Desert Island Discs

[motorollin]

The "Blur" thread has inspired me to think about music which is important to me, and I'd like to share them and also encourage others to do the same. So here are my desert island discs.

Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
I grew up listening to Blur and I really admire them. Listening to their music immediately takes me back to my teenage years, and I'm really grateful to Blur for being such an important part of my life. I used to listen to Blur a lot with my then best friend. His family emigrated when I was 14 and he was 13, and that was the worst time of my life. Listening to this album always reminds me of how painful that time was, but also of the good times we shared.

Radiohead - Kid A
This was the first album I listened to which made me realise that electronic music can be "real" music. This album has been quite influential in my own music, and is another one to which I have a strong emotional connection. The first four notes of Everything In Its Right Place do something to me both emotionally and physically ;-) I consider this album a real turning point not only for Radiohead, but also in my own musical taste and style.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Lots of people seem to hate this album but I love it. Again, it has been influential in my own music, and I really aspire to be as good as Thom. His music evokes such a range of emotion, his voice conveys his feelings beautifully, and his words make me think in ways I wouldn't otherwise. Put simply, he is a genius.

The Vines - Highly Evolved
It was hard for me to decide between Highly Evolved and Winning Days, but 1969, the last track on Highly Evolved, tipped the balance for me. Psychedelic rock which makes you feel like you're in a Snickers advert while you're walking around town...

Holy F**k - LP
Bloodline will go with me on this one... Hard to describe really. Messy, incompetent, unplanned electro. But somehow it works, and they're brilliant!

Aerosmith - Nine Lives
Ok they're old men of rock, and Aerosmith are quite uncool now. But I grew up listening to this album and again it brings back a lot of memories from my childhood.

The Prodigy - The Fat Of The Land
'Nuff said ;-)

Radiohead - In Rainbows
Not sure whether you're allowed to have more than one album by the same artist, but I don't care ;-) I absolutely love this album and couldn't live without it.

[motorollin]

Hmm, well I have never actually listened to Desert Island Discs on Radio 4, but the article I read to check the rules stated "Guests are invited to imagine themselves castaways on a desert island, and to choose eight pieces of music to take with them". For some reason I interpreted that as albums... But I'll try to narrow it down to 8 tracks:

Blur - For Tomorrow
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place
Thom Yorke - Skip Divided
Aerosmith - Fallen Angels
Radiohead - All I Need
The Vines - 1969
Holy F**k - Milkshake
The Prodigy - Climbatize

The top five if I must reduce it further would be the top five from that list. The top one would have to be For Tomorrow. Everything In Its Right Place is very close, but For Tomorrow wins it because of the memories it brings back.

[motorollin]

I need to revise my list! I forgot about my secret shame; I love the album Wonderland by McFly :lol: I know they're girly pop, and I hate everything else they have done, but I genuinely think the songs on Wonderland are well written and some of the arrangements are lovely.

Flame me!!!!! :lol:

[motorollin]

@Andy
I have heard of some of those tracks, but will have a listen to the rest when I get a chance. Thanks for posting your list :-D



I was in a rush earlier and posting on my iPhone so I didn't explain my eight choices of individual songs. Here goes:

Blur - For Tomorrow (Modern Life Is Rubbish)
(Copied and pasted from above...) I grew up listening to Blur and I really admire them. Listening to their music immediately takes me back to my teenage years, and I'm really grateful to Blur for being such an important part of my life. I used to listen to Blur a lot with my then best friend. His family emigrated when I was 14 and he was 13, and that was the worst time of my life. Listening to this song always reminds me of how painful that time was, but also of the good times we shared.

Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Kid A)
I got Kid A for Christmas the year it was released having never heard any of the songs on it. I asked for it because I liked The Bends and OK Computer. I was shocked when I heard Everything In Its Right Place, and absolutely hated the album the first few times I listened to it. The more I listened to it, the more I realised that this electronic stuff really *was* music ;-) I grew to love the album more and more, but this track in particular. As soon as I hear the first four notes of this song I have an immediate feeling that no matter what's happening, everything will be ok. This song is like a little safety bubble.

Thom Yorke - Skip Divided (The Eraser)
The Eraser is another album which I didn't like the first time I heard it, but Thom's vocals and the beautiful arrangements won me over. The sounds and arrangement in this track are particularly interesting to me, and are a style I really aspire to.

Radiohead - All I Need (In Rainbows)
Although I prefer the electronic arrangement of songs like 15 Step on this album, the vocal style of All I Need coupled with the touching words make this one a favourite for me. Thom's heartfelt emotion is clear in this song, and it gets me every time.

The Vines - 1969 (Highly Evolved)
I love Craig Nicholls' voice, particularly on this track. It's a great song to listen to while riding a bike or driving, as is the rest of the album.

Holy F**k - Milkshake (LP)
When so much music is produced to a very high standard and is polished to within an inch of its life, it's refreshing to hear something which sounds a bit more rough. This track sounds unplanned and a total mess, but I can't help but love it. I don't think I have the discipline to write such an unplanned track as my pesky brain keeps taking over ;-)

The Prodigy - Climbatize (The Fat Of The Land)
I got into The Prodigy quite late as I didn't like electronic music during the rave scene. Consequently I am less in to The Prodigy's hard dance tracks and more in to their soundscape tracks. The atmosphere in this track is just amazing!

McFly - She Falls Asleep (Part 2) (Wonderland)
This is a surprisingly beautiful song from McFly. The lyrics are heartwrenching (I interpret them as the story of a suicide) and the orchestration is lovely. I definitely wouldn't class myself as a fan of McFly (I'm not *that* gay :lol:) but I really do love this song, and I think it shows that McFly actually have a lot more talent than their girly-pop beginnings suggest.