Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Desert Island Discs revisited

Just before the BlogCharm plug was pulled out, I wrote a series of posts on my ‘Learn Something New Everyday’ blog about a radio programme called Desert Island Discs. A guest is asked to imagine that they have been shipwrecked on a desert island. They must take 8 pieces of music with them. They also have the Bible (or other religious work), the Complete Works of Shakespeare, a book of their choice and a luxury item. This is a novel way to encourage famous and distinguished people to talk about their lives. Nearly everyone associates music with special moments in their life.

I’d finished my Desert Island Discs and deleted all of the notes I’d made, so my posts were lost for ever. I thought that it would be fun to do them again. Some I know will be the same and others – we shall see. The BBC have kept records on who has been on over the last few years and their choices too. Jeremy Irons, back in 2006 is the celebrity whose musical choices I identified with the most.

Which 8 pieces of music would you choose?

4 comments:

suzannem said...

Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield (from my teenage years - Dad loved it too)

Nere Herriko Neskatxa Maite by Benito Lertxundi (extremely slushy Basque love song)

Any of the Planets by Gustav Holst (so innovative)

Love Quake by me ;-) (straight from the heart)

Superstition by Stevie Wonder (impossible not to dance to it)

The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss (perfect marriage of music and image in 2001 A Space Odyssey)

Goodbye to Love by the Carpenters (saddest thing ever and bittersweet guitar solo)

The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd (pure emotion in musical form)

Anonymous said...

I have listened to Desert Island Disks since I was a boy - it's been on the air for years and years.

1. Rosanna by Toto

2. Carmina Burana - Carl Orff

3. Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell

4. Wet - Barbra Streisand

5. Gustav Holst - The Planets

6. A Space Oddity - David Bowie

7. For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her - Simon and Garfunkel

8. - The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel

x henry

alan said...

Gerry Mulligan- "Live at the Paris Jazz Festival, 1954"

Joni Mitchell- "Miles of Aisles"

Benny Goodman- "The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert"

Django Reinhardt- "Verve Jazz Masters"

Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto- "The Girl from Ipanema"

Red Garland Trio- "Groovy"

Louis Armstrong- "Plays W.C. Handy"

Lara St. John- "Gypsy"

alan

Anji said...

Suzannem: Thank you for playing! You've reminded me of some tunes I'd forgotten, especially the Carpenters.

Henry: Again, some goodies I'd forgotten. I see that Gustav Holst is popular!

Alan: A jazz fan I see, and I recognise some of them. I'm hoping that Peter will play, it will be interesting to see if your tastes coincide.