Challenge within a challenge: A song a day playlist; Tracks 1-5

My friend Linsey and I are nearing the end of our song challenge. It’s been great fun. Sometimes we miss the odd day, but we catch up the next. The music has been so varied. Linsey's choices are typically rocky and mine are just a mixture. Although quite a few of the songs I pick Linsey says they could be in movie soundtracks, so I guess that’s my screen writing instincts right there!

So here are the first five of themes and choices.

Day 1- A song that makes you happy
Linsey- Vertigo, Mini Mansions ft Alex Turner
Me- Mr Blue Sky, ELO. I used to play this song in my first year of uni at the end of a Thursday after my last lecture of the week at uni. It was a sign that the weekend had begun.

Day 2- A song that helps you clear your head
Linsey- 3am, Hamilton Leithauser
Me- Life is life, Noah and the Whale. When I was running regularly, this would be the first song on my playlist to set me off at a good pace.

Day 3- A song that makes you laugh
Linsey- Vicar in a Tutu, The Smiths
Me- Red Solo Cup, Toby Keith. The lyrics are funny and it always reminds me of going to Nashville with my sister Lisa. It was the theme song, although we only sang the chorus over and over.

Day 4- A song that reminds you of something sad
Linsey- Broken, Jake Bugg
Me- Granpa theme music. Forget Titanic, forget The Notebook. Grandpa is the saddest film ever. Yes it’s animated, yes it’s only 30 minutes long but my god I'm in tears almost immediately. And then the last 10 minutes I'm in bits and crying for 10 minutes after its ended. It’s about a Grandpa and his granddaughter and the adventures they take. It was shown to me when my Grandpa died when I was 3, and I watch it every few years as I think I'm getting older and more mature, I should not be crying at a cartoon. But I still do!!

Day 5- A song that has a new meaning every time you hear it
Linsey- Air Balloon, Lily Allen
Me- Escape, chase and goodbye, John Williams
I love film soundtracks and the ET one is one of my favourites. I got it for my birthday at uni and I’ve only seen the film 3 times I think, but listened to the soundtrack way more. Escape, chase and goodbye, although classical has so much narrative I go into a different time zone and narrative made up by my imagination every time I hear it. 15 minutes of sheer perfection.