6 March 2006

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

(A title chosen specifically to score me brownie points with my darling gardening assistant)

The sun was shining today and later on I managed to haul myself down to the plot to do a little more levelling of the rotovated soil in readiness for marking out a whole host of new beds and covering with black plastic. As usual, I am much further behind than I had hoped to be, with little opportunity to get much done over the coming weeks due to the trio’s imminent debut performance. Still, I achieved quite a bit and I’m pleased with what I’ve done, especially as I have also had masses of work (of the mortgage-paying variety) to get done today as well, and it would have been very easy to stay home feeling stressed rather than heading down to the plot to feel depressed.

While I was digging and raking I was also singing and shimmying (no, I don’t do this when my fellow allotmenteers are about!) as I listened to music I have specifically chosen to inspire and motivate while down the allotment. Something that Jane wrote over at Horticultural a little while ago prompted me to do this and I have been enjoying the results for a while now. I have been toying with the idea of sharing this playlist with you since then but have held off as I wrestled with the fear of having my musical taste ridiculed. At the moment I think my self-esteem is sturdy enough to withstand it.

I have interpreted the brief rather broadly and the fifty or so tracks I have thrown together could actually be divided into a few different, more specific categories. Given that my digging today was accompanied by rain and sunshine and wind and cloud and more sunshine and more rain I thought I would take you through songs I have chosen that allude to the weather…

Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head written by Burt Bacharach and performed by B J Thomas. There is a slightly embarassing amount of easy listening that has made it onto this playlist, but this particular track is just a bit of fun, isn’t it?

Good Day Sunshine by the Beatles. This is a completely feelgood song. Anyone who can listen to this and not end up with a huge smile on their face must be made of concrete.

Dry the Rain by The Beta Band. This is at a nice easy tempo for working to. Very mellow.

Who Loves the Sun by the Velvet Underground. Does dancing around one’s hoe in an abandoned fashion while singing along very loudly and scaring the wildlife count as proper allotment conduct? No, I thought not.

Here Comes the Rain Again by the Eurythmics. This has such a staccato, electronic sound that it doesn’t really encourage fluid movement. I think I might have pulled a muscle listening to this…

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 by Bob Dylan. Completely inappropriate for listening to down the allotment, even if it is about something to do with stones…

The Same Old Sun by the Alan Parsons Project. If you know any Alan Parsons then you’ll realise how very embarassing it is to admit to listening to them, but I’m nothing if not honest. In mitigation I’ll just say that this makes the list out of nostalgia - it reminds me of my best friend from school.

I’m going to need some time to let the flush fade from my cheeks and you will no doubt need time to recover from the aching ribs (she listens to what???!). Nonetheless, there are more songs in the selection to tell you about so please continue to tune in for more sounds of shame from the plot.

Filed under: Hard labour, iPlot — Clare @ 5:42 pm