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Deserted Island Music |
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the lists
Deserted Island Music home page
my Amazon reviews, mostly about books, movies and music
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Desert Island Discs is a BBC radio program that has been running for over 75 (!) years. Its theme is simple: ask someone famous which eight discs would be taken if cast away on a deserted (note to BBC: not desert) island, and talk the guest through a quick tour of their life. Most of the guests are British and unknown to me. But in 75 years, the show had enough familiar guests to fill my MP3 player to overflowing. They included everyone from Jerry Springer to Margaret Thatcher to John Lee Hooker to Aung San Suu Kyi, with many (but not nearly enough) great musicians. The choice of discs was often uninteresting, as guests would choose music that evoked childhood memories or had personal meaning. We'd do the same, of course, but it still depressed me how uninspired many of the selections were. Or how surprising they sometimes were. No guest's list pleased me as much as Jacques Cousteau's. He was also a delightful interview, whose life, we learn, was long and fulfilling. After discovering the program (again, only 75 years late), I went to the show's archives and downloaded all the guests I thought I'd like to know more about. Over the next months I'd listen to the downloaded podcasts on the MP3 player during my daily hour-long walks. Those shows that were "keepers" have been saved, certain to be enjoyed later in life. In all 75 years, the show has had only four hosts. The third, Sue Lawley, was so irritating (or is it just me), trying to act as psychologist or prosecutor, starting so many sentences with "But..." and often interrupting her vastly more accomplished guests. The current host, Kirsty Young, though, is perfect, and adds much to the show's continuing success. Highly recommended. |