The Throwback Tuesday weekly post is a opportunity for me to revisit the good, cheesy, forgotten or essential parts of music, film, tv and books from my childhood, the past few years or the generations/eras/works of art that have influenced my life in some way.
Ok so this is like the 3rd music related throwback post in a row and I promise I will go for something completely different next week but this week’s track really needed to happen. Obviously as you know I went to Paris for my birthday and you know one of my favourite bands are Friendly Fires and they just happen to have a track called ‘Paris’ and I’m sure you don’t need me to explain the rest for you.
So without further ado, this week’s throwback track is ‘Paris’ by Friendly Fires.
This time when I went to the French capital I went with my mum so I didn’t really listen to many songs while I was there but on the way it was a highlight of my travelling playlist. However, last time I went when I was backpacking around Europe a couple of years ago, it was a track I listened to a hell of a lot while walking around the city streets.
It may be totally cliche to listen to a song called ‘Paris’ when in Paris like listening to ‘New York, New York’ by Frank Sinatra when in New York but there really was something quite special about that track in that city. One night as I walked back from dinner to my hostel I sat in a square which was next to a busy road and the Gare De L’Est station and I just watched the world go by, busy Parisians rushing home, others strolling along on dates or with nowhere specific to go. The sun set and it turned quite dark while I was sat there just listening to that track and really taking in all of Paris and it’s people in one of the best possible ways you can take in a city. I always feel like you get more out of visiting a city sometimes by just sitting somewhere and watching and taking it all in than storming round the city trying to snap pictures of every famous landmark.
Now whenever I listen to that song it is not only a track I really love but it reminds me of my time in Paris, the good times I had there, the lovely food I ate and that evening sat taking in all of Paris and what it has to offer. Sometimes putting a soundtrack to a trip or a memory really helps you to remember it more, like smells reminding you of certain things you may have otherwise forgotten. I know that this is the case here and that is why Paris was a standout of my trip then and remains one of my favourite cities that I’ve ever visited now.
Mixtape Couture 