Expecting Rain

Depending on which side of the pond you live, you maybe familiar with the BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs, where celebs are asked to name 8 records, a book and a luxury to take to a mythical desert island. How about an ER version here? The rules are as follows:

The Eight Songs:

Number 8 must NOT be a Dylan song
Number 7 to 1 CAN be, but don't have to be

You then nominate only ONE you'd take if the other seven fell overboard.
The Book

On the show, you get the Bible & Shakespeare, but name one other:

I'll be generous and give you The Bible, Shakespeare AND Chronicles Vol. 1!! You chose one more.

The Luxury
Must not be anything that can be used to help you escape (cell-phone, copter, jeep &c.)

I'll do a poll of results if we get enough replies! My choices follow...

8 songs:

8. Jackson Browne, Before the Deluge
7. Katskill Serenade (Bromberg Sessions)
6. Desolation Row
5. Workingman's Blues #2
4. Po' Boy
3. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
2. Stuck inside of Memphis
1. Brownsville Girl

..and Brownsville Girl would be my single choice (nice & long, see!)

Book:
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Luxury:
An Italian Espresso machine!

why is the island a desert? shouldn't it be "deserted??"

(just a pet peeve of mine)

ok, so I'd just pick the longest songs on record. off the top of my head that'd be:

Desolation Row, Highlands, hmmm (have to get back to you for more after TTRH)


(and I'd pick Brownsville Girl for length but I'm not that fond of the song itself)

wait, is it 8 SONGS or CDs ?

Cds :
- A bob compilation of his old songs
- A bob compilation of his last 3 cds
- A sweet george compilation
- A neil young compilation
- Orphans (tom waits, 3 cds)
- A springsteen compilation
- A Nawlins compilation
- A jazzy/ blues compilation

Books :
Don't shoot the mockingbird (harper lee), The conferancy of dudes (jf toole), Bob's Chronicles (a anthology, with the 5 volumes... well, it'll come, I'm sure ! )

Luxury :
A 'puter with enough battery

The songs vs. albums question is serious. I'll go with albums on cd and reserve the right to multiple cd sets.

1. The Brandenburg Concertos--I don't like Bach much, so here's my chance to learn to do so
2. The Complete Charlie Christian--it's about 8 cds on a French label including his work with Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Meade Lux Lewis and all the live material
3. The Complete Robert Johnson--the Columbia 2 cd set
4. The Bitches Brew Sessions--Miles Davis on Columbia, four cds I believe
5. Tonight At Noon--Charles Mingus
6. New Orleans Suite--Duke Ellington
7. T-Bone Blues--T-Bone Walker on Atlantic, with the bonus cuts
8. El Camaron des Las Islas--a 3 cd box of the greatest flamenco singer

The Charlie Christian box would be the must-have item from the above list.

Luxury item--a Stromberg-Voisonette Super 400 archtop guitar, typically costing about $80,000, and a hundred sets of flatwound .12 strings and a hundred picks of various thickness and a steel slide

Book--Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon in 3 volumes

It's hard to imagine 8 songs I wouldn't get sick of hearing if that's all I could take. Regarding Dylan, as long as I have a guitar, I have his songs I care about. Same with Hank Williams, Muddy Waters and other favorites. Robert Johnson is the exception to this rule.

Aren't we a greedy lot! The point is, yes, you'll get sick of the same eight songs, but try and chose the 8 (7+1) [plus nominate ONE only if that's all you can have!] that you could take if you can ONLY take eight! It's tough, I know: I've had some p.m.s saying so, but people are trying hard!

Surely we should be able to nominate at least one Dylan song... after all, this is a Dylan site!

Of course, 7 of the 8 can be Dylan songs!! Only one need not be! Good luck!

Can the eighth song be a Dylan song but sang by someone else?

Hmmmm???? Yea, go on then!!

I wouldn't want to take favorites and then end up hating them after a week.

