So, in no particular order:
Lush hit their apex on this album. It has electric-guitar-and-drum songs and beautifully ethereal songs, and they're all brilliant. After Split, unfortunately, it was all downhill. But it would be nearly impossible to surpass this one.
I read that this cd would be the perfect soundtrack for William Gibson's cyberpunk novel Mona Lisa Overdrive, and that's true. But it actually deserves to be the soundtrack for a much better cyberpunk story. You know, the one that plays in my head whenever I listen to this album. Too bad I can't just dump the movie from my brain to the screen, because then...well, then there'd be a movie that I would like to watch, I suppose. It doesn't even need a large (imaginary) cast, although the (imaginary) sets would be pretty (imaginarily) expensive.
Actually, any of his albums, from Girlfriend on. I bought this album based on an ad that said, simply, "Lovesongs for cynical people." That was enough for me, and it was one of those rare cases of truth in advertising.
Paris has some great live versions of some great songs, like "One Hundred Years." Show is actually two cds, so I'd get more music. Of course, taking Cure music to go live as a hermit on a desert island might not be such a brilliant idea. Especially not when I'm already taking a Curve album. Now that I think about it, I'd better stick with The Beatles. Specifically, Revolver. Oh yes, I love Sgt. Pepper's; it was the first cd that I bought. But can anyone not hear that album in their head, in its entirety, whenever they want?
This is a tough one. Both are terrific albums, and I don't think that anyone could argue that Crowded House wrote anything but perfect pop songs. No, you can't. Don't even try. As for which one I'd take...I dunno. I'd just have to grab one at the last minute.
Again, I'm not sure about the album. Probably one of the collections, as it would have to include the favorites, like "Sympathy for the Devil", "Jumping Jack Flash", and "Paint it Black", for when I'd want to put on my warpaint and rampage around the island as an elemental force of destruction. If "Paint it Black" doesn't make you drive at least a bit faster and more recklessly, well, you have no soul. None at all. Because your soul needs to be at least a little tainted to enjoy it.
I'd need to have some Tom Petty. Southern Accents would also work, but I just slightly prefer Let Me Up, as a whole, to Southern Accents, as a whole. And with Tom, I can sing along and not sound too terrible. Oooh...I could take the Traveling Wilburys' first album, which would be another good choice. Plus, that has Bob Dylan singing. No one can sound bad singing along with Dylan. You can be singing via a voice box and do ok.
Again, any of their albums (a mere three) would do, and I'd miss the two that I didn't have with me. I think a few songs on Blind show off Harriet Wheeler's voice a bit better, and their first album has some nifty, quirky songs, but I think that this album is just a slightly better overall package. But I'd have to take at least one of their albums, because there are times when I need to hear Wheeler's voice. It's just that beautiful. I saw them in concert back in '93 or '94 at the Warfield, I think, and they played this little acoustic number. What Wheeler could do with her voice, soaring and filling the entire hall...well, you know the blue alien opera singer in The Fifth Element? It was like that, sort of, but more intimate, and real.
Ok, enough pop. I'm sure there will be times when I'd just want some lyricless music:
Sure, it's an obvious choice, but what better to make me gird my loins, get off my butt, and build a hut to make the whole of Western Civilization proud? This is the music that will play as achieve my victories over base Nature.
And when it's quiet, and there's nothing to see but stars and ocean, I'll listen to this.
Of course, there's a lot of music that I'd miss: Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Midnight Oil, The Cars, Enda, Led Zeppelin, Glenn Miller, Bjork...actually, now that I have some time to think about it, I'd probably want more classical. Some Mozart, some Handel, and some Vivaldi. Yeah, definitely some Vivaldi.