Friday 16 May 2008

Desert Island Discs

After the gravity of my last post, let's lighten the mood up a bit. Let's pretend that I'm famous enough to be invited to appear on BBC Radio 4's long-running programme Desert Island Discs. What 8 musical tracks and what one book (The Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare would already be awaiting me on the island) would I like to be with me if I were a castaway on a desert island? (Of course, in this world of 160 GB iPods and 5 MB mp3 files, 8 musical tracks aren't a lot, are they? We'll ignore this reality for the sake of tradition.) 1. My Baby Just Cares for Me, Nina Simone. As I've stated already that I would one day like to play this on the piano, you shouldn't be surprised that this makes the list. 2. You'll Never Walk Alone, The Anfield Kop. But it's got to be a recording of them singing after the 2005 Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg at Anfield. And this made The Bucket List as well, so no surprise here either. 3. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Why isn't this in the LDS Hymn Book? 4. Pachelbel Canon Techno Remix, unknown. I have no idea who did this, but I love it. Brilliant adaptation of the finest piece of classical music ever written. 5. Across the Universe, The Beatles. There had to be a Beatles representation, and this is my choice. And even if their pronunciation of the Sanskrit chant "Jai Guru Deva, Om" is almost incomprehensible, I still love this song. 6. James Bond Theme, Monty Norman Orchestra. Best theme music, narrowly beating Indiana Jones. 7. Volare, Gipsy Kings. I need an upbeat number for when things get a bit slow, and this is a wonderful version of Domenico Modugno's excellent song. 8. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, Monty Python. Mindless optimism from the bad boys of British comedy. Book: The Code of the Woosters, P.G. Wodehouse. Wodehouse is my favourite author of all time. I love his way with words, his turns of phrase, and his endless optimism about life. And although this was the third or fourth of his hundred-plus novels and short story compilations that I read (back when I was but a wee nipper), it still holds up as the best in terms of convolution of plot. So, what are your Desert Island Discs? And if your blog appears as a link on mine, then consider yourselves tagged and required to give your response as a post on your own blog (or else this post will have a doozy of a comments section).

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you seen:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445922/

Eight songs seems kind of restrictive. Don't get me started on one book... Thankfully there are heaps of songs already committed to memory (if you don't mind the words being a bit vague and the tune even more so).

I think 'Don't worry, be happy' should make the list. That sums up carefree to me.

Charlotta-love said...

only 8 songs? My sister likes to count the number of different songs I will randomly sing during the day. I average in the high teens.

If I'm stuck on an island though, my number one song should be S.O.S. by ABBA. Hopefully someone gets the message and sends a search team out.

Tara D. said...

Wee nipper? Ah, Shankar, I love you man. And c'mon, the James Bond theme? I can totally see it in my mind already, you playing that song as you strut along the island all masculine and such. Hee hee

Bobbie said...

#1, 2, 3, and 8. Love them. And I completely agree about how 8 should be in the hymnal. My high school choir sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" with sign language my junior year. It was beautiful (yes, even for a high school choir). I was the accompanist, so I never learned all the sign language, but I pretend I did whenever I sing the song now.

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