Happy Belated Birthday, T...!

This post is largely redundant (in more ways than one), especially since T's birthday was a good two days ago. However, I am going to ignore that minor technicality and cling to the hope that it really is better late than never.


I have known T for quite a long time, in fact it was on her birthday last year that I first spoke to her. Well, that's not entirely true; I called her, and she put me on voicemail. Needless to say, my planned smooth dialogue promptly fell to pieces when faced with the silence of a voicemail.


Despite this, we had been in contact for a long time via email, which all started due to her rather shady comment she posted here.(You'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom; on a side note, wow I used to get a lot of comments!) As it turned out (and much to my disappointment, I must add), it was a song request. I was very touched, and most of our correspondence from then on was always centered around the music I did, and suggestions for new covers. I remember smiling to myself when she suggested some extremely difficult songs, as she seemed convinced I could sing anything. The most famous ones though will always be the 'mystery songs' she heard while smoking up in Jamaica, the ones she would have told me about if only she could remember!


While she has been one of my biggest fans, she has also been one of my harshest critics, and I think perhaps that made me respect her opinion even more. I would later find out that she was head groupie/music critic for the band LBW, a very talented local band over in the States, and so she was no rookie at this.


Over the last year, she has gone from an anonymous blogger to someone who will forever be rooted in a special corner of my heart. We meet people every day that we sometimes laugh at, sometimes forget. Rarely do we find those unique people that challenge us in the way T has done to me. Rarely do we find people with a face (the horror!) like hers either, but that's another story entirely...


So, when she first stumbled across this song and told me how much she loved it, I think it was only natural I should attempt to cover it for her, seeing as I lost the keys to my private jet and wouldn't be able to be there for her big non-birthday. While I am always wary of my own music, forever analysing and over-analysing each minute note and bar, her reaction when she first heard it, and her subsequent reactions to every other listen, easily erase any technical faults I may find in it.


So, happy birthday T. Thank you for the wonderful, wicked, whirlwind year we had together so far, the scandalous adventures, the heart-warming moments, the lows and the dizzying highs. Here's to many more years of face-jokes, failed attempts at dieting and generous dissing of the world in general.


Much love (and a slice of cheesecake, 'cos we both know you prefer that!)


G

If you want to download the audio, just click here.