update on July's challenge: week two, or, oldies but goodies

Having grown up on a steady diet of quality tunes (read my blog on mixtapes, or my blog on music) I was only too happy to go back and revisit some of the favourites this week. I lugged my clunky old laptop out to mum's last weekend to comandeer a whole bunch of her music, and now have a few gb of tuneage which I am still making my way through.

These are some soulful women, I must say - Joan Baez, Joan Armadtrading, Tracey Chapman, Joni Mitchell, the Eurythmics... It's actually perfect for the sort of mood I've been dipping in and out of this week. I have to say, there's something about these women that really resonates, and I've been doing a little thinking about it to figure out exactly what it is.

I never studied music in any form so I probably don't know the right wordses to give this idea some life, but I think it's something about the simplicity of the music and the honesty of the lyrics. Have a listen to "Love and Affection" by Joan Armatrading, or my particular favourite, Joni Mitchell's "All I Want". I listen to this song and think of sunny summer weekends when Mum would blast this album through the stereo while cooking up an storm in the kitchen for whoever was coming out for a dinner party.



I think it's one of my favourite almost-love songs, still. There are some truly beautiful voices out there in the world today, but Joni Mitchell has such an amazing range, which you can't miss from her songwriting style. Tavi at Rookie writes about her love of Joni- couldn't have said it better myself.

It's been nice to simplify for a week - I've gone for what I already know and grew up with, so there's that wonderful sense of reuniting with old friends. I'm very grateful that my mum listened to so many female musicians growing up; the strength of their voices and their honest songwriting have left a legacy for everyone that has followed.

I had a lovely trip down memory lane with Stu and Hugh at Christmas time last year - we were driving out to Grandma's place for Christmas Eve drinks and Hugh cranked Tracy Chapman's "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution". There is actually probably nothing I love more than going somewhere in a car with my little brothers, howling along to an old favourite, a shared experience of before, when we were little, and knowing all the words.