Those who are not in the UK may not have heard of this long-running programme on BBC Radio 4. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Island_Discs: Imagine you are going to be a guest on this show. List the eight pieces of music, the book and the luxury item you would choose. It would be good if you could also say a little bit about why you have chosen each of them (but you don't have to).
Rather than just choosing eight songs that I like, I decided to include some that mean a lot to me for various reasons, to make this a bit more interesting Elton's song - Elton John I first heard this song when I was about 17 or 18 and had a major crush on a boy that I saw at the railway station when going to college each week. I didn't know his name and never spoke to him, and almost certainly did not even know I existed. This song summed up exactly how I felt at the time Dance with my father - Luther Vandross I first heard this just after my dad died, and it just seemed to fit how I felt, and even more how my mum felt. The line "Dear Lord she is dying to dance with my father again" always brings a tear to my eye. Precious Memories - Ann Williamson It is most unlikely that many of you will know this song and even less likely that you will have heard of Ann Williamson. This track came from one of those budget CDs from a market stall by almost unknown singers. However it was my dad's favourite CD during the last year of his life, and this song (and another from the same CD) was played at his funeral. Objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are - Meat Loaf I have always liked the big ballad rock tracks produced by Jim Steinman and preformed by Meat Loaf. I think this track, from Bat Out Of Hell 2, is one of their finest. Summerlove Sensation - Bay City Rollers When I was about 10 or 11 I loved the Bay City Rollers. They were a manufactured band (much like current boy-bands) who had numerous hits in the UK with remarkably similar pop tunes. They were designed to appeal to teenage girls and generated levels of hysteria that had not been seen since the Beatles in the 60s. This is a typical example of their music. Our Last Song Together - Neil Sedaka When I was in my teens and early 20s I used to listen to a local radio station from Portsmouth called Radio Victory. I have always been a keen radio listener, and this was the first station I become attached to. In 1986 they closed, which upset me quite a lot at the time. This is the last song they played. Beachwood 4-5789 - The Carpenters The Carpenters are another group I have always really liked. Karen's voice is almost magical. They have produced lots of excellent tracks so it is difficult to choose just one. This is one of their more cheerful numbers. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen I still remember the first time I saw the video for this, on the small black-and-white television in the common room at boarding school. At that time music videos were rare, and those that were produced were generally just recordings of live or television appearances, used when the group or artist could not appear live. Bohemian Rhapsody broke the mould and was one of the first proper pop videos, and we were all amazed by what we had just seen. The record was number one in the charts for nine weeks. BOOK - The Outsiders by S E Hinton I read this when I was in my late teens, having bought it just on the basis of the picture of a group of lads on the cover. It is very well written and is one of those books that works on several levels. You could just consider the chain of events, which gives you pretty much what the movie was. But there is more depth to the characters than that, and on each reading I find more. I have not read it for a few years so my time on the island would be a good time to read it again. LUXURY ITEM - A computer with an internet connection My link to the outside world. This one item could help me pass many hours with information, entertainment and company.
I am so totally going to cheat and keep going until I run out of songs... Possession—Sarah McLachlan SM's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was the first music I ever had sex to, and this track is definitely one of the most meaningful in my life, being on that album and about longing/yearning. Saturday Night—Whigfield This is the song that was playing the very first time I danced with a bunch of my gay friends and it was the first time I felt like I belonged to some kind of community. White Flag—Dido I love Dido and this song particularly because it pretty much sums up how I feel about one of the guys who was most important in my life. Pure Shores—All Saints It's from the movie soundtrack for The Beach, which I don't actually think I've seen in its entirety. Anyway, this is the song I put on repeat and listened to after I had left the most insane job of my life, which I'd had for 2 years and which had been my first "real" job after leaving university. I sat there for an hour while I just cried my heart out--quite possibly the most intense and longest crying jag of my life. Complicated—Avril Lavigne I don't like all her music but this song perfectly describes one of my friends who I had an extremely complex relationship with. You Don't Bring Me Flowers—Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond This song always makes me think of my parents. They loved each other very much but it didn't end up working out. Sometimes When We Touch—Dan Hill This is THE seminal rock ballad from my childhood--it was my mum's favourite song for a while, so it always makes me think of her. Let It Be—The Beatles Overall I think the Beatles are highly overrated but I love this song. It was playing one afternoon in high school when me and a friend were just driving around in his car and it's just a really, really vivid memory for me. Every Road Leads Back To You—Bette Midler Normally I'd choose "Wind Beneath My Wings" but that's too obvious... this track by Midler is what friendship is all about in my view. If you haven't, go rent her highly underrated movie "For The Boys," which is where her version of this song is from. We Didn't Start The Fire—Billy Joel The best history lesson song EVER! If you grew up in the 80s, this is the song that pretty much covers everything important that happened. You and Circle Dance—Bonnie Raitt (Oooh... even more cheating...) "You" is the consumate love song and something I listened to over and over the summer I came out, after I'd been dumped harshly by the first guy I'd ever been with. "Circle Dance" is basically my parents' relationship, to a T. Think Twice and Misled—Céline Dion "Think Twice" is the perfect song that I would love to send to an ex... any ex, really, who had dumped me. "Misled" is such a power song... perfect for when you need to tell someone they've got it all wrong. Flying Home—Chantal Kreviazuk One of the best mourning/grieving songs around. