Lost Ticker Tape

I discovered dancing at a works Christmas party in 2006. I know that sounds ridiculous but up to this point I had avoided dancing at all costs. Co-ordinating my limbs to the point that I would not cause anyone else an injury wasn't my strong point. I also think that being picked last at school for Social Dancing in PE was a big part of my fear of dancing as I inevitably ended up with the boy who was a foot taller than me and had a faint whiff of baked beans about his person. Anyway, back to this Christmas Party. I was dancing away after much coaxing from my friend H and suddenly noticed we were the only two people on the dance floor of the Grand Ballroom of this huge hotel and it all made sense. Neither of us cared that we were the only two people dancing, all we cared about was the music and dancing. We were new at the company so had nothing to lose other than dignity and our pride. Prior to this episode, being one of two people dancing would have sent me running for the bar bu...

The best presents I have had all year are CDs brought home to Scotland from Austin, Texas. There are 4 bands that I want to mention but Austin has a lot more to offer. I am not going to write any reviews, make what you will of the bands but I hope you at least tap your feet! I can imagine listening to Hollywood Gossip with driving up the west coast of Scotland on a sunny day and bah-bahing along or while dancing in the heat of National Pop League in June. Perfect indie-pop for the lazy days of summer. http://www.myspace.com/hollywoodgossipband Mary Jo by Brazos is a song that I just can't get out of my head at the moment. I'd love to listen to this song on a PA in a really big hall just to hear the echos of it. Have a wee listen. http://www.myspace.com/brazosbrazos http://www.brazosbrazos.com/ Voxtrot songs are made for indie discos in small darkened halls, listen to them turned up to 11. Go on....you know you want to....... http://www.myspace.com/voxtrot http://www.voxtrot.n...

Dust off that old vinyl and dig out those cassettes you stuffed at the back of a cupboard. Take some time on a Sunday afternoon, make a cup of tea and play the first piece of vinyl or the first cassette you ever bought. Do you remember how special it felt to bring it home, unwrap it and play it, all shiny and new for the very first time? I hope so. If not, try again. And if you still don't get it then sell all of the records and tapes you own, there's no hope for you. I think people have been so caught up in the accessibility of music and media online that the superior sound quality of vinyl compared to the standard MP3 doesn't get taken into consideration. Even cassette tapes have a depth and warmth that an Mp3 just doesn't have. The memories that a single tape can bring back are worth holding onto, the very first mixtape someone made just for you or songs recorded from the radio. I was fascinated at how music could be generated from vinyl and cassette tapes when I was...

Lost Ticker Tape is founded on tea and cake, dancing, the Scottish coast, hills, woods, Berlin, old analogue music machines, National Pop League, cassettes, whisky, records, wandering off, Skye, wellingtons, mixtapes, the Highlands and good music. The name relates to finding a piece of ticker tape long after the parade has ended that may bring back a fond memory of that day. I am a sentimental fool. This will be a place to share the things that I think we may have lost or are in danger of losing. I don't mean people. I mean the frivolous things you learn to love as a child and it's these things that you lose over time, through growing up and moving on and getting older. All of things you held dear that should endure but don't, a momentary return of things that are almost obsolete but also the new simple pleasures you discover with age. But there will be nods and waves to the new, new-fangled and fun! This is a little nudge from me to you to remember the simple pleasures ...