The saying goes that you wait around for a bus and two come along at once. This can also be said of songs. For a while, I have been missing that magic track from my playlist. My daily commute is usually two hours, but can be extended due to train delays or on the odd occasion working late and therefore missing the direct service to Slough. The routine has changed in recent months, I still listen to BBC Radio 2 in the morning, the final fifteen minutes of Lady V, as she passes on the baton to Christopher Evans at 6:30am. At the moment Moira Clare Ruby Stuart OBE is reading the headlines, I am usually crossing St. William Street heading down Brunel Way to the station. This is usually a good indication if I am going to miss my 06:35 train. Most of the time I make it, on the odd occasion I run, I usually miss the train and have to take the next available train to Reading which means a twelve-minute wait. On the return journey home, I listen to a podcast. First is usually This Week In Tech (TWIT) followed by Engadget on Tuesday or Wednesday. Both shows tend to cover similar topics but I found them both entertaining in their own way, with the latest views on bleeding-edge technology. Many episodes feature my current employer, making me want to pinch myself whenever they mention the word Microsoft.

Therefore, I have neglected music, which is a shame because I love music. There has just been a lack of any new material in recent months with that wow factor. That changed this weekend. I have probably said this before and I can guarantee this will not be the last time, but sometimes you hear a song and it feels like it was written for this exact moment in your life. I am not trying to be too melodramatic here, but after an emotional weekend that has been both draining but yet full of reflection, with our thoughts with those thousands of miles away. (5,369 miles as the crow flies to be precise)

I love pop music so therefore it would make sense that I like Katy Perry. Her recent releases from Teenage Dream have been moderately good in my opinion. Then I heard Wide Awake on the radio recently and I realised why she is such a great pop star. I know her material is not to everybody’s taste, including but not limited to our dearest Prime Minster – Mr. David Cameron. Do I really care? Of course not! There is nothing wrong with writing catchy songs for the radio which are fun! However, this was a major change of tone for the starlet, looking back at her recent marriage breakdown and various personal problems which I am sure have been well documented in the tabloid press. Very much a classic Perry number, with a catchy chorus and dramatic melody it is the content that offers so much. A rare insight into a character who tends to keep her private life out of the public eye. Not an easy task when you are married to a British wannabe rock star come television presenter with the delusions of becoming a major Hollywood actor.

Teenage Dream is one of my favourite songs of all time (not such as a song by Katy Perry) but at the time, the song was a reflection on past loves and an imminent lavish Indian wedding to Brand. Just over a year later, life has gone full circle and this song reflects on the emotional roller-coaster as the relationship breaks down, leaving her powerless and all alone. Life is hard but I agree sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are awake and living perhaps not a dream but a reality of sorts. Then what is the alternative?