My Third Desert Island Disc set

I didn't get a chance to post my choices last year (we were a bit distracted.)

There is nothing profound or deep in my Desert Island Disc choices this year - they're just songs that I like (in no particular order)


High And Dry - Radiohead



Radiohead is great band to get lost in their music.  The song High and Dry is deceptively simple and Thom York's voice can lull you into deep relaxation mode.


So Many Stars - Sarah Vaughan



This is the height of sophistication.  Listening to Sarah sing Sergio Mendes will transport you off any desert island.


Almost Blue - Elvis Costello



It is impossible to pick one Elvis Costello song (how can you choose one sone from his over 30 studio albums?) I wanted to pick Watching the Detectives but I couldn't find the specific video I think of when I think of the song.  So I went with Chet Baker's performance from Let's Get Lost; it's heartbreaking.  (I could have gone with Jimmy Scott's version as well.)


Slave to Love - Jimmy Scott



Jimmy Scott just passed away a few weeks ago.  I'd want to take one of his records just to hear his voice again. (I don't dare play more than one Jimmy Scott song at a time, I would weep hysterically.


Desperados Under the Eaves  - Warren Zevon



Warren Zevon's lyrics resonate greatly with me (not that I'm an alcoholic musician who died of cancer.)  I have a crystal clear memory of listening to this song through headphones while floating in a pool at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong during a heatwave in July.


Jezebel - Sade



I've said it before, Sade is one of the most beautiful women in the world and has a voices that matches.  There are so many songs I could have chosen but this one is especially meaningful to me.


America  - Simon and Garfunkel



If for some reason Mary isn't with me on the desert island, I'd take this song with me to think of her (I don't need to explain, it's my list.)


Sign in Stranger  - Steely Dan



As I said two years ago, I couldn't be on a desert island without at least one Steely Dan song.  This year I've picked Sign in Stranger.  It shows off all of what I love about Steely Dan; the wonderfully flip lyrics and the amazing musicianship on display. Also, I can turn around, in my head, the phrase, "walk around collecting Turkish union dues", over and over again.


The book I'd take with me would be The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (paperback) (I will never need anything else to read) and the luxury item would still be a Freezer full of Bombay Sapphire (I won't need the vermouth.)

That eight songs (and that's all you're allowed.) I didn't get a chance to pick any Massive Attack, any Roxy Music, not a single Billy Joel etc.


I'll try to get marooned again next year for my birthday, to have another go at it.