Somewhere Between Notting Hill and Summers That Never End
From childhood memories and first crushes to soundtracks that still feel like home, Adil's picks reflect a listener who experiences music as both a time machine and a lifelong companion, no matter how many summers have passed.
Adil (@landof_dreams83) approaches the May 31 to June 4 prompts with the kind of music taste that rarely exists separately from memory. His selections move between endless summers, first crushes, childhood nostalgia, movie soundtracks, and artists he's continued discovering long after most people would have considered them familiar territory. Across the prompts, songs and albums become attached to places, people, feelings, and specific moments in time that remain just as vivid years later.
The prompts offer a closer look at the different ways music has accompanied Adil throughout his life. One asks him to associate an album with a season, leading to a record that captures the feeling of summer for him, even though it was released during winter. Another focuses on an LGBTQI+ artist and brings back memories of an unspoken crush from years ago. A different prompt turns toward an album cover he would have liked to witness the creation of, and his response transports him back to childhood. In the following prompt, he talks about an artist he's still discovering years later, while the final prompt lands on a movie soundtrack that's become inseparable from nostalgia, friendship, and growing up.
Which album do you associate with a specific season?
Although the album was released in winter (November, 2001 to be precise) the overall vibe screams SUMMER to me. The instruments used, certain lyrics, along with the music videos for the singles tantalises those senses and feelings of that wonderful brimful sunny days soaking up the sun rays while listening to or singing aloud to tracks such as “That Day,” “Wrong Impression,” “Do You Love?”
The track, “Sunlight” is the DNA of this album. “Did you ever feel sunlight on your face? Did you ever taste clouds? Did you ever touch space? Did you ever truly live?!” sings Natalie, exuberantly encouraging to live life and push those boundaries. To me it says make the most of summer before it ends. Being in the UK, the time frame of the sun’s presence is limited so one needs to make the most of it!
Songs like “Satellite,” “Beauty on the Fire,” “Everything Goes,” “Talk In Tongues” are great chill songs for late afternoons in the garden, or evenings with the windows wide open feeling the summer breeze against one’s skin.
What's a song by an LGBTQI+ artist that everyone should hear?
A deep cut from Ricky Martin’s self-titled first Spanglish album, “Be Careful (Cuidado Con Mi Corazon),” and it’s a duet with…. no other than Madonna! This song is on another level and should’ve been a single for the world to connect with and appreciate. The music video would’ve been epic and the song itself stands out from the get go.
It’s a slow jam but my gosh it hits hard within seconds with William Orbit’s production, think of Madonna’s “Frozen” and All Saints’ “Black Coffee.” I love the fragility of the song… we can feel so vulnerable when in love because you pour your inner self to someone at a risk and this song captures that feeling so well.
This song came at a time when I had a crush on someone. I remember playing this particular track on loop in my CD player and trying to pluck enough courage to tell my crush. I never did as I was too afraid. I didn’t even give them the chance to have to be careful with my heart.
I’ve always found Ricky fun, exciting, and of course pleasing to the eye, but this song got me into him even more. Although Ricky is mainly known for his uptempo bops, I’ve always enjoyed his ballads just as much. His voice brings out the emotions really well, such as his single “Private Emotions,” which couldn’t have been more relevant to me.
Which album cover would you have wanted to witness its creation?
This is my fave Madonna album to date. It defines what a masterpiece sounds like, and the tracklist—all 9 of them—are single-worthy. The album is fun, reflective, melodic, and POP in its purest form. The album had 5 iconic singles: “True Blue,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “Live to Tell,” “Open Your Heart,” and “La Isla Bonita,” which instantly gets me up on my feet to do the Flamenco. Track 5, “Where’s the Party,” gets me in that Friday feeling mood, while the last track, “Love Makes the World Go Round,” is still relevant today with all the political rage around the globe.
The album overall takes me back to the good times of the 80s when I was a young boy dancing around with my mum to the songs from this album. I vividly remember my mum having the same haircut as Madonna on the True Blue album cover. Every time I listen to True Blue, it transports me back to an era, a moment, a feeling, the fashion, the trends of the 80s, and even a scent! Yes, that smell of what I can only describe as malted biscuits in our neighbourhood. The album clearly has a very vivid and strong attachment to a chapter in my life.
Although True Blue is nostalgic and reminiscent of the 80s, it’s aged like fine wine. No wonder why, after all these years and among her 14 studio albums, True Blue is still her best-selling album and much-talked-about era, which is a testament to the masterpiece that True Blue is. It’s an era that’s inspired many artists, including one of my utmost fave UK female singers, Louise, who replicated the True Blue album cover as part of her 4th album, Heavy Love campaign.
