Desert Island Discs

[TonyHancock]

For the "Poms" amongst us Desert Island Discs is a British, BBC institution, and for me a radio program/podcast I download religiously. It provides a wonderful insight into the personalities of those invited to participate in the program. It has been going for 70 years.

I thought it might be nice to have a thread where AFF members are invited to participate, albeit through the medium of the AFF forum.

The rules are relatively simple, you are left "stranded" on a desert island and can take the following:

Eight "discs" or pieces of music/sounds

3 books - The Bible, The Complete Works of Shakespeare and another book of your choice.

1 luxury "which must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside"

Finally you must choose one of your discs above all others.

The Link to the BBC webpage is here, I highly recommend checking out the selections of the many "celebrities" that have participated. There are some fabulous shows to listen to.

 

[TonyHancock]

Here are my choices:

Pure - The Lightning Seeds.......The best pop song ever!!
Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan.......I am a massive Bob Dylan fan and this is a beautiful, yet painful song.
I’m in Heaven - The Cure....I love this song and play it on nearly every flight I take.
Music For The Royal Fireworks - Handel.....a reminder, to me, of why the english are so much more superior to the French
American Pie - Don McLean.....An amazing history of the birth of pop music set in riddles.
Abide with Me......I love the FA cup final, I like to remember ANZAC day...what more needs to be said...an astonishing hymn.
Outbreak of Vitas Gerulaitis - Half Man Half Biscuit....My favourite band, witty, clever and a constant reminder of my youth.
Ernie - Benny Hill......For some reason Britons revel in the novelty pop song and this is just about the perfect example from many.

My book would be The Encyclopaedia Britannica - it would ensure I would never be bored as my thirst for knowledge is gradually satiated.

My luxury would be a never ending supply of Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old Single Malt - Not fancy but it would certainly keep my spirits up!! hic

...and the one disc I would save? Music For The Royal Fireworks - Handel...a constant reminder of my superiority over the French........

 

[mella2007]

End of the Road: Boyz 11 Men or in fact their Greatest Hits album: Sensational RnB well ahead of their time and this song I never tire of.
Don't Ask: Tina Arena: One of the greatest female singers ever in her comeback album. The bass line in Chains alone makes this a total winner
Dances with Wolves Soundtrack: An amazing score of music and orchestral parts including my fav Timpani line
The Best of The Manhattan Transfer: The harmonies in Trickle Trickle and Operator sublime
Eros Ramazzotti: Greatest Hits: The John Farnham of Italy, amazing vocalist and songwriter
Sanremo Song Festival 1995: Featuring some of the best modern italian songs of 94/95
Vivo Per Lei: Andrea Bocelli & Giorgia: A wonderful song and beautifully written piece of music...wonderful duet, very under-rated
No more tears (enough is enough): Donna Summer and Tina Arena Live: Pumping, pure disco, one of my fav songs to sing

My book would be Not without my daughter by Betty Mahmoody. Sad tale of a woman and child trying to flee Iran in the 80's

Luxury would be red lipstick (nothing like a bit of lippy to put a smile on any day!)

Disc I would save...Tina Arena, Don't Ask. An inspiring album with lyrics to mean something to anyone who has faced hardship or challenges in their life, in various ways.

 

[Happy Trails]

...and the one disc I would save? Music For The Royal Fireworks - Handel...a constant reminder of my superiority over the French........

Sacre bleu! I fart in your general direction.

 

[tuapekastar]

Good thread idea, and throws up an eclectic mix of music. Restricting my choices to single tracks rather than albums, and notwithstanding I could likely come up with a different list every day for the next week, here goes.

Song Of The Wind - Santana; My fave track from my fave album. Such great playing, so atmospheric, takes me to another place
Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks; Best nostalgia song ever
Wichita Lineman - King Harvest; Classic Australian cover - way better than the original
I Cheat The Hangman - Doobie Brothers; Classic Doobies, several guitars and top harmonies, builds up to a powerful end
Close to The Edge - Yes; Great prog rock without being pompous or self-indulgent, and they could reproduce it perfectly on stage (judging from footage I've seen)
Afterlife - Todd Rundgren; Hauntingly beautiful. Todd is a music genius and I could have picked almost any of the 500 or so tracks he has written and recorded (in many cases playing all instruments as well)
Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy; Another cover, this time of a Sting song. Such a pure angelic voice, could have knocked me over with a feather when I first heard this. Departed this life way too young
Like A Hurricane - Neil Young (Live Rust version); Another where I could have chosen plenty. Rocks along at his best with Crazy Horse for 8 or so power-packed minutes

Book - A Short History Of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson - mainly because I've had it for a couple of years and not got around to opening it yet, but his books are always entertaining, no matter the subject

Luxury - somewhat disturbingly, following Tony Hancock's lead - an inexhaustible supply of Grange.

