First posted on another blog on Jan 2nd
For the first time ever I recently listened to an edition of the long running part-music programme Desert Island Discs on Radio 4. Of course the concept of selecting a handful of records to accompany you in a state of isolation is a tested formula, though one prone to change within moments of making an almost impossible choice to narrow down. It's tough enough choosing tracks from single years, especially when so much music is lavishly savoured, let alone going back over your whole life. However, thoughts turned to perhaps compiling a list that could be cemented, at least to the extent of not being subject to whimsical alteration. So instead of songs that have become firm favourites, why not ones which had some sort of pivotal existence that helped form a lifelong musical journey. They may not need be the best, but have an embedded sense of meaningfulness. A few head scratching minutes ensued and quite quickly five tracks sprang to mind that could easily fall into such a personal category. The influence of these songs is diverse, mixing general with the specific and in one instance making a proverbial left turn off the musical highway. The ease of these tracks coming to the fore of the mind was testament to the much thought dedicated to music over the years and being kind of analytical into how things panned out. So stand by for a five part series blogging about these pivotal songs.