21 Days of Music 2: Electric Bugaloo & What Music Means To You

We are back for our second year of 21 Days of Music. A musical exploration in honour of my grandfather Ronald McCrudden, this year we will be looking at more of his favourite artists as well as exploring some of our own. Music has always been a big part of my life and even more so in the last year.

I will be honest this last year has been rough, losing my grandfather just over a year ago was one of the most devastating moments of my life and I don’t think I will ever recover. Many people have told me that there is no time limit on grief and that is so very true. It’s not a straight line but a process of ups and downs, of good days and bad, of happy moments and utter heartbreak. I miss him every day, he was my rock, my best friend and my father figure. I miss his hugs, his laughter, and even his asking me the same question five times in the space of 10 minutes, I miss it all.

I’m just over a year in and it hasn’t got any easier but what we do here at Lace ‘Em Up, which celebrates the things we love and hold each other up when things get tough, that’s the antithesis of who he was. So this year let’s make these 21 days of music even better than last year and hear from all of us how important music has been and what it means to us.

“What Does Music Mean To Me?” 

AMBER MCCRUDDEN: Music means everything to me, it is the one thing in my life that no matter what has never disappointed or left me. My love for music is deeply tied to my memories and my family. My Grandpa was my first teacher, one of my earliest memories is hearing The Beatles for the first time, I think it was at Christmas and I was obsessed. I listened to his 1 album, which was a complication album, on repeat. I put it in his music system, popped on his headphones and escaped into this beautiful magical storyland. I liked the music but oh, it was the lyrics that got me.

From there I explored musical theatre, Phantom of the Opera was the first big one, followed by CATS and Jesus Christ Superstar, my nan embraced this and allowed me to explore this new love. We went to musicals and I had videos. Musical theatre appealed to my dark sensibility, love for storytelling and in the case of Jesus Christ Superstar, fascination with religion, I was hooked.

My second teacher was my mum, we always had music on in the house, and we still do, I explored so many different genres and eras from Motown to New Romantic to Punk and everything in between. Her teacher was her father, my grandpa, and she taught me what he knew and then what she knew too. I have explored every genre and I can find good in it all, my best times have been surrounded by music. If I wanna cry, if I wanna scream, if I wanna laugh and if I’m falling in love, there will always be a song for me to listen to.

Music to me is magical, it is life, it is everything. It keeps me going and is one of the few languages and art forms everyone can connect to.

CRAIG: Throughout my entire life, I have only ever been able to rely on one thing: music. Listening to music has always helped me escape from whatever is happening in my personal life, be it little disagreements or upsetting life events. I have always been able to rely on music. I fully believe that, without music, I would not still be around. Certain songs have saved my life on multiple occasions. What does music mean to me? It means I’m still here and I am so grateful for it

GRIFFIN KAYE: In answering the question of what music means to me, it is important to look at the importance of different musicians. The music that changed everything from a personal standpoint was Simon and Garfunkel, who I first stumbled across in my early teens. It was something quite unique to me at that point, from which my discovery into the musical jungle was sparked.

I cannot quite say I have ever had the emotional connection – whether sentimental, philosophical, etc. – to music as others but that is not discount the importance of a wealth of different musical genres from rock ‘n’ roll to folk to alternative. To use a cliché, I do truly believe music has the power to inspire and influence creativity; creativity the world would be a much more grey and bounded place without.

As for music’s meaning, I refer to the late, great singer-songwriter Tom Petty: “Music is probably the one real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.”  

JEFF: Music is something special. It can change your mood, your life, and your way of thinking. As a neurodivergent, music takes on a whole different meaning and has a greater impact on my psyche. No matter my mood, there is something out there that can either help improve it or something to keep it going. To say that music is important to me is an understatement. There is just something special about a medium that can illicit so many different emotions and feelings in the audience.

STEVE SWIFT: Music means work, increasingly. It’s a strange balance between enjoying new music with a frisson of energy because I’m getting to hear it early, but a worry because the mags I work with have deadline dates. But there’s little better feeling than finding a band you didn’t know about who hit your pleasure centers and make you smile all day.

Any music can do it, much music does it. Music was my first love, and it will be my last, repeat to fade…