The Letter ‘Q’ Mixtape.

And they said it couldn’t be done. Well, I thought it couldn’t be done. Ten tracks from the letter Q seemed like a failed mission but thanks to a couple of clever clog friends I got there in the end (thanks Gareth and Matt). It wasn’t easy and some of the tracks you’ll deign to be a bit naff I am sure but there’s ten of them. Which is part of my self-imposed rules, and it starts with one of my all time favourite songs.

For all Queen fanatics out there I know it hardly seems fair having one track of theirs on this list so here’s the link to a dedicated mixtape I made last year.

I am officially over the hump until I get to the letter U.

You can play my letter Q mixtape on Spotify or YouTube. ♥

1. Q Lazarus – Goodbye Horses
2. Q Tip – Breathe And Stop
3. Quantic & Alice Russell – Look Around The Corner
4. Quannum Project – Storm Warning
5. The Qemists – Hurt Less
6. Queen Latifah – Just Another Day
7. Quincy Jones -The Dude
8. Quasi – It’s Hard To Turn Me On
9. Queens Of The Stone Age – Go With The Flow
10. Queen – Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy

Olympic Mixtape

So this weeks mixtape has been compiled by friends, family and tweeters that were willing to humour me with the following question:

“What would be your Olympic sport and what song would accompany your montage of best of moments?”

Some people were remarkably quick at replying, making me think that people have been daydreaming of Olympic glory during London 2012. Some people sent me hysterical replies (I’m looking at you Jo). Out of all the sports it seems cycling is the most popular, surprised no one picked Kenny Loggins Danger Zone and asked for it to be changed to Highway to the Velodrome (groan, sorry, a hundred times sorry!). You can play this Olympic Mixtape on Spotify or YouTube, track list and contributors below. Out of all of them I am grinning the most over Thom’s choice but huge thanks to everyone that played along as I’ve not stopped smiling at all the suggestions. More photo’s from my Olympic experiences can be found on my Flickr. Oh, and to my friend Lizzie, “six packing” is not a recognised Olympic event….yet. ♥

1. 13th Floor Elevators – You’re Gonna Miss Me (Monkeypicks for the 400m)
2. Hawkwind – Silver Machine (Lucy Track Cycling)
3. Nina Simone – Feeling Good (Rehanon, first of a few for the Triathlon)
4. Goldfrapp – Rocket (Burning_Lies, another for Cycling)
5. Queen – Princes of the Universe (Thom Vincent picking fencing for a gloriously camp, extravagant event being held in Britain)
6. Tori Amos – Professional Widow (Claire Loy, never worn a leotard but opts for Gymnastics Floor)
7. Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run (My Dad running the Marathon)
8. Spandau Ballet – Gold (thepubdiaries for the Kierin because it’s slightly mental)
9. Elvis Presley – If I can Dream (Gareth choosing 1500m, on the song “you can fight a bear after hearing it, its that inspiring”)
10. Hot Chip – Over and Over (Priyam for Table Tennis)
11. F*ck Buttons – Olympians (Marc for the Triathlon, also dreams of winning gold in the 10k swim)
12. Beyonce – Run The World (Natasha blasting the 100m)
13. Anthrax – In My World (Phil also for the Keirin, the lyric “nothing touches me, I’m a walking razor blade” hits it for him)
14. The Cinematic Orchestra – To Build A Home (Helen goes for Rowing)
15. Gonna Fly Now (Rocky Balboa) – Bill Conti (Matt goes for Decathlon after his hero Daley Thompson)
16. Radiohead – No Surprises (Jo opted for Synchronised Swimming, “Although I would like to imagine that the water would add an element of grace I lack on land, I think the actual effect would be more like Thom York’s slow drown in the video. You get to wear coordinating costumes and listen to music in that event”)
17. Moloko – The Time Is Now (for me when I smash it at the Triathlon)

September 4th Mixtape – Happy Birthday Freddie Mercury

Sundays mixtape is intentionally a day late so I could pay homage to the sublime, unique genius that is Freddie Mercury. I am certain ALL of you are already peppering your day with Queen, playing with the Google Doodle & in my imagination you’re all wearing mo’s while pushing the Hoover around in high heels.

It is not a day late because I got locked in a pub in Shadwell until the early hours of Sunday morning and therefore was good for nothing but noodles and Dr Who yesterday. Otherwise the tone of this mixtape would have been a slow, pitying weeping. Not what Freddie Mercury deserves at all.

My earliest memories of Queen visually would be watching their performance on Live Aid. I don’t think I truly appreciated how great they were until I saw Freddie Mercury perform. He is one of the greatest frontmen, and a man not afraid to be himself at a time when minds weren’t as open as they are in the year he would have turned 65. He played such a huge part in forming our generations tolerance and understanding. I hope that somehow he left this planet knowing that.

“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend” ~ Freddie Mercury

Click on mixtape to play my favourite Queen tracks, it’s not easy to limit such a back catalogue. Also if you have the time this week it is well worth watching the documentary Days Of Our Lives. Truly moving. ♥

1. Under Pressure
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Save Me
4. Tie Your Mother Down
5. Don’t Stop Me Now
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. Killer Queen
8. Seven Seas Of Rhye
9. Another One Bites The Dust
10. I Want To Break Free
11. Somebody To Love

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