This week I got caught up in one of the most painful exercises I've ever had the pleasure of being obsessed with. For our international friends, there is a weekly radio show broadcast in the UK called 'Desert Island Discs'. People from all corners of politics, the arts, sport - anywhere with corners basically - are invited to BBC Radio 4 and for 45min their disbelief is suspended from the ceiling as they are placed on a desert island. With the current lack of summer in this country it's a welcome exhile. On that island they are allowed to take any 8 pieces of music, a luxury item (inanimate and with no survival benefit), and one book (not the Bible or Shakespeare's Complete Works, they are already provided - a Gideons Bible I'm guessing). You can see how this is an interesting angle to take for an insightful interview and since the show's been running continuously since 1942 I guess it's been a winning formula for listeners and participants alike.
So I happened to be talking with a friend about this and it's not something I had really thought about in the past. Knowing how difficult it had been for me to come up with my favourite 5 movies back in the day when one beds down these things, I knew frustration, torment and many late nights were an imminent prospect as soon as I was asked for my 8 songs. How little I knew...
16 hours, 4900 songs, 4 ever-narrowing playlists, and 12 revisions later I think I've just done it. And since these things are down to personal tastes it's not as if you can pass judgement on them, but I thought I would share anyway. So here they are. Feel free to contribute your own in the comments section after...
- Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
- Half A World Away - REM
- Just Like Heaven - The Cure
- Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
- Beast Of Burden - The Rolling Stones
- One Of These Things First - Nick Drake
- Our Mutual Friend - The Divine Comedy
- Good Man - Josh Ritter