So, I'll only take songs that I've never heard before.
Just picking by the titles, I'll go with:

-- Slow Train
-- You Wanna Ramble
-- Drifting too Far From Shore
-- Sally Sue Brown
-- Death is not the End
-- Under Red Sky
-- Born in Time

And for number 8:

-- Everybody Knows but Me--by Jesse Winchester

Almost forgot--if I can only have one, I'll take number 8..

Book--"The Seven Days of Creation" by Vladimir Maximov.

Luxury item--matches.

If it is limited to eight songs, I'd skip it entirely. I'd prefer a mandolin to go with my guitar. I'd rather have fond if fading memories than a worn out pop song.

Would 'Charmin' be considered a luxury item?

It's interesting - Americans don't seem to "get" Desert Island Discs....I remember the economist J K Gailbraith chose a "musical comedy troupe" as his luxury - he was trying to be funny, I'm sure.

At this point perhaps I'd better just say that "getting" Desert Islands Discs is of extremely minor importance and I don't think less of any American who believes life is too short to concern themselves with it.

One of the creepiest experiences of my radio listening life was hearing the incredibly sycophantic Sue Lawley interview Conrad Black (arrogance and self-satisfaction personified, in this appearance, at least) for Desert Island Discs. She asked him if he owned Napoleon's penis!!

Mine -

Tangled Up In Blue

As with rosy steps the morn.... Handel

Carnaval - Schumann

False immagine..... Handel

Miss Me - Eleni Mandell

Remembering Schubert - Ann Southam

Spirit on the Water

Crush in the Ghetto - Jolie Holland


One choice - Spirit on the Water.....just because I like it.

Book; Tristram Shandy - my own green copy which goes everywhere with me.

Luxury; Poussin's landscape painting -

I sometimes wonder how one is supposed to take it. Some of the guests
treat the desert island premise as just another way of asking
"What are your favorites?"

Others tell a series of nostalgic tales about musical discoveries in their early years
that helped lead them along the path to what they finally became.

The second approach is more interesting for me, but neither approach seems like
a good way to pick out music that you could listen to day after day for an
indefinite period, with nothing else to occupy your time.

My problem is that I take the desert island premise literally (I suspect that
means I really don't get it).

You are, of course, right, pinhedz. One of the most interesting Desert Island Discs featured Lucy Irvine the author of Castaway who had spent a lot of time on a "desert island". I seem to remember her saying the last thing you would be able to, or indeed, want to do would be to listen to music when you were there.

as an American I think I get it. you are put on an island that is a desert, where there is no rain, no water, no snow.....it is very DRY. So the right answer would be all kinds of things that have to do with water....like Handel's Water Music, Spirit on the Water, Highwater, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and maybe Who'll Stop the Rain or Raining in Baltimore....

Your PICK ONE choice would be the wettest one, maybe Larry Davis's Texas Flood (which I first heard on TTRH).

The book would be a "how to get water from a stone" kind of book.

And the luxury item. well..........................

Songs

1. As I Went Out One Morning
2. Black Diamond Bay
3. Stealin'
4. Idiot Wind
5. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
6. Visions Of Johanna
7. Po' Boy
8. Trying to Get to You - Elvis Presley

Books

Confessions Of A Yakuza - Dr. Saga
Chronicles Vol. 1 - Bobby Boy

Luxury
Guitar or Dylan records and something to play them on

'kay, I'm gonna try again...

songs
- awaiting on you all (sweet george on concert for bengladesh)
- i live the life i love etc (gorgeous george on h. sumlin' cd)
- love minus zero (bobby with sweet george on concert for bengladesh)
- sweet marie (bobby on whatever cd/ boot)
- mississipi (bobby on whatever cd/ boot)
- abandoned love (sweet george on complete rarities boot)
- boots of spanish leather (bobby on whatever cd/ boot)
-tom thumb blues (neil young on bobfest -uh, 30th anniversary celebration)

n' much more...

books
don't shoot the mockingbird (harper lee)
conferancy of dudes (jf toole)
chronicles vol 1-10 (bobby in 10- 20 years)

luxury
someone smart n' funny n' who knows a lot of good songs (bobby ???)

