Desert Island Discs

[fabrisse]

The Guardian has an article about the past 75 years of Desert Island Discs. For Americans and others, the idea is that you're shipwrecked with 8 records, 3 books (you're given the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare), and one luxury. The original host, Roy Plomley, created the show -- based, reputedly, on him and his wife having lost everything during the blitz -- as a way to interview people about their pasts.

It can be an interesting way to get insights into people and their tastes. I'm going to list my 8 records and 3 books. If anyone wants to know more about why them, ask.

So, my Discs would be:

Oscar Levant playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

Sammy Davis, Jr. This Guy's in Love with You

Marvin Gaye What's Goin' On

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(This one could have been several others including "Mercy, Mercy Me" also by Marvin, "Games People Play" by the Spinners, or P-Funk, but this won.)

My Man's Gone Now from Porgy and Bess, preferably by Wilma Shakesnider (the attached isn't, but it's a good version.)

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The Flying Pickets So Close

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Ralph Vaughan Williams Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones

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Sweet Honey in the Rock Breaths

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Kanye West Jesus Walks

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Books:

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami
Middlemarch by George Eliot