Memory. The appreciation of music and memory can sometimes be very closely related. Fond memories, if connected to a certain piece of music that doesn’t, shall we say, float your boat, can make you much more forgiving of, and perhaps even make you wind up loving. And likewise too, bad memories can sometimes have a similar opposing effect. Take me for example. When I was very young I had a profoundly disturbing experience with the film Jaws that, for many years afterwards, sent a chill through me every time I heard the Ian Dury and the Blockheads song ‘Hit Me With your Rhythm Stick’ on the radio. It was 1978 and I was 5 years old. The film, actually, was the exploitative fifth rate sequel, ‘Jaws 2’ that, by the way, doesn’t come recommended and which my parents had taken me to see at the erstwhile cinematic establishment, ‘The ABC’ on Lothian Road, and I remember being so excited about going to see this film that I could barely contain myself, running ahead, like 5 year olds do, with boundless enthusiasm. But the evening didn’t, shall we say, pan out quite like I had hoped. Though given a PG rating I think maybe I was a tad too young to see the film because I cried my little lungs out all the way through, ruining the evening, I suspect, for all concerned. But what does all this have to do Ian Dury I hear you say. Well, when we got home that evening, the said cinematic experience, imprinting, with every passing moment, deep scars on my still blossoming psyche, was still very much in my thoughts and left me, and I say this without exaggeration, in a state of unbridled terror, anticipating the dreaded moment that my parents would tell me to go to that cold dark bedroom all alone. Not an inviting thought, especially after having seen 'Jaws 2'. Why? Carpet sharks that why, and when your 5 years old you do truly believe in the phenomenon of carpet sharks with unswerving conviction. Carpet sharks are a menace to 5 year olds the world over and only come out when the lights are switched off, biting the legs off unsuspecting children who are foolish enough to leave their legs hanging out the bed when they go to sleep, and when your 5 years of age, carpet sharks a big fucking deal believe you me. So there I am, sitting cross legged in front of the telly, petrified by the horrifying projection of the inevitable future that awaited me, watching, in despair, Top of the Pops. Guess who was at Number 1 that week? And, though I can’t recall as such, I think also Elton John’s ‘Song for Guy’ must have been on at the time too, because, even now, it still has a similar, but thankfully much less pronounced, psychological effect. Such associations, however, can be replaced, and I now, because of more recent and much more favourable developments, love ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’ and can listen to it as often as I like without recoiling in horror. But, all this aside, ‘Jaws’ is a treat for film and music lovers alike, representing a high-water mark for original film scores. I’m sure most of you have seen Jaws already but do watch it again, this time with your ears, paying special attention, in particular, to the famous final third of the film. It really is a landmark in cinematic orchestration as, in the very capable hands of John Williams, we see monstrous horror give way to majestic awe.

• published: 29 Feb 2016
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