Going back to the question, I would’ve loved to witness the creation of the album cover that’s still considered ICONIC and be present in the making of something that’s legendary!
Which R&B artist are you vibing to these days?
I’m a 90s boy and what better time to experience the R&B genre than in the 90s and early millennium when R&B was ever so evolving thanks to the artists of that time pushing the boundaries in sound, beats and collaborating with other world music and sound to come up with songs and albums that are truly groundbreaking, at times authentic, and of course, iconic. Artists and producers such as Missy, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Brandy, Aaliyah and many others really churned out outstanding works of art… one of them being Janet Jackson!
I’m embarrassed to say that I discovered Janet way later, like seven studio albums later! Before then I just knew her as Michael Jackson’s sister, but had never heard any of her stuff until she dropped her music video for “All for You.” The teenager me was completely captivated by the visual and dance routine to the song. All for You is the first album I had ever owned of hers!
Her songs have the ability to put me in a trance, where I actually just get lost and dance away to the hardcore beats passionately. She’s a great dancer and so that is clearly reflected in her upbeat songs because as soon as Janet is playing, I’m switched on as a performer, the body takes over and automatically tune itself to the beats of the song like one tuning a radio to a music station of their taste. On the other side, she has the capability to get you really relaxed with her slow jams, setting your mind free to fantasy.
I find myself recently exploring Janet’s back catalogue and jamming to her songs right from the 80s to her most recent album. I’m enjoying the process of truly discovering Janet and seeing the growth in her sound, vocals, vision, and dance. Thanks to YouTube where I can easily watch all of her music videos and just appreciate the talent that she is. An artist in her own right, not just Michael’s sister!
I’m looking forward to seeing what she has to offer with her upcoming and anticipated new music rumoured to be dropping later this year!
What’s a soundtrack you keep coming back to?
Without a second thought, I would choose the soundtrack to the classic British movie Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. I’ve probably seen this movie more than 15 times (so far) and the music behind it enhances the emotions of the storytelling. It’s a well-curated collection of songs by brilliant artists, from Shania Twain’s “You’ve Got A Way” from her iconic album Come on Over, to Elvis Costello’s “She,” which to me is the optimum song to describe such Hollywood glamour like Julia Roberts. Then there is the classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” covered by the Lighthouse Family, “No Matter What” from Boyzone, and another song from the UK boyband Another Level, the ballad “From the Heart.” And who can forget “In Our Lifetime” by Texas.
The lead single by Ronan Keating, “When You Say Nothing At All,” is such a pop royalty tune! Even now when it comes up on the radio, it instantly gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. The accompanying music video set in the park on that bench with extras communicating without words pays great respect to the meaning of the song! It’s just pure class! A music video from the 90s at its best.
So before Love Actually or Bridget Jones’s Diary, there was Notting Hill showcasing the wittiness and British humour so well, the beauty of iconic locations in London, and the wonderful way of storytelling across a soundtrack that brings it all alive so well. The soundtrack is an encapsulation of the great music of the 90s and takes me back to the time when I was living with my parents and that excitement of going to the movie with friends, feeling that little bit independent to a certain degree!
I’ve been eagerly waiting for the repressing of this soundtrack on vinyl so I can enjoy, reminisce, and appreciate the collection of songs from such a classic movie.
I’ll leave you with THEE classic line of all classic lines. This is when Julia’s character says to Hugh’s character near the end of the movie, which still gets me and I can’t seem to say it without feeling emotional:
“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love me.”
Adil talks about music the way people talk about lifelong friends. Certain albums helped shape the person he became, certain songs still carry memories from decades ago, and some artists continue revealing new things every time he returns to them. A Natalie Imbruglia album becomes summer itself. A Madonna record brings back memories of his mum. A Ricky Martin duet recalls a crush he never confessed to.
The dancefloors may have been replaced with living rooms and kitchens, but he's still dancing and feeling forever free. As a father, music now accompanies a different chapter of life, but the ritual remains much the same. He still gets excited opening a new record, reading the credits, and studying the artwork. No matter how many summers have passed, music continues to provide the same things it always has: joy, comfort, confidence, escape, and a way of revisiting the chapters of life that shaped him.
A record collector and passionate music fan who believes some of life's best memories are found somewhere between a favorite album, a cup of tea, and a record spinning in the background.
