Good Music. Good.

1998 was my first year in the big, scary, wild world. All on my lonesome in the big city, I drank tonnes, made a bunch of friends, and had a whole bunch of crazy. Below is the soundtrack of the year, most of which ended up as drinking songs.

	Pennywise - Bro Hymn Tribute [from Full Circle] My ex-drinking buddy Pete used to play this over and over at about four in the morning once we'd had enough drinking and moaning. A hugely long track, the piano piece at the end is only available on the CD version, but is gorgeous beyond compare. Best Line: "If you die I die, that's the way it is." [buy it!]
Our Lady Peace - Clumsy [from Clumsy] This came out in 1998, so was on the radio all the time. The perfect song for sitting in your room and wanting to kill yourself. Or getting drunk and contemplative and falling asleep under a tree. Best Line: "You need to understand, there's nothing fake about this." [buy it!]
	Stone Temple Pilots - Creep [from Core] Becks introduced me to this track, and we used to sit in her bedroom with a few beers and gossip. Despite the overactive drinking, it was one of the best times of my life. I'd never go back, though. Best Line: "Think you're kind of neat, then she tells me I'm a creep." [buy it!]
Bush - Glycerine [from Sixteen Stone] More of the same: Becks, beer, contemplation. We had a number of room parties that featured this song, and ten strangers cramped into a tiny hostel room, and midnight trips to Albert Park... Best Line: "Could have been easier on you, couldn't change though I wanted to." [buy it!]
	Nirvana - Lithium [from Nevermind] Classic album, this song was playing on the infamous FA Cup Final night in 1998, when I got completely thrashed, had a fake wedding at the pub, had my "honeymoon" interrupted by my in-house "brothers", and got feisty and fought church members in the middle of the night. Best Line: "I'm so happy because today I've found my friends..." [buy it]
Third Eye Blind - Losing A Whole Year [from Third Eye Blind] I think this song came out in 1998 too, and reminds me of Gump, an innocent second year engineer who suffered my drunken advances and lived to tell the tale. Bad Chelly. Best Line: "Well this drama is a bore, and I don't wanna play no more..." [buy it!]
	Metallica - Nothing Else Matters [from Metallica] Becks introduced me to Metallica, and in our quieter moments this was our anthem. Elle loves it too, so in the days when she visited, the three of us would get together and read fitness magazines and gossip and ogle Lars. Okay, that was me. Best Line: "All these words I don't just say, and nothing else matters." [buy it!]
Blur - On Your Own [from Blur] Our ultimate drinking anthem, Becks and I made this our official drinking song from the start. Great fun to be had while listening to Blur and getting giggly, and going on crazy escapades round the hostel. Best Line: "I dream to riot, oh you should try it..." [buy it!]
	Offspring - Self Esteem [from Smash] Becks' man introduced me to this song, and I loved it. At one point I went to the hostel basement to do my washing, screaming it at the top of my voice - and ran smack into Pete. Of all the crazy coincidences. I've never forgotten. Best Line: "The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care... right?" [buy it!]
Duncan Sheik - Wishful Thinking [from Great Expectations soundtrack] Becks and I went all the way to Newmarket to see this film, and it was crap. We were so disappointed we went home and... got really drunk. This song, however, is one of Vantle's old favourites, and she made me love it on one of my trips north. Best Line: "Oh no, there you go, looked away and missed the show..." [buy it!]

[back to Chelly's Tens]