10 Songs on a Deserted Island

If you have watched any episodes of Lost, the new hit show on ABC, you probably have contemplated how you would react if you were stranded on a deserted island. First you make shelter, find a water source, and make a rescue plan. But after you handle all those minor details, you probably would focus your attention to one more thing, your iPod. Thanks to the new Solio solar powered iPod charger, you could conceivably continue to listen to your tunes until you get rescued.

Have you ever played that game of what 10 albums you would want if you were stranded on a deserted island? With similar thinking,  I started thinking about what 10 songs I would want on my playlist if I was “lost”. I realize that if I had my iPod with me, I would have access to all 8500 songs currently saved on it, but for sake of simplicity, I decided to figure out how I would narrow it down to 10 songs.

We spend a lot of time, on AppleMatters, discussing features, accessories, and specifications of the iPod. But when all is said and done, you and I bought an iPod for the music. And that music is important. We travel to it. We work to it. We exercise to it. We relax to it.

My iPod has allowed me to keep songs that I have loved throughout my life current in my life. When I went on vacations as a kid, I packed my bags with a handful of cassette tapes or later on, cds. But they were normally the albums of the moment: either recently purchased or new found loves. After all, my Case Logic could only hold 48 CDs! But 60, 40, 20, even 10GB of space affords me the opportunity to populate my playlists with a combination of songs I loved in 1986 with ones I recently purchased from the ITMS.

With only 10 songs to choose, my criteria needed to be well thought out. Each song had to represent all 3 of these criteria:

- The song must have some nostalgic value: What better way to avoid dwelling on being stranded than being transported to a memory in a way that only a song can do.
- I must be able to listen to the song in its entirety at any given time and like it: I only have 10 so it better be good.
- It must be at least 1 year old: I don’t want a song that i just happen to really like right now taint the purity of my list.

So here’s my list in no particular order:

Shine on You Crazy Diamond- Pink Floyd
Rocket Queen- Guns N Roses
Fantastic, That’s You-  Louis Armstrong
Sometimes- James
Get Back- The Beatles
Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye- The Black Crowes
The Magnificent Seven- The Clash
The Wind Cries Mary- Jimi Hendrix
The Way You Look Tonight- Tony Bennett
Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard- !!!

I have no delusions that music defines a person. But you can learn a lot about that person by what is on their list. More importantly, you can realize a lot about yourself and how music plays a role in your life. You’ve seen my list. What’s on yours?