What Compact Disc Would I Take to a Desert Island?

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What Compact Disc Would I Take to a Desert Island?

Tough question. What else to take? Easy Enough. I would bring as many bags of Utz Salt n’ Vinegar potato chips as possible, one copy of Earnest Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and I figure just about any woman would suit me. Denied these things, the choice of a Desert Island Disc is made much more complicated. With nothing else to occupy my mind I need that one great disc. Much like Nick Tosches’ choice of Sticky Fingers I find this decision extremely difficult: "But Sticky Fingers is a choice as mysterious and as difficult to explain to myself as anyone else."(Tosches 4) The choices are numerous and I’m pulled and so many different directions at once it is very difficult to decide. Santiago had it easy; I’ll take the Marlin over this essay any day.

The first band that popped into my head was, of course, Led Zeppelin. But, before I thought of any Zeppelin albums a few other choices came by. The first had to be Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. This album gets as much listening time as any single Led Zeppelin album. The music is haunting, powerful, and emotional. The problem with this is it lacks some of the levity that I felt would be necessary on the Desert Island. Tracks like "Time", which is about how fast time goes by in life, would only remind of how heart wrenchingly slow time would flow on the desolate sandbar. Darkside had to go.

My next thought was Yes 90125 released when the band reformed in the early 80’s. This album in my opinion is on of the greatest albums ever composed. It though my entire lifetime has consumed the lion’s share of my listening time. This album flows as almost a singular musical creation. But this lacked levity and more importantly the variety that I wanted. This one wouldn’t fly either.

The next album that popped into my head was Das Efx Dead Serious. This rap album might sound like a strange choice when compared to the other albums I’ve described. But I love it. It like 90125 really is a masterpiece of album composing. I love the beats and the rolling rhythm of the lyrics. The problem with this is that much like Yes it lacks the variety I wanted.

All said and done my choice has to be Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy.

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