Songs:

-Silent Night by Nat King Cole
-Desolation Row by Bob Dylan
-Estranged by Guns N' Roses
-Like A Rolling Stones (Live 1966) by Bob Dylan
-Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
-Free Fallin' by Tom Petty
-Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
-Winter by Tori Amos


Book: 1984 by George Orwell

Luxury: Internet if I can. If not, cable TV.

I tried, but couldn't get you to rise to the bait... good on yer, Oxford boy.

Songs:

1) Things Have Changed... Bob Dylan
2) Spare Parts... Bruce Springsteen
3) Katy... Tom Paxton
4) Garageland... The Clash
5) A Week Of Living Dangerously... Steve Earle
6) Factory... Warren Zevon
Rock-a-Billy Rebel... Guy Mitchell

Book:

A Short History Of Everything... Bill Bryson

Luxury Item:

Pamela Anderson

Our local classical public radio station suffers from a bit of rampant anglophilia (Britten gets more play than Bach or Beethoven). As if to prove the point they also host their own faithfull version of D.I.D. the guest was usually a local artist, state political , significant patron of the regional arts scene or a world-class musician in town for a local performance. They always ended up looking like self-important prigs. Here, let me join them.

Tracks:
1) "Restless"Carl Perkins + Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (from Go, Cat Go) not just because it is a joyful, reckless version of a good song, but also for the little bit of laughter and conversation left tacked on to the end of the track.
2.) "Highway 61 Revisited" album version
3.) "If Not For You" Biograph One
4.) "Abandoned Love" Biograph Two
5.) "Heart of Mine" Biograph Three
6.) "Heartland" (from "Across the Borderline")
7.) "New Blue Moon" (from "Traveling Wilburys Volume 3")
8.) "Shooting Star" (from "MTV Unplugged")

This list works equally well for me whether you permit me the single track or the entire CD.

My problem is if i can only take one, it would be none of the above. If I could only take one it would be that allstar recording of West Side Story Bernstein conducted late in his career. The one with Jose Carreras sing the unintentionally(?) hilarious version of Somethins Comin

Book: Joyce Ulysses maybe i'll finally get it out of the way.

Luxury:sumpin like this...except a mandola/tenor guitar hybrid
(and totally tricked out acoustic florentine archtop)


For Luxury, I was going to request a set of these http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKLIgqvhy-4 but as they themselves sing, they aren't luxuries. They are essential.

Idiot Wind - Bob Dylan
Heart - Shaped Box - Nirvana
Only Skin - Joanna Newsom
Isis - Bob Dylan
I'm Not There - Bob Dylan
Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan
I'm Your Mirror or Heroin - The Velvet Underground
The Lonsome Death of Hattie Carrol - Bob Dylan

Book - The Kite Runner or The Lord of The Rings Trilogy

Luxury - The internet

The Songs: (In no special order, and subject to change)
8. Dancing In The Dark (Springsteen)
7. Tangled Up In Blue
6. Workingman's Blues #2
5. Jammin' Me (Petty)
4. Cold Irons Bound
3. Maggie's Farm
2. Sad-Eyed Lady
1. It's Alright Ma

The Book:
ON THE ROAD

The Luxury:
My golf clubs and an infinite number of golf balls (Hey, what's else to do?).
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Keep it down to one per artist

Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues
Jim White - Static on the Radio
Pink Floyd - Grantchester Meadow
Roy Harper - When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease
Eels - Things the Grandchildren should know
Lemonheads - Rudy with a Flashlight
Genesis - Ripples
Bob - One too many mornings (take this one if one only)

Mind you it would probably be a different list tomorrow!

Book - Austerlitz - WG Sebold

Luxury - an ipod I would think....