Glass orb with reflection of the landscape in it

In our team, CTIL, we’ve been doing a “Daily Challenge” – they’ve varied, but the one we’ve just done has engaged the whole team for nearly a fortnight; we did our own desert island discs, (a track each a day). For me, and for others, it’s been a chance to revisit old favourites – and often someone else’s choice would trigger another memory. 
We were never entirely clear if we were all on our own Island, or if we actually had each other for company … 

Not everyone managed to post every day – but this is the collection we’ve amassed! 

The headings for each day are the quips that Alison, who’s great at co-ordinating our Daily Challenge, added each day.

Day 1: “Castaway your thoughts, dreams and prayers – you’re marooned on a desert island”

Today’s track list was

  • Immigrant Song from Led Zeppelin II
  • Mars, Bringer of War (Holst’s The Planets)
  • Save a Prayer for Me Now, Duran Duran
  • Vienna, Ultravox. 
  • Reconstruction Site, The Weakerthans
  • Fear of Music Album, Talking Heads. 
  • Variations based on Paganini’s Caprice by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 
  • Nothing like the Sun (Album), Sting. 
  • Live at the Regal, BB King
  • Bursting Out, Jethro Tull.

Day 2: Castaway at Sea … not a rescue ship in sight

  • Girls in their Summer Clothes, Bruce Springsteen.
  • Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen. 
  • Riceboy Sleeps, Album. Jonsi, Alex Somers. 
  • Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder.
  • Strawberry Switchblade (their one and only album) 
  • Siamese Dreams (Album) – best track Geek USA, The Smashing Pumpkins
  • 1989, Taylor Swift
  • Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
  • Mississippi, Rab Noakes

Day 3: Don’t Worry Bout a Ting – cause every little ting going to be alright

Castaways, stay in the shade and give us your next survival tune or book – include memories CTIL Team (internal)
  • Maybe Tomorrow, Stereophonics
  • Breakfast in America, Supertramp
  • Bat out of Hell, Meatloaf
  • Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles
  • Ramones Mania – A compilation
  • Motorcycle Emptiness, Manic Street Preachers
  • Time Passages, Al Stewart
  • Master of Puppets, Metallica

Day 4: Help! 

Be patient – help is on its way, so just post a song from the past, present or future!

[We got a bit classical by Day 4!]

  • Severina, The Mission
  • Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev
  • Clair De Lune, Debussy
  • Teenage Kicks, The Undertones
  • Opus Dei, Laibach (a Slovenian Band) 
  • Saturday Night Fever (album)
  • Fugue in G Minor, Bach

Day 5: Just checking you’ve not all gone delirious – spot the twins

  • The war of the Worlds – Jeff Wayne’s musical version, narrated by Richard Burton
  • Billy Elliot the Musical – particularly Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher. 
  • This is your Life, the Blow Monkeys
  • Fauré Requiem, Cantique de Jean Racine
  • Blackbird (White Album), The Beatles
  • Solid Air, John Martyn
  • Aneurysm, Nirvana (live at Reading) 

Day 6: The desert holiday is almost over – rescue is imminent

  • White Shade of Pale, Procol Harum (with Orchestra live Denmark 2006)
  • Urban Hymns (esp. Bitter Sweet Symphony), The Verve
  • Thanks for the Ether (album), Rasputina
  • Me Myself,  De La Soul
  • Dakota, Stereophonics
  • Children of the Ghetto, Courtney Pine

Day 7: Things can only get better

  • Ashes to Ashes (single), David Bowie
  • Kinks Song Days, Kirsty McColl
  • Club Can’t Handle Me, Flo Rida
  • Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond

Day 8: And I’m going home – it’s been a real blast from the past! 

  • Love Train (single), The O’Jays
  • Across the Universe, Beatles
  • Boris vs DJ Blyatman, Slav King
  • Walk, Foo Fighters
  • Songs for the Dead, Queens of the Stone Age
  • Recollection & esp. Hallelujah, k.d.Lang
  • The Art Teache , Rufus Wainwright  

Day 9: What will you add to the Bible & Shakespeare?

  • Where there is no Doctor, David Werner
  • Papillon, Henrie Charriere
  • Dear Lumpy: Letters to a disobedient Daughter, Roger & Louise Mortimer
  • The other side of Midnight, Sidney Sheldon
  • A Hero of Our Time, Mikhail Lermontov
  • Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernière
  • For Esme – with Love and Squalor, JD Salinger

Day 10: This is the end – a Luxury Item

  • Wind up Digital Radio (and sneak in an inflatable flamingo)
  • Notebook, coloured/regular pencils & a pencil sharpner
  • Pile of A3 paper, mechanical pencil with plenty of leads, & a putty rubber. 
  • My Dad’s guitar
  • Kindle pre-loaded with lots of books & music. 

What would you have asked for?

 

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