Saturday, September 02, 2006
You hold the seven keys to my soul
My blog is one today. Well, actually, my blog is almost two, but billygean.co.uk is one. By way of celebration I am inviting you to delurk and leave a comment.Partly because the slightly scary boy next door was having a Sean Paul marathon in his bedroom, Mike and I were lounging on my bed with my stereo up high. I'm quite particular about the stereo. It's got to have good bass. It's got to be surround sound, 5.1 in particular. It's got to come with a boyfriend willing to wire it up for you.
We sprawled on my bed to the dulcet tones of The Stereophonics when Mike asked me what my 'desert island discs' would be. Admittedly, having never listened to Radio 4 in my life, I thought this was a dance track. Mike informed me they are the only five albums you can take to your desert island that you listen to for the rest of your life.
A pretty heavy question for me.
"Right," I said. "Can I have best ofs?" Better to establish the geeky rules.
"Nope," he said leaning over and tucking my hair behind my ears.
"Okay, REM and Automatic for the People. It has Nightswimming and Everybody Hurts so it's a given."
I paused. "Muse and Absolution. Because it's fantastic."
Mike squeezed my hand.
"I think I would have David Gray..." I said. "And although I am enjoying his latest one I think it needs to be White Ladder. Because it's timeless.
"And Linkin Park - Meteora. Because I have to have some rap but Eminem doesn't have one good album."
"And lastly it has to be Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head. Because it has politik on it."
"And you?" I said.
"I don't know," Mike said. "I can't do it. I would have U2, but I don't know which one. I would have Queen but I don't know which one. I wouldn't know where to put people that should go in like Clapton because he's great, or Skunk Anansie because I love them, or Faithless because they're my dance music."
I realised then, lying on his warm belly listening to the rain that he was right.
It's all about deciding who makes you. Who you're going to tell your children about. Who you'll still listen to in 20 years, in the rain on a Saturday afternoon. Music transformed my walk to work. Suddenly there's romance in passing cars and drifting clouds. It's the nearest connection we have to poetry.
So now, delurk, and tell me yours (yes, even you). Take five minutes out of your day to contemplate which albums complete you, and I guarantee when you go and put them on, you'll feel a little more alive.
by billygean.co.uk at 4:44 PM |
23 Comments:
i mentioned desert island discs on my blog a while ago. my dad tried to make me answer the question mike asked you and i informed him it was impossible, lol.
Metallica- S&M because it's metallica but with an orchestra as well!!!! So twice as powerful I think; emotionally I get lost in it.
Alkaline Trio- Crimson, because it makes me smile and cheers me up even if my day is horrible.
Jimi Hendrix- Are you experienced, because I've lost the fucking CD for about 5 years now and would really like to listen to it again!
Green Day- Warning, because again they cheer me up when I am down and it has our (old) house song on it.
And I don't know about my fifth, probably (don't laugh) Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Read My lips, because it was a defining time of my life when I bought it and listened to it, and that time of my life makes me who I am today.
There you go!
Emma Kirkby singing Mozart's "Exsultate Jubilate" and other stuff. But that one cut makes life worth living.
Van Morrison "Moondance." I could listen to it every day.
Social Distortion - I think it is the self-titled one but I am too lazy to get up and look. Ball and Chain, Ring of Fire, etc.
Los Lobos - "La Pistola Y El Corazon."
Frank Sinatra - You gotta let me have a CD I burn myself for this one. It has to have Summer Wind, The Best is Yet to Come, Strangers in the Night...
Beautiful. Music is one of the few topics people are willing to show such open passion about. It's something that's sometimes such a solitary experience, i love it when people open up about it.
I'm with Mike. I think this is impossible. Especially if I can't have any "best ofs". I would have U2, but I don't know which one. I would have Indigo Girls, but can't choose. Sarah McLachlan, Dixie Chicks, and John Mayer. But then I would want Billy Holliday and James Taylor too. And one of my personal favorites, "Mozart Makes you Smarter".
Oooo, it's so difficult, I'm too used to chopping up albums so I just have my favourites. But if you're going to make me...
The Verve - Urban Hymns . Such an incredible album, it makes my heart soar. Plus it reminds me of 1997 with its sheer euphoria and then of SSoB as we shamelessly used the album for the soundtrack.
If I really, really can't have a best of then I have to steal REM - Automatic for the People. Regardless of it being a great album, Nightswimming would seal it every time.
The Killers - Hot Fuss. Because it's epic and urgent and I totally adore it. It just seems to speak to me in ways that very few albums ever have.
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open. Ideally I'd have merged the best of Eyes Open and Final Straw to create some great mutant super album but as that's not in the rules, Eyes Open wins the day. There's a real fractured beauty about it, it's not perfect, but those moments and songs when it hits something magical - it floors me. The Patrol have been very special to me this year and it will forever remind me of Dundee and possibly the greatest gig of my life.
If I can't have a special collection of tracks (please, please, please, I'd burn them myself *rolls eyes*) I'd have to plump for Alistair Griffin's 'Bring It On'. Not because it's great or timeless or even in my top five ever albums (it's not) but because it's incredibly special to me and would always make me smile when it was played, reminding me of those incredible, amazing, insane months. And I'd want my children to know the (edited) highlights of that.
I almost feel I need to do honourable mentions for those albums that really, really should be on the list because they've helped define me: The Beatles (but which one?!), Oasis - What's The Story Morning Glory, ABBA (but again, which one), Travis - The Man Who, Robbie Williams - (probably) Sing When You're Winning, Blur - The Great Escape. I also suspect that James Blunt's Back to Bedlam may pass the time test. Plus at the moment I'm particularly hearting Paolo Nutini's These Streets and Coldplay's X&Y which does blind me somewhat.
