that goes looking through bins for flip-flops which are sitting on the floor beside me, the Sam that will fall hopelessly for a girl he's known two minutes, and a Sam that although very intelligent, has little common sense to account for!! Finally and probably most heart-felt is a song that, i feel, comes from everyone you know and who truly knows you, it is of course the smash-hit Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars because  i can safely safe, from us all, that we although we may tease and taunt you, although you may sometimes be the butt of the banter, in truth, not one of us we want to see you change!

Kate: The loveable ditz with a stroppy side and a large personality to match the watermelons she's smuggling down her top!!! Often misunderstood, Kate is a friendly girl to all, maybe overly to some ;) who loves to get drunk, eat nice food, film nights and gossip. For you Kate i chose Behind these Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson for one simple reason, there is so much more to you than first appearances :).

Katie: Our fave Essex lass, Katie is a major asset to every day and night we spend together, a truly great friend once you manage to overcome the horrific accent!! Katie hates to be alone and surrounds herself with friends and English Food (YUMMMMMMMMYYYYY Toad in the Hole!!) constantly here in Cadiz to fill the gap left by the absent Boyfriend, Best Friend and Family back home. For you Katie i'v chosen two songs each show a different side to your bubbly personality, Firstly we have You've Got a Friend In Me by Randy Newman, this song perfectly depicts your friendly nature and desire to always be with the people you care about. Secondly we have Lets Dance, Lets Shout by Michael Jackson, to show your party girl side but not just party with anybody, you party hard with those most important to you!

Sarah: With an evergrowing reputation in this Blog Sarah embraces every side to her and cares not what people think, in this blog alone she has been described as Boozey, Ditzy, and Whorey, but to set the record straight i shall use 4 tracks, each to show the real Sarah from a different angle, but each one as important as the previous. First is Pop by N'Sync because not only is it an upbeat pop song from the highest first week selling album of all time, (which if you were wondering shows Sarah's upbeat get it and go attitude) but its lyrics also show how it doesn't matter what other think about you as long as you realise that you only have to be what you want to be, and if you do, your real friends will love you still. Secondly is Miss Independent by Neyo, this song defines a generation of women who don't need or want men to be gentleman to them, girls who know they are equal and grab every opportunity given to them. Literally speaking as well the title describes another side to Sarah, the reclusive side to her which loves to sit in her room in alone time. Finally but by no means any less important is Nobody wants to be Lonely by Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin. Now i know some will be wondering why i chose this, especially you Sarah, but i believe the lyrics, and no matter how much you make out that you are not looking for a relationship etc, one day it will hit you, and when that happens i'll say i told you so :) But for now i feel song 4 truly sums you up and that is Bad Reputation by Joan Jett the first line simply says it all... "I dont give a damn bout my bad reputation"!!

Tash: A Pint Sized Jack in The Box in the sense that Tash is a sort of unknown entity, and at any point she will come out with something brilliant, hilarious, inspired or just down right dumb and will make everyone stop and think, laugh or wonder what goes through her brain. An intelligent lass with minimal common sense most of the time, she loves nothing more than to be surrounded by her friends wether it is in person or on Skype, Tash yearns for human contact. It was perhaps one of the more difficult tasks to find a song to define Tash, but i feel there is 2 songs i feel describes you; The Bear Necessities by The Jungle Book because, for me, you seem to know exactly how you are going to live life, you surround yourself with friends to help do so, and these are your bare necessities. The second is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Miley Cyrus, Yes i know the original was better, but i feel this song by this artist shows your fun side, the side that comes out when alcohol gets down your neck or when you are enjoying yourself like in a Poker Tournament, or on a girly night.

Zoe Healy: Zoe, Zoe, Zoe, little facts do i know about Zoe that goes past her Vegie ways, her desire to live her life in the North East, to learn French and Spanish, her LOVE for Matt Cardle and her enjoyment of my blog :) But getting to know you in the LRC and through Skype and FaceyB i feel i should have a shot here at chosing your soundtrack, and for you i thought it was necessary to chose 3 songs, 3 songs that together describe how i see you to be, and seperately disect different parts of your wonderful personality. Firstly i chose was an obvious song choice for me i don't know why but it just came to me and that was Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics. It is a song that i feel describes how i see you seeing the world, the world is passing on by and you want to make the most of it. Secondly is an old song, a classic some would say; My Generation by The Who. I chose this song because i believe that you are definitely a 21st century girl, living the high life in France and after xmas in Spain, and like us in Cadiz living it to the maximum. Finally, and dedicated to your desire to stay in the North East with your family etc i chose Never Forget by Take That. Now all 3 seperately as i described show 3 different sides to you, but all together i think these three songs show a young strong woman who knows what she wants and is doing everything in her power to get it, whilst at the same time enjoying life to the maximum with her friends and family. :)

Last but far from least is Charlotte Caley: One of my closest friends all the way in Italy, what could i possibly chose to describe her... hmmm well if she's not found partying then she's probably struggling to get into uni, hanging and looking rough, or sat at home with her friends eating chocolate and watching the tv or some trashy chick flick!! For you charlotte i chose My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson and Breakeven by The Script, these songs describe the two sides two our relationship, the fact that you are one of my best friends and i love you to bits, and the other the fact that you get yourself in stupid situations, silarious for me, upsetting for you, but how you always just get on with it and that is to what i love :)

I could go on and talk about many more friends but i don't think i have the patience or your concentration so i will simply finish by saying thankyou for reading, i hope you got what i was trying to get across, that no matter who you are, no matter what your taste or preference, music can help define you, it can help you find who you really are, and it can help unite people around the world, hey who knows what would have happened if Hitler would have heard the Spice Girls, maybe the world would be a happier place.

So whats the soundtrack to your life? Share the love.... Share music for free :)

Happy Blogging :)