Self-congratulatory birthday post

Wow! I made it to 44. Who'd've thunk it? I know most people couldn't care less how long I've been loitering in and out of existence, often living on the fringes of what many regard as 'normal', but it's OK here. Some of the time. The rest of the time I have music to give me peace.

I'm giving you some reggae today as I don't post nearly enough. I think I might start a reggae series in the autumn. The family rabbit Eric (pictured) likes reggae. He'll often hop out into the kitchen, sit on his shoebox and chill out to some heavy bass-fuelled riddims while I'm cooking or something. Even the animals in our house have good music taste. So I'm dedicating something to the furry wee blighter - the rather aptly-named Kiko Bun. He's from London but is half Panamanian and half Italian. Of course, that can mean only one thing - he makes brilliant, authentic-sounding roots reggae. If you visit his Soundcloud page, you'll find a number of his tunes, including So Mysterious.

Big Youth is an absolute legend, and his version of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? is a corker. He manages to integrate a bit of Mercy Mercy Me into it too. Linton Kwesi Johnson is another legend. I once chose to write about Inglan Is A Bitch when I did my English A-Level. It was in a poetry book on the syllabus. I didn't realise I had to read it aloud to the class though. It's written in Jamaican patois and I sounded utterly ridiculous.

And to finish with, one of the greatest legends of them all - Toots Hibbert with his Maytals. In 2012, he released a really rather brilliant album called 'Live On Strawberry Hill' on which he reinterprets a batch of his classics as live acoustic versions. I've gone for Monkey Man, but to be honest, that was a random choice as the whole damn record is just freaking amazing. The bass in this is LOUD! Yes!

Wish me luck in my 45th year. Let's do this again next summer.


Soundtrack:

• So Mysterious - Kiko Bun (Soundcloud release)
• What's Going On? - Big Youth (from 'Hit The Road, Jack')
• Inglan Is A Bitch - Linton Kwesi Johnson (from 'Bass Culture')
• Monkey Man - Toots & The Maytals (from 'Live On Strawberry Hill')