I Should Coco - Supergrass

For most people the thought of decorating comes with a pang of anguish. No not anguish....misery. For most people it's a chore that has to be endured rather than enjoyed. Me? Well for me it's an excuse to get some tunes on the stereo and splash paint around.

My decorating technique has had its fair share of criticism. Like the time I decided to paint the kitchen and to make the task easier I put the entire contents in the back garden. Why work around stuff when you could just dump it in the garden? For me decorating is like an Olympic event - first one to finish over the line wins, no matter how much mess you make in the process. And so, on a sunny spring day, I set about painting the town red... well the kitchen summer primrose. Or to any men reading this....yellow. Sarah had left for work and I was off. In both senses of the expression. Her leaving was my starting gun for a day off work decorating.

Within an hour I had the kitchen contents in the garden and a huge canvas on which to start my daubing. Well I say daubing but my style is closer to throwing. Give me a clear space and I'll demonstrate the art of speed decorating.

An hour or two later.... Ok 1:54:42.... it was done and I'd set a new record for decorating the kitchen of a Barratt house. One that was never going to be broken, at least not if Sarah had anything to do with it. Ok so what if there was a little more paint on the floor than on the walls? You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. The sun was still shining so I went upstairs to get a wash before refilling the kitchen with its contents. Sarah was going to get such a surprise.....

......as did I when I came downstairs not fifteen minutes later to find the contents of the kitchen soaking wet. In the time it took to wash off the results of my efforts the had been a huge rainstorm. It's fair to say that whilst some of the items were no worse off, a little cleaner even, this could not be said for the microwave, toaster and other kitchen electrical related apparatus. Blast this English weather.

Then there were earlier decorating events. Most people, when they invite mates around for the weekend would get roaringly drunk and eat pizza. Not us. On many occasions my mates would come and visit for the weekend and decorate. Life in the fast lane. But we had a great time. Or at least I think we did - I've never really had the courage to ask!

'I Should Coco' was one of those albums that was on the soundtrack to one of those earlier events and listening to it always reminds me of summer in Headingley, brush in hand, chewing the fat with my mates whilst we set about updating one of the rooms in our first house. Against the clock obviously!

It's a great album with some great British songwriting. 'Caught By The Fuzz', 'Alright', 'Time' being just three great examples. Something as joyously chaotic and upbeat deserves to be on everyone's decorating playlist.

Just be careful where you splash paint and watch for those storm clouds!