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay I have to stop. Just a few more: Good Mother—Jann Arden The title says it all, as do the lyrics. Hanging By A Thread—Jann Arden I think we all feel like this at some point or another. A Little Fall of Rain—Les Misérables Nearly all of Les Mis is amazing but this is definitely the most tragic end to a classic love triangle ever. Yes, I always identified with Eponine. Okay I give up... I haven't even got halfway through the alphabet on my relatively non-complete playlist. And one book? Uh... no way to do that. There is just not one book that can do it. Maybe two: Becoming A Man by Paul Monette The World of Normal Boys by K.M. Soehnlein But 1 book? No way. Luxury item: uhm... it sounds completely tacky but if you're going to be stuck on a desert island, presumably alone... a really good dildo? I think a computer with Internet access would be totally cheating... hardly being stranded.
Some good tracks in there, Joey, and some I haven't heard of but will try to listen to now. Thanks. Yes I know! I bet they wouldn't allow that on the show. I didn't cheat on the songs though... :icon_wink
Let's see. First, music: (artist name - song name) Skinny Puppy - Dal - I could listen to this song forever. So poetic, and musically perfetc (for me, anyway). Aside from beauty, I don't have that much of a personal attachment to the song, but I'd die without it! Haha! Skinny Puppy - Love in Vein - Sometimes I have to remind myself of just how terrible drug habits are. Skinny Puppy has a lot of anti-drug songs, but this one is by far the most horrific. KMFDM - Vogue - A motivational song, for me. It urges me to keep in control of my core, to learn more about what makes me tick and to truely become my own master. Lamb of God - Laid to Rest - Who would have thought thrash metal could teach us how to, or rather how not to deal with failure? I have to listen to this song every now and again to remind myself what is constructive, and what is self-destructive in this respect. Lamb of God - Black Label - To remind myself why I'm better off on a desert island Machines of Loving Grace - Butterfly Wings - A very spiritual song, for me, urging me to reduce the emphasis I place on the physical. Machines of Loving Grace - Limiter - The song's example is specific, but I take its meaning in a more general fashion...the difficulties with and consequences of suppressing urges. I'm a pretty impulsive person by nature, which I try my best to avoid, so I end up dealing with this quite often. Soilwork - Departure Plan - When I listen to this song, I feel as though I'm being urged, personally, to not kill myself. This has proved life-saving in the past. It's a pretty simple song, so try not to be disappointed if you read the lyrics but it works for me, and that's what matters! Book: The Dragon Lance Chronicles trilogy, by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. That's if 3 books can be counted as one. These damned books are perfect, and totally shaped the way I view fiction on the whole. I could read them forever. Luxury Item: Either a ton of pens and paper, or a laptop with a word processing program. I have to be able to write it's all I'm good at!
Cool... I highly, highly recommend the Canadians who you may not have heard of: Chantal Kreviazuk and Jann Arden. I'm sure even in Britain they've heard of Sarah McLachlan though. I like to think my musical tastes are highly eclectic. But they're not terribly eclectic in genre, really. Well, they are KINDA but there's definitely some predominant themes. Well these things are just so crazy... ONE luxury item? ONE book? (that one is REALLY insane...) And only EIGHT pieces of music? The mind boggles...
I love this program! After exams are over I'm going to love getting up on Friday Mornings to listen to this Right mine (although I'm not famous enough) Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall When I was away from home for the first time, I just repeated this song on loop until I fell asleep. Just summed my feelings of homesickness up perfectly (like the end of the world!) it also helped that, being the Lake District, it was raining heavily constantly making the song particularly apt. Blur - Parklife The first pop song I ever heard, my sister played me the video in her bedroom, never forgot it! Flogging Molly - Factory Girls I love this song, no other reason really, it's just my favourite Leonard Cohen - Tower of Song Because I had to have some Leonard in there. It's a beautiful song and the feeling of isolation is probably appropriate for a desert island Loudon Wainwright III - Hard Day on the Planet He sang this when we went to see him live, it was great, the final song he sung and we all sang along, the memory is great and is good song for thinking how rubbish the world beyond the desert island is anyway Richard Sisson and the History Boys (History Boys OST) - Bye Bye Blackbird I love this version! Rufus Wainwright - Danny Boy Song represents much more Rufus Wainwright stuff Simon and Garfunkel - Blessed I just like this song! Book: Michael Palin's Diaries. Luxury Item: A laptop with internet connection, like Paul
Well they do have to fit it into a 45 minute show..... They usually only play a couple of minutes of each musical piece, as the show is really about the guest and what they have to say, rather than listening to music. BBC Radio 4 is a speech station. I sometimes listen to the show at work on Friday mornings - when I remember!
