The music of the future

When I am in Zurich I always stay in the same hotel (http://www.zuerichberg.ch/en/home.asp). It is tucked away in the outskirts of the city by the zoo. It’s nice to feel a bit cut off from everything – the proximity of a huge forest and not having English TV channels such as the BBC or any real internet connection only adds to that feeling. As a consequence I typically watch MTV when I’m getting ready in the morning before work. When I was watching MTV on Friday it was clear to me that we’re at the start of the summer because there are currently lots of catchy tunes such as Flo Rida’s Whistle or Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe being played. On Friday I was reminded of this time of year when I was 18 and went to Majorca with a group of school friends after we had finished our A Level exams. The equivalent song at that time which has always stayed with me is Born Slippy from the film Trainspotting. What I like about this genre of music is the optimism which it instills in me. I hear a series of tunes like that and I hanker for being 18 again – or at least at an age, or a phase of life, where you feel like the world is your oyster, that all avenues are still open, that your future isn’t completely defined and mapped out for you, that there is still everything out there to do, achieve and play for. That’s a precious feeling. Although it may not be my reality at 34 with three small children, I’m always keen to go to my hotel in Zurich at this time of year to be reminded of that feeling.