I suspect this is verging on cheating now ;-)
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could I make five different compilations up? perhaps mp3 compilations? so I could fit more on them? What do you mean no?
Soddit, I'm just going to take my ipod and fashion some form of solar powered charging device.
Beethoven's violin concerto, with Menuhin
Brahms second piano concerto, with Idil Biret
Rachmaninov's second piano concerto, with Sviatoslav Richter
Chopin's third piano sonata, with Rubenstein
(Bit of a theme emerging here)
Bellini's Norma with Maria Callas
Nicely Nicely singing 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' from the original soundtrack - and the rest of the musical too (don't want to stint).
and let's say, for finishers,
Anastasia Chebotareva playing an anonymous Russian folk song called 'I Met You' which is playing on my system right now and you can listen to for free at
http://www.classicalarchives.com/artists/chebotareva.html
Do it, and tell me what you think.
Btw you might try 'Two Guitars' while you're at the same page. Is it just me, or is there something special happening here?
I don't think I can do it without "Best of"s.
Jimmy Buffett (2 album set)- Meet Me in Margaritaville.
Peter, Paul, and Mary - Album 1700.
Brudda Iz - Facing Future
Dennis DeYoung - 10 on Broadway
and in case Jimmy Buffett only counts as one...
Something by Rich Mullins.
Wow, 80 more people have checked this than have commented (excluding computer-machine checkers!).
Well, at least you all delurked. Thank you, I love the variety. I decided not to include classical, Andrew, opens up too many cans of worms...
BG
And to think we struggled to do a top-500.
You say I can't have SuzyMac 16. Nor car tape 3? Oh bugger. It's hard you see because I've doctored a few of my albums when copying them, and added extra tracks that may not have been on them originally... What about the CD Rob made me for our anniversary?
*Bon Jovi - Crossroad (Not really a best of...)
*Vertical Horison - Everything you want (if that's the title)
*James - Millionaires
*LSO - The Mozart Collection (probably counts as a best of but I'm past caring)
Meatloaf - Bat Outta Hell (just pipping Bat II, mostly for Paradise by the Dashboard Lights)
"Flaming Red" - Patty Griffin
"Fire & Filth" - Mary Gauthier
"Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" - Lucinda Williams
"Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" - P.J. Harvey
"Naked Soul" Loni Rose
That sucked, i need more.
Not really a lurker as i haven't been reading that long.
Death Cab for Cutie -- I would struggle long and hard to pick an album. Would it be "We Have the Facts," because it's the first of theirs I owned and because it forever reminds me of starting college, moving to the city, spreading my imperfect wings and skimming just above the pavement? Or "Transatlanticism," which may be their finest album overall, and which reminds me so much of the city I miss like it's been physically rent from my chest? Or "Plans," because there I finally found the words that captured the depths of my love for my partner?
I'd struggle long and hard. I might have to bring all three.
Other albums:
Bright Eyes, "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning"
Guster, "Lost and Gone Forever"
Carbon Leaf, "Indian Summer"
The Wonder Boys soundtrack. Or Rent. Oh lord, I don't know!
Hmmm...
I'm in the same position as Suzy - I have also messed up alot of albums..
Anyway, here goes..
Keane - Hopes and Fears (my car CD)
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (because it's beautiful)
FooFighters - ah now this is the difficult one - probably One by one as it got me through Salford
Coldplay - Parachutes
Feeder - Echo Park
Oh can I have another one? I need to fit in Travis - the man who somewhere!!! grrr...
What worms would those be billygean? Sounds interesting....
Saw ads for this on telly over the weekend and thought of you. Isn't it weird that a complete stranger should be thinking of you over the weekend?! Sorry.
http://www.magic-of-ballet.co.uk/
As for my albums...I have truly tacky taste in music so there would be ABBA but there would also be U2 and also The Petshop Boys..hmm..Oasis probably also and Peggy Lee maybe..
kilburina
Aah look at all the music. How cool is this!
Kilburina that's funny! I have seen the advert for this too, it looks good. I am a child. and I am a wannabe ballerina, so it's all good.
And Andrew? Classical worms.
Musical Worms? Do they sway as they play the cor anglais?
Do they hum as they strum the euphonium?
Strum?? Shurley Not!
But I think we should be told, BG!
This entry sparked a conversation between my husband and I that filled a two hour drive for me this weekend, so thanks! Unfortunately, we weren't able to come up with any difinitive lists... But it made me realize how much music really means to me!
And Meg - good to hear someone mention Death Cab. They write the kind of music that you can listen for weeks on end and not get sick of.
My top 500 tracks spreadsheet is nearly ready for publishing (i.e. the column headings are done, in bold, highlighted in yellow - I'll do the tracks soon).
All good music suggested so far - here's mine:-
After The Goldrush - Neil Young
Can't Buy a Thrill - Steeley Dan
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morissette
Automatic For The People - REM
White Ladder - David Gray
The Shins: Oh, Inverted World
The City of Angels Soundtrack A bit random, yes, but it holds strong sentimental value for me, surrounding memories of my dad, and of writing.
Johnny Cash: Live From Folsom Prison
Led Zeppelin: Two
DixieChicks: TakingTheLongWay
I had! to. I need a dash of country. (Don't stone me.) ;)
Kerri - which City of Angels (film or musical?) Both good ;o)
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