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Desert island discs

Dave's Picks Volume 1 - a five album vinyl set that is prized by by fans of the Grateful Dead
WAMC
Dave's Picks Volume 1 - a five album vinyl set that is prized by fans of the Grateful Dead

A recent dishy Maureen Dowd New York Times interview with Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner concluded, almost apologetically, with the desert island disc question: since Wenner was on a first name basis with some of the era’s rock gods – Mick Jagger, Dylan, Springsteen -- what records would he pack?

Among the selections Wenner said that he’d carry aboard his private jet to the unspecified desert island were “Moondance” by Van Morrison, “Under My Thumb” by the Stones and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

That got me thinking what discs I’d take along, allowing for the fact that I’d be flying commercial, basic economy at that, and with only a carry-on bag that was probably already bursting at the seams. And there’s an additional caveat. My children mock my musical taste. Or if not my musical taste – because I’m proud to say they were raised correctly and share mine in many areas – the fact that my musical education ended somewhere around 1980.

I’ll reluctantly and sheepishly stipulate to the charge. I cite the Talking Heads as proof that I’ve got my ear to the ground of contemporary sound even though “Stop Making Sense,” the sound track from their concert film, was recorded in 1984. Not exactly today. Or even yesterday. I also have Adele on my iPod, though I have no idea how it got there.

But since I had nothing better to do on my morning run than monitor my vital signs I decided to pose the desert island question to myself. Let’s start with The Stones. “Under My Thumb” certainly wouldn’t be my first choice. “She’s a Rainbow” fills me with happiness. But I’d have to go with “Gimme Shelter,” especially with Merry Clayton’s soaring background vocals. “It’s just a kiss away, kiss away…” Clayton’s contribution to the song remained largely anonymous until she was featured in the 2014 Oscar winning documentary “20 Feet from Stardom.”

Since I mentioned The Talking Heads let’s get them out of the way. I’d have to go with “Life During Wartime.” Its lyrics – “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco” – exemplify the razor-sharp satire and subversiveness of the band’s music.

I think of the Police in, if not the same, then the next breath. Because in my geriatric discography they constitute a new band. In other words the late seventies, early eighties. My pick: “Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic” because I dedicated it to my daughter Gracie, even though Sting may be unaware of that.

When my older daughter Lucy was ten days old we danced to the Beatles’ “Martha My Dear” on the record player in the living room. Gracie came along five years later and I felt she deserved a tune of her own. Fortunately, the song fits like a glove because everything, or nearly everything she does, is magic.

I’ll return to the Beatles but not just yet. The Grateful Dead created an entire catalogue of worthy tunes. Picking a favorite is no easy decision. “U.S. Blues” is a brilliant takedown of the slickness of the American Dream. “Gimme five, I’m still alive, ain’t no luck, I learned to duck.” But I must side with “Scarlet Begonias.” Among the many celebratory, life and love affirming songs in the Dead’s oeuvre this one rates at or near the top. Please feel free to disagree.

I was once returning to Vermont from a Dead concert in Springfield, MA. with a bunch of Deadheads and was considering leaping from the vehicle – drugs had nothing, or almost nothing, to do with it -- when Steely Dan came on the car radio. If there’s any band whose cerebral jazz-rock sound and knowing-to-the-point-of-obscurity lyrics defies cultishness it’s Steely Dan. Do you even know what the band’s members look like?

My selection? “My Old School”. “I was smoking with the boys upstairs when I heard about the whole affair…” Ah, to young, alive and in college during the late Sixties and early Seventies! If Bard College produced nothing else, and it surely has, they’d deserve to jump ten places in the U.S. News college ranking survey simply for having introduced freshmen and Steely Dan co-founders Donald Fagan and Walter Becker.

How about The Doors? “LA Woman.” A great running song. Ditto “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers.

Joni Mitchell? “Carey.” I know it’s not indicative of her emotionally naked romantic ballads but it makes me happy.

Springsteen? “Rosalita”. I danced to it in a Vermont bar on New Year’s Eve circa 1976 with a beautiful young woman I never saw before or after the song ended. But only because my friends insisted we had to leave.

Simon and Garfunkel. “Cathy’s Song.” Someone named Cathy broke my adolescent heart and does every time I hear the song.

Neil Young? “After the Gold Rush.” If it wasn’t inspired by controlled substances – “Flyin’ mother nature’s silver seed to a new home in the sun” -- you’re going to have to prove it.

Dylan? It’s got to be the sheer poetry of “It’s Alright Ma (I’m only bleeding). I steal from it all the time: “That he not busy being born is busy dying” ; “The masters make the rules for the wise men and the fools”; “While money doesn’t talk it swears”; “It’s life and life only.”

Now about the Beatles. Picking a favorite Beatles song is a foolish exercise. It’s like asking who was a better artist – Da Vinci or Michelangelo? They’re both great. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” “Penny Lane.” “Eleanor Rigby.” “She’s Leaving Home.” And, of course, “A Day in the Life”. To name but a few.

But after careful deliberation I’m going with “Good Day Sunshine.” If there’s a song that better celebrates the joy of being alive in a few broad strokes I haven’t heard it. Then again, my sonic reference library, as you’ve undoubtedly already gathered, is rather limited.

Ralph Gardner, Jr. is a journalist who divides his time between New York City and Columbia County. More of his work can be found at ralphgardner.com

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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