Hurricane Chris - Handclap its my dance song Freak on a Leash - Korn its my angry song Kiss From a Rose - Seal always loved the song Freebird - Lynrd Skynrd its my favorite epic song Gimme More - Brittney Spears this is my favorite song to well have a good time to if ya know what i mean Two Step - DJ Unk this song is just awesome Love Me or Hate Me - Lady Sovereign song makes me smile everytime Broken - Seether Ft. Amy Lee it's my sad song BOOK The Talisman - Steven King this book has everything from friendship to horror Like you all a laptop with an internet connection
Wherever You Will Go - The Calling. Somehow, it makes me feel stronger, and the lyrics are very meaningful to me. Sexy Eyes - Whigfield It brings back happy memories of dancing at holiday camps. It neve fails to cheer me up. Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden Absolute classic. Paradise By The Dashboard Lights - Meatloaf I just love it, its one of those songs that just kinda, fills me up everytime i hear it. I Love You - Celine Dion It's just beautiful, it makes me smile. Its also possibly the most romantic song ever. Born To Make You Happy - Britney Spears I can't ever get enough of this song. Just A Girl - No Doubt The song that brought me to No Doubt, the classic shit they had going on, the pop/ska/rock thing. It's just a brilliant song with a powerful message. Perhaps the most important song in my life. Misfit - Amy Studt The song that sums up my life i think. The whole 'yeah, i'm different, so what?' thing means alot to me. My one book would be Monkey Taming by Judith Fatallah. I can really relate to this book, i can read it and read it until the pages fall apart and never get tired of it. If I couldn't have a laptop with internet connection, i think i would have a photo album, with photo's of all the things, places and people i love in it.
The Cranberries - Linger Tis my favorite song. I first heard it on the movie Click and thought it sounded good. The more I listened to it the more I started to understand the lyrics. I consider it as a song that everybody will be able to relate to at least one point in their lives. It's great for listening to, but I always listen to it most when I am not in the best of moods (usually because I feel like how the lyrics state) which doesn't really help. Dido - White Flag Same with the lyrics again. It made me feel better last month when I was having a bad time, and made me realise that I'm not the only one suffering when I am upset. The lyrics also seemed to fit a situation I was in recently. Twas a perfect matchhhh. Smile - Lily Allen This is usually how I usually act when I am in one of my defensive moods. They're not the nicest lyrics but I can associate with them. In my usual mood I act like this to avoid being hurt by others. Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Faith Hill I like this as it keeps me optimistic that life will get better. It sort of gives me the patience to wait until my life gets some good luck. I started listening to it regularly a few months ago when my dad (shock horror) decided to be a bint and annoy me. True Colours - Phil Collins I listen to this if I am having a day where I feel self-conscious. I suggest everybody listens to it carefully as it really makes you feel happy about yourself and that there are lots of qualities in a person that makes them good, no matter how much they hate themselves. Viva Forever - Spice Girls I have no real reason to love this song. I heard it years ago and thought it was nice and relaxing, but now I have got older I have managed to relate to it. It keeps me relaxed and matches how I feel about peeps when I like them. Circle Of Life - Elton John This not only comes from one of the best movies ever, but it also has enough meaning in the lyrics to make life worth living. It allows you to create an image of your life and allows you to see that good and bad exists in life, and going through both is just a fact of life. Many of us will have lots of bad things happen to us, but we'll eventually reach the good part of this circle and we'll be happy! What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong Well with all those not so happy songs above you can't blame me for having an optimistic song in here. As my mind is usually wandering into some sort of researching on how horrible society is (blame sociology) songs like this allows me to restore faith in the world so that I don't drive myself into a constant depressed ickle person. It also gives me faith in that life is worth living for. Hmmm, I know these songs are kinda depressing but they keep me sane. It also allows me to get through the bad times and prepare for the good. I love themmmmm.
