Desert Island, Top Ten, All-Time Most Memorable...

Decisive

"What came first? The music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns or watching violent videos...that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands, of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery, and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"
-- Rob Gordon (John Cusack) in "High Fidelity"

Someone recently asked me to list my 'Desert Island' songs...I interpret that as the songs that I couldn't live the rest of my life without hearing again. Another spin on it is to think of ten songs that, were I actually Stranded On A Desert Island (I have no boat, but somehow, I have a solar-powered CD player?) I could listen to over and over, ad infinitum. Perhaps there would be something in the synergy of those ten songs that would either stave off insanity, or somehow mercifully hasten it. So, with that in mind, let's get it started. (I'm putting these in a playlist-order, but please don't infer that I like #1 more than #10.)

1) 100 Games Of Solitaire, by Concrete Blonde
This song is here and in position number one because I've been in love with it since the very first time I heard it. An awesome display of crunch & slide guitar, and while Johnette Napolitano's incredible voice is mostly held in breathless check here, her diamond-hard attitude is right up front. Instant classic. Plus, no thinking person could resist the lines: 'I got a hundred miles of desert / Got a head of fresh air / And I know a hundred games of solitaire.'

2) Ball And Chain, by Social Distortion
I knew I'd want to have these guys around; picking a song of theirs was tough because there's so much to choose from. This one is a great example of their rockabilly propers but it also has the hopeless lyrical misery that we've all come to expect from Social Dee.

3) Maybe Angels, by Sheryl Crow
I've always loved this song...kind of like having all the best episodes of the X-Files distilled into one slinky little rock song. And it's just enough fun to keep me from stabbing myself with a sharpened palm frond after listening to Social Distortion.

4) Big Shot, by White Animals
The sad thing here is that only a handful of us in this world have ever gotten to hear this song. Kevin, Steve, Rich, and Ray...the White Animals, from Nashville, Tennessee...served up some of the best live rock and roll I've ever had the pleasure to witness.

5) Angel, Won't You Call Me, by The Decemberists
I had to have this band, and again, the dilema was choosing one song. I went with the first song that I ever heard by them and I think it's still my favorite. 'I've been so unbridled...'

6) When The Day Is Short, by Martha Wainwright
This is another song that I fell in love with instantly and have not been able to get enough of, hundreds of listenings later. I will go home with whoever is sure...are you sure?

7) Lakes Of Ponchartrain, by The Be Good Tanyas
I'll forever be thankful that I was introduced to this song and these voices. It's a stellar bit of songwriting and a powerful performance. It still raises the hair on the back of my neck to listen to it.

8) Back In The High Life Again, by Warren Zevon
I wouldn't want to never hear Warren's gravel-and-gin-soaked warble again. This acoustic rendering from 'Life'll Kill Ya' is really special.

9) Till I See You Again, by Kevin Welch AND Wild And Blue, by John Anderson
I'm cheating here but both of these great country songs combined only weigh in at about five minutes, less than the bulk of 'Ball And Chain' alone, so I'm going to cram them into one track. 'Till I See You' somehow manages to be heavy and breezy at the same time and has one of my all-time favorite guitar leads by the great Mike Henderson. Kids, don't try this at home. And 'Wild And Blue' is about as perfect an application as I can imagine of two of the greatest voices ever: John Anderson and Emmylou Harris.

10) I Lost It, by Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams' songwriting is just too good to pass up. I love this testimony to loss, regret, and resignation.

Well...that was a draining experience. I realize there are a lot of songs missing from this list that probably have a deeper impact on me than some of these, but that don't belong here simply because they are too painful, or too personal, or too perfect. Six months from now, my list would very likely be different. My life is what they call in espionage techno-thrillerspeak 'a fluid situation'. Besides, there are basketfuls of variables to be considered with this whole 'Desert Island' scenario. Am I stranded alone, or with someone? Is the someone likely to get testy, having to listen to the soundtrack of my life over and over? Will he (or she) break my solar-powered CD player while I sleep? I'm going to have a margarita and think about it.