A “Desert Island Discs” Playlist — What’s on Yours?
Being stranded here, even without my “desert island” music, probably wouldn’t be so bad for a while. But eventually I’d need some tunes–see my list after the jump.
Here’s just what you were never waiting for: a ridiculously long, 50+ album Desert Island Discs playlist on Spotify, courtesy of one of The Brown Tweed Society’s resident music junkies. With apologies to the BBC, I’ve sorely violated their long-running Desert Island Discs program’s restrictions, which force a weekly guest to choose only eight music pieces, one luxury item, and one book. I guess my “luxury item” is a satchel filled with an extra 51 albums or so.
A quick note that I would never claim that these are anyone’s “Top 50 Albums of All-time.” They’re really not even MY 50 “all-time favorite” albums, as I’ve imposed the restriction of not allowing any artist to have more than one album on my list. I’ve also chosen several albums based on their status as a favorite from a particular genre that I wouldn’t want to spend my island life never hearing again. Finally, I chose to exclude greatest hits albums, anthologies, box sets, etc.
Within those parameters, here’s my playlist, linked here and listed below, with some degree of grouping by (intentionally vague and highly debatable) genre classifications. I’d love to see some of your all-time favorite, “can’t live without” albums in the comments below. Even better, build a list on Spotify and drop us a link!
Indie rock, “alternative” rock, etc., 1980s-2010s
Archers of Loaf — Icky Mettle (2011 re-issue includes Greatest of All Time EP – the first and only “cheating by reissue” on this playlist)
Catherine Wheel — Chrome
Radiohead — OK Computer
Sigur Ros — Takk
The Cure — Disintegration
The Chameleons — Strange Times
The Sound — From the Lion’s Mouth
U2 — The Joshua Tree
R.E.M. — Automatic for the People
Crooked Fingers — Crooked Fingers
Whipping Boy — Heartworm
Neutral Milk Hotel — In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Idaho — Three Sheets to the Wind
Electronic, dance, etc.
M83 — Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Apparat — Walls
Primal Scream — XTRMNTR
Memory Tapes — Seek Magic
Metal and Instrumental post-rock
Dirty Three — Horse Stories
Saxon Shore — The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore
Katatonia — The Great Cold Distance
Classic and Neo-classic Pop, Folk, Psychedelic, Singer/songwriter, etc. (1960s – 2010s)
Pernice Brothers — Live a Little
Simon and Garfunkel — Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Beach Boys — Pet Sounds
Mercury Rev — Deserter’s Songs
A Girl Called Eddy — A Girl Called Eddy
Home — XIV
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds — No More Shall We Part
Van Morrison — Astral Weeks
Eric Matthews — The Lateness of the Hour
Super Furry Animals — Guerilla
The Zombies — Odessey and Oracle
The Kinks — Arthur
Pink Floyd — Dark Side of the Moon
Soul and R&B
Otis Redding — The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads
Cousteau — Cousteau
Maxwell — Now
Curtis Mayfield — Superfly
Jamie Lidell — Jim
Stevie Wonder — Innervisions
Americana
Whiskeytown — Stranger’s Almanac
Johnny Cash — American III
Bruce Springsteen — Nebraska
Wilco — Summerteeth
Iron and Wine — The Creek Drank the Cradle
Grant Lee Buffalo — Mighty Joe Moon
Rap
Public Enemy — Fear of a Black Planet
The Coup — Steal This Album
Outkast — Stankonia
Kanye West — My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Jazz
John Coltrane — A Love Supreme
Miles Davis — Kind of Blue
Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd — Jazz Samba
Bill Evans — Waltz for Debby
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers — Moanin’
CTI All-Stars — The California Concert
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The Brown Tweed Society 
Poor you, no prog music, no Genesis….