Patrick Leigh-Pemberton: “Housey” Music Heaven

Recently, I found a preference for listening to music while working in the library. I’m not too sure why, since the symphony of tapping typists and whispering gigglers has never […]


Recently, I found a preference for listening to music while working in the library. I’m not too sure why, since the symphony of tapping typists and whispering gigglers has never really bothered me before. However, I imagine it is because I found my headphones.

Upon these new working conditions, I have discovered the following about myself: When I am reading, the music can be whatever I want to listen to, but when I am writing, it has to be music without lyrics. This development has led to me cultivating a taste for “housey” music. I call it “housey” music, because the proliferation of different sub genres gives me a headache, and trying to explain to someone what you like is just a bit too much (ie. “Well, I started out listening to big room stuff, but recently I have really got to grips with the liquid deep future synthless wicca house that is coming from Swansea”)

So, let’s just call it “housey” music.

This appreciation of “housey” music has led to a great new game, along with a fascinating realisation. When on Youtube and browsing for free housey music listening opportunities, I began to notice that every other video on the side bar has a pretty girl in it. Sometimes she may pose provocatively some sort of bikini, other times she may not. But, she will be there.

Most often, I don’t click on these videos for fear that someone might accuse me of objectifying women. I avoid these videos for days for fear of the shame of someone walking past me in the library and seeing it on my screen and thinking “What an outrageous perv”. But sometimes, I do click on that link and find the music, which I have been avoiding because of the video, turns out to be really good. By really good, I mean the sort of music that can work really well in three situations:

1.  A sunny Hotel lounge in the Mediterranean, which places impossibly white towels on the garden furniture.

2. Sunrise on a small, secluded beach, also in the Mediterranean.

3. Writing an essay on early 20th century photographers in the South-Eastern corner of the top floor of the library.

It’s awesome. There are saxophones and synths. It was then I realised I had been cutting myself off from a slew of seriously satisfying songs simply because of my own guilt.

Here is where the game comes in and it is one in which I have been losing myself for some time now. The game is to try and work out if the prettiness of the girl in the video is directly linked to how good the music is. I promise it is a really intriguing game. However, when you get to the level of trying to work out if you like a song more because the girl in the video is pretty, you have been playing too long.