I Honestly Love You – Olivia Newton John This song was on the first album I ever bought back in 1975. Little did I know I would be living those lyrics 20 years later. Lesson learned……….you can’t help who you fall in love with. It just happens. How Can I Help You Say Goodbye – Patty Loveless I was never good at saying goodbye and it would kill me to watch my kids go through grief. My middle daughters’ best friend moved when she was in middle school and I held her as she cried and cried. When they were in high school, my daughter had to go to where she’d moved to and help her friend say goodbye to her Dad who died suddenly of a heart attack on the basketball court when he was in his 40’s. Then I had to help my son say goodbye to our cousin Ryan who was killed in a car accident at the age of 19. Ryan had special needs and Adam helped in his classroom. Ryan was also in my 4-H group. He always had a smile on his face. One of the hardest things you ever go through in life is losing somebody you love whether it be by death or other circumstances. Lesson learned……..always tell the people that mean something to you how important they are to you. You don’t know if you’ll get another chance. I Knew I Loved You – Savage Garden Sometimes you meet people in your life who blow you away. You look into their eyes and there is no rational explanation for the feelings that you experience in the depths of your soul. I’m a believer in soulmates and loving people from one lifetime to the next. This song explains that perfectly. Lesson learned………..Our physical appearances are only skin deep. Our souls are forever. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkle My favorite song of all time. Lesson learned…..be that kind of friend to somebody and if you are lucky, somebody will be that kind of friend to you. We are Family – The Pointer Sisters I had to choose a song to remind me of my GLBT friends who have come to be such an important part of my life. You guys rock! Lesson learned…..open your hearts to people who are different. Try to understand each other a little better whether you are of different sexual orientations, different races, or different religions. The Dance – Garth Brooks This song is about the pain and heartache we experience in our lives. Would we change things if we knew how it would end? If we did, we would have missed out on the best and most important things in our life. Lesson learned…..Nothing is permanent. Enjoy your life in the moment and appreciate what you have because it could all be gone tomorrow. Live your life like there is no tomorrow. If Tomorrow Never Comes – Garth Brooks Well yeah, this song is a great follow-up to what I just said about the last song. So for the last song, I have to throw in something for the rocker, naughty, and wild inner child in me. I’m going to go for: You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC Now for the book: I’d have to go with Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet My luxury item: A hot shower (I hate camping for that very reason!)
Songs: Fu-Gee-La(Sly&Robbie remix)-The Fugees I just discovered this song like a week ago but I am so in love with it. 'Nuff said. Hella Good-No Doubt I could listen to it for hours on end and still be as crazy about this song. Californication-Red Hot Chili Peppers The lyrics of this song are so beautiful, and the song is a classic. Kamisama no hima tsubushi-Go!Go!7188 Yes, it's a bit of an unknown Japanese band...anyway this song helped me when I was coming out to myself and to me it says "everything is going to be ok". Lover I don't have to love-Bright Eyes I just think the lyrics and the melody of this song are beautiful. Someday-The Strokes Awesome. Beethoven Not really an expert, but I'd like one of his more famous songs. I imagine I'd get tired of the same songs all the time on the island. Wind it up-Gwen Stefani You can't forget Gwen. She's awesome and so is this song. I know some of my explinations may be a bit lame, but I'm a musiholic. Like, you will rarely see me walking around without my iPod. I get a high off of music. Book: This one is hard for me as I'm not a big reader, but I suppose I'd choose Shogun by James Clavell. I've been meaning to finish it for like a year now. Luxury item: While I'll admit the dildo is tempting, I'd take a cardboard box (the size that paper comes in bulk in) filled with either paper and pencils or preferably notebooks and pencils so that I can draw.
What did the gargoyle bring to the island? Hint - not the ketchup song. 1. Holst - The Planets Does this count as one piece? Let's say it does. Lots going on, happy, sad, thundering, eerie. 2. George Fredrich Handel - "Messiah" I've always wanted to learn to sing the parts, and suddenly, I'll have all sorts of time. 3. Herbie Hancock - "Chameleon" Full 16 minute album version. Because you can never have enough funk. 4. Miles Davis - "So What" Because "Chameleon" isn't quite jazzy enough to scratch the jazz itch. 5. Prince - "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" Because the song kick ass, and it'll hopefully remind me that somebody will remain faithful while I'm gone. 6. Kochachiro Miyata - "Sokaku-Reibo (Depicting The Cranes In Their Nest)" Traditional solo shakuhachi (Japanese flute) number. Because even on a desert island, you might need to zone out for a bit. 7. Andrew WK - "Party Hard" Because every once in awhile, you just gotta rock. [youtube]gv4X1MEPXIs[/youtube] 8. Because wouldn't that just be totally ironic? Oh, yes - book. If I'm going to be on the desert island with other people, I'd pick a book of word games, puzzles, and other games and activities - it'd be nice to have stuff to do. If I'm alone, I'll take the Annotated Sherlock Holmes (both volumes - I'll duct tape them together if I gotta). Luxury item - hot tub/jacuzzi. Unless a CD player to actually play that music counts as a luxury item. Lex