Now, all music lovers would claim that they are musically diverse, practically anyone when questioned about their music taste would say ‘oh yeah I like most genres’ or ‘I listen to pretty much anything,’ but how true is it really? If you were to ask me about my musical taste I would instantly say, oh I listen to loads of different stuff, but do I? Time to find out. Enter shuffle. What follows are the first five songs from my iTunes when put on shuffle. Please shuffle; be kind, no Aqua today thank you.

Song 1: Space Between – Sia

This is a damn good album. Sia’s enormous hair may frustrate me because I just want to see her face as I am too nosey, but you can’t deny her performances and all of her videos are artistically wonderful. I actually googled This is Acting and discovered this is Sia’s seventh studio album, which is nuts. Mental note to check out the early stuff. My guess is Space Between is dictating some sort of romantic breakdown or break-up, ‘the space between is deafening.’ Melancholy lyrics and mournful tone end an eclectic album, which I totally love. Space Between is a vocally soaring ending to a riotous album, featuring my personal favourite Unstoppable which makes me feel I really can take on the entire world, probably single-handedly.

Song 2: Five Minutes to Midnight – Boys like Girls

Oh man I loved this band. Their follow up album was nowhere near as good as this one, they followed a more country vibe. A friend told me about them in college and I bought this album, the self-titled and slightly obvious Boys Like Girls, in Oxford on a University open day. I didn’t like the University and went shopping instead. The screeching guitars and mildly whiny vocals of lead singer Martin Johnson take me straight back to my college days. The opening to the chorus ‘turn it up, it’s five minutes to midnight’ instantly has me singing along and takes me back to the days when University was an idea and the world was my oyster. And you know I still know all the words to this entire album and will dance to it over enthusiastically at any opportunity.

Song 3: Lone Star – The Front Bottoms

The opening chords to this instantly take me back to my university house and my housemate who introduced to the wonder of The Front Bottoms. We saw them last year at a tiny sweaty gig at a venue in Southampton I had never heard of. People were screaming the lyrics to Lone Star. I was screaming the lyrics to Lone Star, even though I’d pretty much only learnt the words during the previous few days. ‘Get on your hands and knees and pray for us,’ is a sentiment we can all get behind and the song pretty much dictates my existential fear about pretty much most of my life. This entire album is just wonderful to put on loud in your car and scream to. It’s one I turn to when I’m losing who I am. And their band name will always make me giggle. I love the front butts.

Song 4: The Fantasy – 30 Seconds to Mars

Oh that opening guitar. I will forever love 30 Seconds, despite how much people may say they hate Jared Leto, he is a wonderful specimen and his vocals on this album are wonderful in my eyes. This was the soundtrack to my ‘alternative’ days when I was about 15. I loved Blink, 30 Seconds, Muse, knew all the words to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous album and was about to fall in love with American Idiot. The heavy guitar and soaring vocals at the end of this track have me swaying along and I play the music video to The Kill over in my brain. Oh how I love (yes still love, I don’t care if he was a bad Joker, this album was my life) 30 Seconds. This was their glory phase and I still have this album on CD and would have it in my car if only my car had a CD player.

Song 5: I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper

This is such a classic. Oh how I wanted to be Cyndi Lauper when I was younger, all that hair and heavy eye make-up and questionable tutu choices. She had all the sass that I desired in my childhood. And come on, girls do just wanna have fun. I would sing the lyrics to I Drove All Night probably before I even knew what ‘making love to you all night’ actually meant. But it’s just so damn romantic! And I am nothing but a romantic at heart. Though I guess here Cyndi is pretty much demanding her lover sleeps with her just because she drove all this way. But she does ask ‘if that’s alright’ at least. And I had her vocal range when I was younger so that instantly made her one of my idols.

So maybe we’re not all musically diverse, but you had a wee glimpse into my 80s childhood, alternative music foray in school, a quick swing by college and my existential crisis music of University. You can say what you want about music, but it’s never dull. And shuffle brings up a few classics. My eternal thanks to shuffle for putting Madonna as song number 6 so it didn’t feature here.