Desert Christmas Discs

'Pretty male, pretty guitar-based, pretty dated. Ah well'.

2008-12-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

1. Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat (though the first half of American III is all pretty mindblowing)
http://www.last.fm/music/Johnny+Cash/_/The+Mercy+Seat

2. Maxïmo Park - Graffiti (as I mentioned before, there is no better hoovering music, though I'm banking that there's no better coconut-cracking music either)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Po_g5KSoqYM

3. Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) from Live At Budokan (because life without Dylan is no life at all)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OP8KiXhMvUQ

4. The Maytals - Pressure Drop (because after a few weeks you'd need reminding that you're in paradise)
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Maytals

5. Jimmy Cliff - Sitting in Limbo (because it's the next track after Pressure Drop on the Harder They Come soundtrack, and listening to it reminds me that I couldn't leave it behind)
http://www.last.fm/music/Jimmy+Cliff/_/Sitting+In+Limbo

6. Otis Redding - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke's original is unimproveable, right? Nah. Going against all the cover version rules, Otis sticks pretty much to the same arrangement, and does to it what Usain Bolt did to running fast)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S2V3REseFwE

7. Levon Helm - Wide River To Cross (is it because I know it's Levon, post-Band, post-throat cancer for fuck's sake- anyway, whether contexts matters or no I get blown away every time by this. Also 'The Mountain' on the same album, 'Dirt Farmer', is something special)
http://www.last.fm/music/Levon+Helm/_/Wide+River+To+Cross

This person is another musician

2008-12-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

1. Camille - Gospel with no lord
http://www.last.fm/music/Camille/_/Gospel+With+No+Lord

2. Bjork - Hunter
http://www.last.fm/music/Bj%C3%B6rk/_/Hunter

3. Benjamin Britten - Piano Concerto in D
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd4mcpbi9wI (4th mvmt only)

4. Miles Davis - So what
http://www.last.fm/music/Miles+Davis/_/So+What

5. Patti Smith - cover of Paul simon's 'boy in the bubble'
http://www.last.fm/music/Patti+Smith/_/The+Boy+In+The+Bubble

6.Bach - Sarabande (from a keyboard partita, can't remember which key or number)
[They can't remember, so I'm going to give you this one: ]http://www.last.fm/music/Johann+Sebastian+Bach/_/Sarabande

7. Bob Dylan - Everything is Broken
http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan/_/Everything+Is+Broken

THIS person is serious(ly obscure)

2008-12-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

1. Acoustic Ladyland - Trial and Error
http://www.last.fm/music/Acoustic+Ladyland/_/Trial+And+Error

2. Beethoven - Symphony 4 first movement
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VJXAVf_FdTU

3. Eric Whitacre - Sleep
(I'd probably only be able to listen to it once)

4. Nick Cave - Into my arms
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8owifmb8n2s

5. Strauss - Alpinsinfonie

6. Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Seven Days of Falling
http://www.last.fm/music/Esbj%C3%B6rn+Svensson+Trio/_/Seven+Days+Of+Falling

7. Blink - Berceuse de Jeanne

8. Sonny Rollins - Strode Rode
http://www.last.fm/music/Sonny+Rollins/_/Strode+Rode

Person Francaise peut-etre

2008-12-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

1. Pulp - 'Razzmatazz'
http://www.last.fm/music/Pulp/_/Razzmatazz

2. Leonard Cohen - 'Ain't No Cure For Love'
http://www.last.fm/music/Leonard+Cohen/_/Ain%27t+No+Cure+for+Love

3. Tchaikovsky- 'Marche Slave'
http://www.last.fm/music/Pyotr+Ilyich+Tchaikovsky/_/Marche+slave%2C+op.+31

4. Bonnie Tyler- 'Holding Out For A Hero'
http://www.last.fm/music/Bonnie+Tyler/_/Holding+Out+for+a+Hero

5. Tammy Wynette - ''Til I Can Make It On My Own'
(but I am very tempted by 'I Still Believe In Fairy-Tales' and ''Til I Get It Right'... my door to love/ has opened out/ more times than in,/ but I'm either fool/ or wise enough/ to open it again... perfect country lyrics.)
http://www.last.fm/music/Tammy+Wynette/_/%27Til+I+Can+Make+It+On+My+Own

6. George Michael - 'Careless Whisper'
http://www.last.fm/music/George+Michael/_/Careless+Whisper

7. Kris Kristofferson - 'Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)'
http://www.last.fm/music/Kris+Kristofferson/_/Loving+Her+Was+Easier+%28Than+Anything+I%27ll+Ever+Do+Again%29

8. Georges Brassens ' - Les Copains d'Abord'
http://www.last.fm/music/Georges+Brassens/Les+Copains+d%27abord

Person number BLACK

2008-12-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

1. New Order - True Faith
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=og1HAkjOuL0

2. Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
http://www.last.fm/music/Talking+Heads/_/Life+During+Wartime

3. Marillion - Warm Wet Circles
http://www.last.fm/music/Marillion/_/Warm+Wet+Circles

4. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
http://www.last.fm/music/Nine+Inch+Nails/_/The+Fragile

5. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Cure/_/Just+Like+Heaven

6. REM - Losing My Religion
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=M7vs21ZKrKM

7. Depeche Mode - In Your Room (single version)
http://www.last.fm/music/Depeche+Mode/_/In+Your+Room

Two people who like 'classical' more than 'popular' music

2008-12-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

1. Schubert: Die Taubenpost (last song he wrote)
2. Monteverdi: madrigal, 'Zefiro torno'
3. Prospero's last speech ('Our revels now are ended') from The Tempest, read by Sir John Gielgud
4.Purcell: Evening Hymn
5. Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
6. Beethoven: Prisoners' Chorus from Fidelio
7. Beatles: Good Day, Sunshine
8. Icelandic folksong: A Sprengisandur

1.Monteverdi -Beatus Vir
2. Fats Waller - Your feets too big
3.Tippett - Concerto for double String orchestra
4. R Strauss - Morgenlied
5. Byrd - 5 part Mass
6. Milhaud - le Boeuf sur le Toit
7. Purcell - Sweeter than Roses

Person Number Three

2008-12-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

1. Beatles - 'A Day in the life' [anthology 2 version]
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gZez_k4vAzU

2 Syd Barrett - 'Baby Lemonade'
weirdest and best opening lyrics to any song
http://www.last.fm/music/Syd+Barrett/_/Baby+Lemonade

3. Scott Walker - 'Farmer in the City'
from the most bizarre album ever made 'Tilt'
http://www.last.fm/music/Scott+Walker/_/Farmer+in+the+City

4. Radiohead - 'Everything in its Right Place'
http://www.last.fm/music/Radiohead/_/Everything+in+Its+Right+Place

5.Tommy Johnson - 'Cool Drink of Water Blues'
if only for the line 'I asked for water, she gave me gasoline'
http://www.last.fm/music/Tommy+Johnson/_/Cool+Drink+of+Water+Blues

6. Robert Johnson - 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down'
thinking about number
http://www.last.fm/music/Robert+Johnson/_/Last+Fair+Deal+Gone+Down

7.' I call my baby pussycat' by Funkadelic
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9ScYtbMEGHw

or 'man in the long black coat' by Bob Dylan or possibly 'station to station' by Bowie or (stop it now. Ed)

Person Number Two

2008-12-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

1. Alfie's Theme (also Alfie's Them Differently) - Sonny Rollins
http://www.last.fm/music/Sonny+Rollins/_/Alfie%27s+Theme?autostart

2. Ne Me Quitte Pas - Jacques Brel
http://www.last.fm/music/Jacques+Brel/_/Ne+Me+Quitte+Pas

3. The Call Up - The Clash
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Clash/_/The+Call+Up

4. Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Velvet+Underground/_/Venus+in+Furs

5. Deutschmaschine - And One

6. Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
http://www.last.fm/music/Bobby+Darin/_/Beyond+the+Sea

7. Fly me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra
http://www.last.fm/music/Frank+Sinatra/_/Fly+Me+To+The+Moon

8. Ya Rayah - Rachid Taha
http://www.last.fm/music/Rachid+Taha/_/Ya+Rayah

Person number One

2008-12-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

'7 Songs I like off the top of my head'

The Maccabees: Latchmere - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z0QgGS5FK7w

TV on the Radio: Wolf Like Me - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GUB1xSAAADk

Death From Above 1979: Romantic Rights [*] - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tzNrYRqH35Q

Portishead: Sour Times - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i9yhw1CGFmc

Kristin Hersh: Your Ghost - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dmYXQcR30w4

Nina Nastasia: Counting Up Your Bones - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1yoiCZfjO5s

Cat Power: Metal Heart (2008 version - the one off 'Jukebox', not 'Moon Pix') - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6aG7dIj1k

Mine (subject to alteration)

2008-12-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

1. Scott Walker - The Rope and The Colt
http://www.last.fm/music/Scott+Walker/_/The+Rope+And+The+Cell?autostart
(a stupid person thinks it's called 'The Rope and The Cell'

2. Benjamin Britten - 'Balulalow' from A Ceremony of Carols
http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=6e8IaIUQP64
(Warning - hilarous choristers. I used to hang out with these boys. Weird)

3. Joni Mitchell - Song for Sharon
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hIE-7ROd-Pw

4. Ivor Cutler - I Believe In Bugs
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_SyQaGdABcE
(you get a free bonus cover version on this one)

5. Prince - I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man
Prince is absurdly litigious so you'd better seek this one out. You've got the horn so why don't you blow it?

6. Maurice Ravel - 'Laideronnette, Imperatrice des Pagodes' from the Mother Goose Suite
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dvob8dGhYGU
(this is not the orchestral version - it's some little girls playing it on a piano in a park in Manhattan . It's actually loverly)

7. Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ITC2qdxXQXA

Honourable mentions:

Patti Smith - Gloria
The Isley Brothers - Let Me In Your Life
David Bowie - Be My Wife
Scott Walker - Jackie
Bob Dylan - Nobody 'Cept You
Bach - Cello Suite No 2, Prelude

NB There was some contention about the number of tracks you're allowed on DID. It's actually 8. I was WRONG. I've never been good with numbers. Some people took 7, some greedy pedants took 8. There you go.

START HERE I'll be Sue Lawley to your Kirsty Young

2008-12-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

I thought instead of sending Christmas cards, it would be nice to share your Desert Island Discs with each other. Hopefully I'm going to be able to provide some sort of link to all the songs so you can listen to them. Warning: there might be lots of YouTube.

I pass no judgement on your choices, dear friends - I would only encourage you to click on the links of the songs you've never heard.

You(le)Love, Gloria