"Desert Island Disks" Topic

For many decades now BBC radio 4 has run a show called Desert Island Disks. A person, usually famous for a reasonable amount of time, or politician or other member of the Great and The Good is interviewed about their song choices- this being a framing device for them to talk about their life.

(As an aside, a former Admiral and First Sea Lord, said he was rather pleased to find out on an official trip to Japan that his title translated as Shogun of the Sea. The head of the Army was less impressed, and wished he had a impressive title, at which point the Admiral pointed out First Landlord didn't sound that great)

Anyway, the idea is you are washed up on a desert island. Somehow some other flotsam and jetsam that has washed up includes a record player and your 8 favourite songs.

What are these songs for you? You may pick 8 only.

Also on the island are the complete works of Shakespeare, the Bible (or other appropriate religious work) and a luxury. Your luxury is just that – it can't be useful, so no emergency beacon.

Also if you had to pick just ONE of those records, which would it be?

You equate songs and records; which is it?

What's a record player?

The 8 records would be the first 8 Jethro Tull albums. Any 8 songs from those is fine.

You equate songs and records; which is it?

It's songs – or piece of music – but not an album of songs.

So, you could have "A day in the life" but not the whole of the Sgt Pepper album.

But – if you choose, say Mahler Symphony Number 3 then you get the whole Symphony (but they only play a snippet of it on the program). You can't pick "the complete works of Haydn".

Years ago pretty much everyone picked 8 pieces of classical music, not they mostly pick 6 or 7 songs and one piece of classical music. Unless it's a Violin player or similar.

Interestingly – it's been running so long that some few people have done it more than once.

Stewart Granger, for example, did Desert Island Discs in 1945 and again in 1981.

It can be an interesting insight into people, our current Prime Minister for example picked Benny Hill's "Ernie the fastest Milk Man in the West" as one of his all time favourite songs. Ummm.

Provided you had a reliable power source for the old turntable,unless it was an old crank-up model.I'd likely pick 1/3rd classical,the rest a mix of rock,country,comedy,jazz.

So if you were on a deserted island and had only one Dave Mathews album to listen to…
How would you kill yourself?

If you need inspiration the archive of broadcasts is here..

link

(Not sure if the link will work everywhere)

@Old Wolfman : i think the conceit of the show is that there is a hand-cracked record player (so no useful power source for elsewhere) and that, by great good fortune, the exact records you want have washed up as 78rpms.

You're ship may have sunk, stranding you on the desert island, but in this one respect you've got lucky

Anyway, now we know the rules, maybe we should try and answer the OP's question !

Wargamers, eh? They love to haggle over the rules!

To be clear…1 pick, 1 piece of music. This started in the time of 78s (ask the OFM).

8 BITS OF MUSIC
1 BOOK
1 LUXURY.

Pachebel's canon in D
Life on Mars – David Bowie
Don't stop me now – Queen
Romeo and Juliet – Dire Straits
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Love Cats – The Cure
Mack the Knife
The Ship Song – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

As I probably wouldn't be allowed a book on survival, the book being more a luxury item, Nightwatch by Terry Pratchett

Luxury – A supply of stationery so I could write.

I forget who it was now, but some opera singer chose eight songs, al of her singing them!