Desert Island Discs

Here's something to lighten the mood a little. Its been a bit heavy going with all the pre- & post-elections stuff. So me is inviting everyone out there to chew the fat here on naming yer desert island discs ie pick 5 albums you absolutely must have if you were fooking stranded on a deserted island (with a only a functioning turntable/CD player/ipod fer company, of course).

And do tell us why you picked those records, ok?

Only one Rule:

Abso-fooking-lutley NO compilations, ok? ie NO 'best ofs' & 'greatest hits'. That would be too fooking easy!

Those of you who read Nick Hornby's Hi-Fidelity (or saw the movie adaptation starring John Cusack & Jeff Black) will understand why the innate need fer many music nuts (usually anal retentive blokes) to compile such lists (Top 5 Break Up songs, Top 5 Debuts etc). But all the ladies are invited to post yer fave 5 as well.

I posed this dilemma to me colleagues (all ladies) & they were stumped.

Szu Pau - "Why does it have to be albums?"

Me says: That's when you judge a body of work on its own merit. Tis bout writing ten great tracks rather than the odd hit single or two. Its bout a consistency - MIND FOOKING BLOWING from start to finish!

Oca - "I like this Boyz II Men album, but can't remember what its called? You know the one with that song . . . .?"

Me says: How is this possible?!? These are albums that you absolutely cannot live without hence should know every fooking detail about it, from artwork designer to producer!

Miss AA - "Norah Jones . . . um . . . Norah Jones . . . er . . . Norah Jones."

Me says: No fooking comment!

Big Boss WY "BN" Loh - "Haiyo, I dunno lah, I never pay attention to the artists . . . " (she later described Alison Moyet as that "fat, brown chick" & her top 5 albums were Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals . . . all five of em!!!).

Me says: Yer choice should be artsist that demanded yer attention. You just couldn't ignore the sheer fooking GREATNESS of the album eg Elvis Presley's debut, James Brown Live At The Appollo, Ramones's Road To Ruin, Nirvana's Nevermind . . . records that caused a seismic shift in music history.

Am sure you get the drift. Anyways here's Bala's Top 5 Desert Island Discs (from top to bottom pix):

Alice In Chains - Dirt: Although Nirvana (& Nevermind Lp) will always be the band that symbolised the early 90s Seattle scene, fer many it was AIC's Dirt that left its tentacles deepest in our musical souls. Possibly the greatest heroin album of all time (yes, I rate it better than the Stones's Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main Street), you could feel the music flow like junk thru yer fooking veins. One memorable instance, we had stuck the CD on at me bar when lead singer Layne Stayley OD'ed; it was to me utter surprise to see virtually everyone seated at the bar boisterously singing along to these dirge-like anthems to drug abuse hell. Fooking awesome!

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew: What can you say, Miles was as punk as you got. He fooking reinvented jazz not once, not twice but three fooking times. And this double-LP was when jazz leaped into the electric sphere of fusion. And as a metal fan, take it from me, this is some heavy fooking shit from a virtouso line up - John McLaughlin, Chic Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, et al were on fooking fire!

Obituary - Cause Of Death: Death metal at its very best. Melodic but gut-wrenchingly heavy. And John Tardy's vocals are akin to Satan's bowel movements after a particularly nasty rojak! The way tracks segue into each other plus the fabulous use of classic metal dynamics make this one of me fave albums of all time! Still sounds brutal after all these years!

Zakir Hussain - Making Music: Zakir on tablas, Jan Gabarek on alto sax, John McLaughlin on six strings & Hariprasad Chaupraya on flute combine to make the most beautiful, soothing music ever known to human ears. Regardless of taste, this east-meets-west fusion of classical Indian & Jazz has got to be evidence of divine intervention. Music so sweet, it makes yer soul float . . . fer about 43 minutes before you reach fer the repeat button.

Grateful Dead - American Beauty: I ain't no Deadhead but boy, is this one well-crafted bunch of tunes or what. This is where the psychedelia of 60s San Fransisco camped out in the wild west. End result: Hippies singing country tunes so fooking perfect you couldn't think possible. Till today songs like Box Of Rain, Ripple & Friend of the Devil still make me wish I flower power had survived instead of dying an awful death at Altamont . . .

There you have it. Sorry fer a being a wee bit long-winded but I really look forward to reading bout yer Top5 & maybe discover a new gem or two . . .

ps: Kerp, JonC & Kopite78, you've been tagged!