Dee's Desert Island Discs

[Dee]

Eels - In the Yard, Behind the Church
Radiohead - Lotus Flower
Woodkid - Land Of All
Bird - Lori
Low Roar - I'll Keep Coming
Imogen Heap - Headlock
Z. Preisner - Double Life of Veronique
Sheryl Crow - Weather Channel
David Bowie - Lazarus
Ane Brun - These Days
Kate Bush - A Man With A Child In his Eyes
Suzanne Vega - Small Blue Thing
The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Cocteau Twins - Wax And Wane
Cara Dillon - The Parting Glass
Orange Blossom - Habibi
Rachid Taha - La Rayah
Khaled - Aicha
Elgar - Cello Concerto
The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work
E. Morricone - Gabriel's Oboe
Tom Waits - Hold On
Emily Kinney - Be Good
Lee DeWyze - Blackbird Song
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were
Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talking At Me
Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of A Bay
Laura Marling - What He Wrote
Audrey Hepburn - Moon River
Liza Minnelli - Maybe This Time
Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
Dhol Foundation - After The Rain
Katie Melua - If You Were A Sailboat
KT Tunstall - Black Horse And The Cherry Tree
All Saints - Black Coffee
London Grammar - I'll Be Rooting For You
Ane Brun - To Let Myself Go
Wildwood Kin - Salt Of The Earth
Gorillaz - Sound Check
Gorillaz - Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head
Woodkid - I Love You
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Franz Ferdinand - The Dark Of The Matinee
Scissor Sisters - Return To Oz
Keane - This is the Last Time
Coldplay - Clocks
Broken Bells - High Road
Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man/Agnus Dei
Puccini - Messa Di Gloria/Agnus Dei
Ibeyi - River
Stateless - Bloodstream
The Cure - A Forest






Eels is one my favourite bands, - and my husband's. We have seen them many times live. Hard to choose a Favourite Song from so many favourites, but I usually pick this one, for its beautiful melancholy, and the lyrics... it's pure poetry.



In the yard, behind the church where
Butterflies and blackbirds search for
A safe place to rest the night away
We will go down to the brook and
Sit upon the overlook then
Forget about the troubles of the day

We will walk among the graves of
Men long dead with presidents' names and
Listen to the water flow softly by
I will kiss you on the lips now
And as the sky grows dark we'll strip down
And let the water wash away all lies

In the yard, behind the church where
Butterflies and blackbirds perch on
Grey stones as the garden's growing dim
We will lay down on the ground and
Put our cheeks against the dirt down
Where it no longer matters
Where you've been


~ Mark O. Everett

[Dee]

My favourite band is Radiohead. Such an amazing back catalogue, with so many songs that mean the world to me... so how to choose just one?

Maybe I will go with Lotus Flower.



One huge mistake I've made in my life was choosing to see another band instead of Radiohead at a festival, because I didn't really know their music at the time. So I got there just for the encore to meet up with my husband, and I was simply stunned. I had never heard anything like it before. Such powerful, thrilling, highly original, rhythmically so intricate music, laced with Thom's haunting vocals. Such an amazing band. I get lost in almost every song they've ever produced.

I've chosen Lotus Flower simply because it’s one of their perfect songs I never tire of hearing. It’s mysterious, exciting, great lyrics, and I also love the video, Thom's dancing is just mesmerising.

[Dee]

My next choice will be "The Land of All" by Woodkid, from their Desierto soundtrack album. Yoann Lemoine's voice... now that's something to write poetry about. That deep velvety richness, the aching melancholy he wraps you in. And this song. Oh my. The gorgeous strings, the edgy percussion and the otherworldly electronica. It's just magical.

[Lori]

Land Of All ... I listened to that last night as a matter of fact. It is on my 'late night play list'. This song is a mystical journey. Absolutely love it. So unique and really surprising - just when you think you've heard every aspect of his performance, it goes other places.

Thanks for sharing. The Eels Behind the Church - I'm clutching my heart at those lyrics. That song has been a life enhancer.

[Dee]

I'm glad you share love for my choices, Mz L.

You certainly got to for this one:

'Bird' by Lori.

https://soundcloud.com/user-740918880/bird-final

It is simply locked into my heart.

[Dee]

"I'll Keep Coming" by Low Roar.

This song is a masterpiece of build up. Oh, I do love a good build up.
I've played this song more than a hundred times I'm sure, and yet it still feels fresh and exciting and overwhelming - in a good way.

[NurseRatched]

I'm glad you share love for my choices, Mz L.

You certainly got to for this one:

'Bird' by Lori.

https://soundcloud.com/user-740918880/bird-final

It is simply locked into my heart.

Agree, Dee; Birds is REALLY SPECIAL, Lori.

Eels-Love the song you shared! Hmm...I think I'm going to groove on your taste in music...Radiohead, Agnes, Eels, you're a festavarian..cool.

[Dee]

Ha! A festivarian! I like the sound of that.

Now here is an artist I've discovered at Glastonbury Festival, in 2010. (To clarify: She was performing there in the rain and mud, whilst I was sitting on my sofa all dry and snug) The wonderful Imogen Heap. It's hard to choose just one song, but...

This was the first song she played at that gig, and I was already a fan:



By the time she got to "Hide and Seek" I was ordering her album on Amazon.

(And a few weeks later I did see her perform at Womad. She is amazing live. The singing she teases out of her fans who know all the words, is magical. I've seen her a couple times since.)

[Dee]

I would have the entire soundtrack to Double Life of Veronique (1991), composed by Zbigniew Preisner. I'm just going to put two excerpts here today to show some restraint. This is not just music you listen to. This music will literally possess you. Headphones please, - if you dare... Veronica dies singing this, right at the beginning of the film.



And the magical piano piece that accompanied the puppet show:

[Dee]

Lori is responsible for this one, and I can't thank her enough. One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, the lyrics kill me, and this particular live version just floors me, every single time. Never tire of it.

"Weather Channel' by Sheryl Crow:

[Dee]

I must have a David Bowie song in my Desert Island Discs. So hard to choose again. I think I will go with 'Lazarus' today. This is just heartbreaking. An artist who pours his entire self into his art, and whose art so markedly defines him as a person. I still can't get over his death, how he died at the height of his creativity. The entire 'Black Star' album is just incredible.

[NurseRatched]

So much to explore here. I need to check it out. I have never heard that Sheryl Crow song! And I have only heard of Imogen Heap; never listened to her music. I appreciate having a starting point with some of these artists because their catalogs are HUGE. Where do you even begin??