Climbing Songs Part 5 - The Top 5!

5. Radiohead – High and Dry – Fiona H

The second of two Radiohead songs here.  Excellent choice, “High and Dry” is exactly what I hope I’ll be on Sunday as it means that Sure, indeed, didn’t let me down.

4. Oasis – Wonderwall – Lisa

People who know me (Cath) will know that I don’t really do dancing but I did make an exception for this song when my friend Jane and I went to the Canaries because in the 90s, dancing to Wonderwall was required by law.  I couldn’t understand though why everyone was looking at my boobs – I mean, they’re not bad but Jane’s were better, frankly.  Then I realised, I’d worn the same top to the beach – sun cream, sand and the club’s ultraviolet lights had led to a perfect hand print on each one.  There was nothing to do but pretend it was deliberate.

3. U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – Becky B

I’m so glad Becky chose this song because is my favourite song. Ever. And it may well be played at my funeral because I daresay I still won’t have found what I’m looking for then.  So what’s the connection with climbing?  Well, apart from the fact that we’ll be probably both be looking in vain for the top of the wall, we are both looking for something else – I’m looking to squeeze something good out of something that is pretty much entirely horrible and Lisa is looking for hope for children like Robyn, something that we all want, of course.

ISHFWILF was a gospel song from the start but it really became something else when the Harlem gospel choir became involved and although various versions exist – the original church recording is pretty damned good – there is only one version for me, the one that was recorded in Madison Square Gardens in 1987 and appears on Rattle and Hum.  Here it is:

2. Madness – One Step Beyond – Lisa

Thoroughly appropriate this song, not just because it’s one of Fi’s all-time favourites and if she says a song is cool then it most probably is but also because it sums up exactly what we will have to do on Sunday.  Chances are we’ll climb about 5 feet or so and then the “Oh heck” moment will come where we realise we’ve still got a hell of a way to go and our limbs aren’t working any more.  So for the remaining 995 feet (OK, I exaggerate a little), we’ll have to take just one more step and repeat.

And here it is, the one you’ve been waiting for:

1. Pink Floyd – The Wall – Chris M

“We don’t need no educasyhon…” to which our parents all said, “Double negative, oh the irony,” except my dad who caused us eternal shame by liking the song and getting what it was all about.  This album forms a significant part of the soundtrack to my life and it’s well worth watching the film not only because it’s thoroughly brilliant but you get to see Bob Geldof* looking even more haggard than you ever thought possible.

Of course, the best song from that album was Comfortably Numb, which is what Lisa and I will hope to be when we’re safely back home and cracking open the wine.  However, the link with climbing is fairly tenuous, so The Wall it is.

*Just Googled it to make sure I wasn’t having a Heather Small/Melissa Bell moment and yes, it was Bob.