Disc to retain - Song Of The Wind - it's just the best and also reminds me of my Singapore schooldays, where I first bought Caravanserai, from which it is taken.

PS. I was considering including Edith Piaf, but realised that might offend the OP!

 

[JessicaTam]

TonyHancock I offer you points for the thread of the year (you just made it)

Discs - choosing music as opposed to albums:

Dire Straits, Telegraph Road
John Lennon, Imagine
Missy Higgins, Steer
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Ave Maria
The Beatles, Let It Be
Christine McVie, Songbird
HIM, Wicked Game

Book - Can I trade in the bible for something else? Ok, perhaps not. I would choose Lord of the Rings. I don't think I can read it often enough.

Luxury - again following the TonyHancock lead, an inexhaustible supply of Pimms and dry (yes Tony, very British)

Disc to retain - The Waifs, A Brief History.

 

[Bundy Bear]

In some editions you choose the complete CD other times you can only choose the song, so I have given album which I would prefer but have selected one song.

The Eagles: The Best Of The Eagles, Peaceful Easy Feeling
Def Leppard: Hysteria, Hysteria
Delta Goodrem: Innocent Eyes, Born to Try
Hunters & Collectors: Cut, Holy Grail
Icehouse: Man Of Colours, Electric Blue
John Farnham: Whispering Jack, You're The Voice
Savage Garden: Savage Garden, Truly Madly Deeply.
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill, You Learn.

Just missing out, The Corrs, Roxette, and 1927.

Book - High Performance Sailing by Frank Bethwaite just beats out Hard Landing by Thomas Petzinger Jnr which I have read 1,000 times already, how else did I get such a good aviation knowledge, if you haven't got it I would recommend it. The High Performance Sailing is onto its 2nd Edition, currently I have the first edition, it is very technical so there is a lot to take in and just maybe it might get me off the island.

Luxury - First I would think Coca Cola, friends have said in the past that I would die if I didn't have it, but if that wasn't luxury then maybe Jim Beam to mix with the coke that was already supplied.

Disc to retain - The Eagles, Best of The Eagles, the original best of was a cassette with about 15 songs and it was the first piece of music I brought in the early 80s.

 

[amaroo]

This is fun

Songs....
Style Council - You're the best thing
David Bowie - Young American
The Motels - Total Control
Talking Heads - This must be the place
Etta James - At Last
The The - This is the Day
Al Green - Lets stay together
Grace Jones - La Vie En Rose....just for you, Tony!

Book - The Endurance, Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition - Caroline Alexander. Might come in handy:!:

Luxury - Tapas & a few good reds to go with it.

Album - Style Council - Cafe Bleu.....I lost my youth when this came out....might as well get lost again.

 

[Shelf]

'Greatest hits' allowed ?

This may impact on my selection

 

[amaroo]

'Greatest hits' allowed ?

This may impact on my selection

Bugger, I've coughed that up. will need to go & fix it

 

[TonyHancock]

'Greatest hits' allowed ?

This may impact on my selection

awww go on then!

 

[simongr]

Interesting - been a long time since I listened to Radio 4....

Songs - this is very hard and even harder not to be biased towards current songs...

Wonderwall - Oasis
Cigarettes and Alcohol - Oasis
Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Live 2012) - Coldplay
Paradise (Live 2012) Coldplay
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Hotel California - The Eagles
One more to think about

Book - Lord of the Rings - quantity and quality

Luxury - toss up between a lifetime supply of cold beer (those desert islands get warm) and a lifetime supply of aged sharp crumbly cheddar

 

[amaroo]

Bump...

Been celebrating Playing more than a few of these..

 

[Bundy Bear]

I created a desert island disc as a playlist on Itunes, which has been fun to listen to on a few flights between Perth and the East coast.

Interesting over the past 2 weekends I was able to attend 2 concerts which featured artists from my desert island disc.

Icehouse played at Rottnest Island Hotel on Sunday 23 March, the ticket price included a trip on the ferry out to Rottnest Island so I spent a day riding around Rottnest before listening to Icehouse.

Yesterday 30 March as part of A Day On The Green Hunters & Collectors were the head line act at the Perth event which was held at Kings Park.

Hunters & Collectors played at the AFL Grand final, link to youtube.

I am now a few dollars poorer but money well spent.

 

[Bundy Bear]

Just an update to this thread, The Eagles are coming to Perth in February 2015, another concert to add to my list, that should be fun.