If music be the food of love...

Ever since I first listened to a CD compilation of my mum's called Hits of the 80's I have been intrigued and captivated by music in all its various forms.

Some music makes you want to do this

The list of genres for which I have no love is usually only one or two words long, depending upon the current crop of artists that dwell within it. Some past residents have included Rap and Hip-hop. Most of my choices are based upon whether they exhibit any traits of a Normal and Caring human being or if it's all about Guns, Bitches and Bling.
One genre that has always stayed firm in the list of must-listen genres has been Indie Rock. Not the out-of-tune screamy girl punk indie, but the vague whistful thoughtfulness of acoustic guitar and piano-based rock that causes you to lean back in your chair and have a quiet think to appreciate what you have. (or that may just be me)
One band that kick started this was Coldplay with their album Parachutes. Now,  now, hear me out. This album appeared before I really knew what indie or alternative rock was, I was still having a history lesson off ELO about glam rock and the role of the synthesiser, but in later years, about the time Coldplay released their second album, I started to get curious about this well-spoken group that my friends had all discovered.

While the second, more rocky album was the first one I heard, the quiet simplicity of the first album became one of the albums that formed the soundtrack of my last year or so of school. That was the time when I discovered the freedom that choice and age brought, when I had my first taste of independence: when I paid for nought but snacks and the odd train, but could hang out with my friends all day long, when the weather didn't matter and you were in the company of like-minded young people who had their own hopes and dreams for the future and couldn't wait to ram into life head first.
Parachutes has always taken me back to an earlier time, to one which I look back on fondly, but wouldn't want to visit again, for fear of breaking my rose-tinted spectacles. You may think that Coldplay is for manic depressives and art students but it has its place. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, I'm just waiting for R'n'B artists to become a bit less narcissistic and more socially aware so I can have an empty list.