Memes...

Well here goes: having been 'tagged' - oh all these new words she's learning - Granny will try and answer these questions.

Music on computer? None. She merely feeds in cds to play directly or else listens to BB C radio 3 online as now, or Spanish classical radio, offline.

2. Last CD bought? Jordi Savall's Villancicos y Danzas Criollas - one among many recordings recently of early music from the Spanish occupation of Latin America - which incorporate - wonderfully - sounds and rhythms of indigenous music alongside the European - Spanish - baroque and pre-baroque forms.

3. Favourite songs? Granny here has to admit to being quite unreasonably ecletic; a fancy way of saying her likings spans the lowest grade of pop, via rock, jazz, folk, bluegrass, blues, Indian classical, African music from all over the continent, latin American ditto - you name it. And above all classical... Difficult to separate out 'songs' from Haydn quarters, opera, etc etc. And she can't possibly limit it to 5. Her totally unmusical dad did like what he called 'a good tune' - she inherits that, along with liking for more sophisticated stuff. The pop comes in here - most of it evokes too particular people and particular times of her life. Let's start at the bottom and move upwards (or at top and move downwards...)

1. Rolling Stones - Have you seen your mother, baby, standing in the shadows?
2 Don Maclean. American Pie. (Sung too full voice, often, by middle grandaughter when aged 4, following Madonna's recording
3. Sugar Sugar sung by a non-existant group (except for this song) The Archies.
4. Anything sung by Cesara Evora
5. Almost anything from South Africa, Mozambique, Mali; starting with the South African National Anthem - Nkosi, etc, which makes me cry; still
6. Anything by Jimi Hendrix,
7. ditto Janis Joplin

Lots of more recent stuff too heard in which I can't name because it passes in and out - the problem of ageing. Head stuffed with far too much. Guess all the above dates me: who cares.

Classical (at the moment)
1: song by Tarquinio Merula, sung by fabulous singer, Monserrat Figueres (wife of Jordi Savall, above) Folle e ben che si crede - on CD Arie e Capriccio which has enchanted anyone I've ever played it to - to the extent I don't currently have a copy because I gave mine to the last person.
2Duet from Handel's L'allegro, il penseroso ed il Moderato. Can't name it. CD's in London! Both these so langorous - tender - she melts.
3 opera All of Verdi's Falstaff, Berg's Lulu, Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte, Last Act of Wagner's Valkerie.
4. Szymonowski's Stabat Mater.
5. All of Haydn's opus 76 quartets...

Is this cheating? Probably. Too bad.