I tend to consume a lot of British content. Through this, I have also stumbled across some fun podcast formats. In many cases, the format involves learning about someone’s life through a very specific lens, which I find rather enjoyable. (If you have read past blogs of mine, you likely already know this – I’m quite fond of Brett Goldstein’s Films to Be Buried With, which uses the lens of films to learn about people.)
While listening to these sorts of podcasts, it’s hard not to think of what my own answers might be, so I thought I’d do this exercise out loud again. In this case, it’s the BBC’s Desert Island Discs. The show began in January of 1942 and has had five hosts (Roy Plomley, the program’s creator, hosted until his death in 1985, Michael Parkinson 1986-1988, Sue Lawley 1988-2006, Kirsty Young 2006-2018, and Lauren Laverne 2018-present; the episodes I’ve heard have all been headed by Laverne). While this is, yes, a radio program, it’s also published as a podcast, so I’m going with it.
Each week, a guest (or castaway) is afforded the chance of having with them eight audio recordings (generally, these answers are music, but not always), a book, and a luxury item while existing on a deserted island. Through the conversation, you learn why each song and item means something to the castaway. (They also play a snippet of the song, so I’ll link to YouTube.) (NOTE: The name can feel misleading – by disc, they mean song, not full album.)
This turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be because while I do like individual songs, I’m very much an album girl – I like to put something on and listen to it start to finish. Sometimes, I like a song as part of an album but don’t necessarily want to listen to it individually. So I first narrowed the albums I love most and then tried to pick a song from each of those. I abandoned that method, and instead, I started with my top nights of live music and went from there.
DISC ONE: “Live and Let Die” performed live by Paul McCartney at Miller Park in 2013. Purely for the nostalgia. It’s not even my favorite McCartney song, and I’m not really one for big venues and lots of lights/pyrotechnics. But I remember hearing about this song and McCartney’s performance of it – over and over – when my parents went and saw him perform when my sister and I were kids. (Related: They told us we couldn’t go because we were too young and wouldn’t remember it – well, I remember not going.) Music was one of the things my father and I could bond over, and I grew up listening to Beatles’ records (and a lot of other ’60s/’70s rock’n’roll). Some nights, Dad would get his drum kit out and play along. For Father’s Day in 2013, my sister and I got tickets for me and him to go (she chose not to attend). I want this song because I got to share that concert with my dad, a night of no arguments – just fun and music. It was god awful hot and humid (91 degrees F/33C), and my dad (in his sixties at the time) and I had walked two miles from where we had to park. But he was like a little kid again. For sentimental reasons alone, it’s my #1 night of music. And once again, when McCartney performed “Live and Let Die” – there were pyrotechnics on stage and fireworks going off above our heads. It was loud and chaotic, and my dad had that boyish sparkle in his eye again.
DISC TWO: A live recording of Leslie Odom, Jr., singing “Without You” from Rent with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. I’ve been a fan of his ever since SMASH (and then was pleasantly surprised to come across his cameo in Gilmore Girls on a rewatch shortly after). The entire night was incredible – would be first on my list of best nights of music if not for those pesky sentimental reasons. But this song – that voice. I got goosebumps, and I’m not ashamed to say there were tears. So beautiful. I could listen to it on loop.
DISC THREE: Similarly, a live recording of Heather Headley singing “Easy as Life” into “Elaborate Lives” from Aida with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I knew of Headley from the original Broadway cast recording of Aida (I had seen the tour while in college). I listened to that recording…I don’t even know how many times. I was so smitten with her voice and just knew I had to hear Headley perform live some day. I don’t think I anticipated it taking over twenty years – but damn if she didn’t break every hope I had for the evening. More goosebumps. More tears. Utter magic.
DISC FOUR: “And It Stoned Me” by Van Morrison – because it’s the first song on his album Moondance, which is my favorite of his. If I could take the entire album, I would. But at least I can get that feeling when the first song starts up. I had the chance to see him perform at the Chicago Theater a few years back – he was one of the last big names on my music bucket list. That night is also in my top five absolute best nights of music.
DISC FIVE: “Caves” by Gregory Alan Isakov. Another song that gave me chills the first time I heard it. I knew of him in name only for a long time, and as background music that my friends would put on when we’d have dinner at their place. They invited to me a concert of his, and I went along (because I love live music), and they are an incredible band to see live – every single person on that stage was SO filled with joy. I was absolutely smitten by the end. This song, in particular, stuck around with me. (“Paper Moon” by Miner grabbed me the same way. )
DISC SIX: “In the Unknown” by Volunteer – I first heard him play at a small hole-in-the-wall venue in Madison, WI. It was the first time I heard a song and thought – that could be my anthem. (I remember being really confused, because I had come to see someone else, and I wasn’t expecting an opener. But I’m SO GLAD there was one.) It’s still one of my favorite nights of music and venues. (I’ve been back a few times. It’s just super small and cozy – like ten small tables.)
DISC SEVEN: “Crazy on You” by Heart. I’ve just always loved this song, everything about it. And the first time (and the second) I heard it live, I just loved it even more. That guitar opener. That voice. All of it, on repeat. Yes please. (Though I keep going back and forth – debating about swapping Heart with Skerryvore, so honorable mention goes to “The Sea that Sings” and “Hold On” by Skerryvore.)
DISC EIGHT: I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen Eric Hutchinson live – I will go any time he’s playing nearby. The song I would pick from his discography is “Ok, It’s Alright With Me” by Eric Hutchinson (I love his Sounds Like This album). I chose this specific song because of the lyric “But I’m sick of just startin’ plans / I wanna spend the rest of my life” (which I now realize might feel a bit…awkward? given I’ll be stranded on a desert island). I’d heard this song so many times over the years, but after a particularly rough moment in my life, I listened to it again, and it struck me differently. I, too, was tired of all the planning and never doing. I started “spending my life” and doing all the things I’d always wanted to. I still try to live that way. (A very similar sentiment in Matt Hires “A to B” with the lyric “It’s the traveling, not the road that gets you there,” which I also love. Incidentally, it was Matt Hires I went to see when I first heard Volunteer.)
In addition to the eight audio recordings, you get to pick a book and a luxury item:
BOOK CHOICE: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It’s my favorite book, and it reminds me of watching the CBC miniseries with my nana, so it’s also sentimental/nostalgic. Reminds me of happy times. I love how Anne is always very much herself – she’s a great study in writing character.
LUXURY ITEM: This is less a luxury than a necessity – but a lifetime supply of 70 SPF sunblock for sensitive skin. I can take one step out of the house and immediately turn into a lobster, so sunblock would be necessary for me to survive on the island at all.
CASTAWAY’S FAVORITE: At the end of the podcast, a big wave comes and sweeps all the audio discs out into the ocean. You have time to save only one – which one do you run after? (As though it’s not hard enough to narrow down to eight…which I sorta didn’t do…) I think I’d go after the Leslie Odom, Jr., disc. That and the sound of the crashing waves (I’m happiest near water) sounds pretty perfect to me.
What would your choices be? Check out the BBC’s tips on making your own list.
Ami Maxine 