Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

User avatar
Corporate whore
Genuine and Authorised Pope
Posts: 16267
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 16:36
Location: ,Location, Location

Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Corporate whore » 01 Jan 2012, 14:35

Note: Polishgirl requested I posted this as she will have intermittent conne3ctivity over the weekend....

Polishmybaubles wrote:Hello.

Before we kick off, maybe I should explain the thought process behind my choices. It's not a straightforward list of my most favourite tunes ( if it was, then Wuthering Heights and Just Like Heaven would be at the top).

The basis for my choices is that I would be extremely pissed off to be stuck on an island. It's not the solitude of it - I've lived on my own for 12 years - but, rather, the lack of options, the constraint of being on an island.

My selection, therefore, is a list of music that would either trigger specific, happy memories for me, or induce some general sense of comfort and pleasure: musical medicine, if you will. My "taste" in music, such as it is, is pretty wide ranging. Much of what I like to listen to depends solely on my mood at that VERY minute, and so something I would choose to take with me today, wouldn't do at ALL tomorrow.

I'd like to say that I was born under a wandering star, but, in fact, I was born just as the vapour trails from the moon landings were fizzling out. The Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" was number 1, my big sister was looking forward to having her very own, real life "Tiny Tears" doll, and I burst forth into the world, feet first.

I had the mixed blessing of spending my first 18 years in Cornwall. My parents were most certainly NOT natives; mum is from Manchester and dad was from Stoke. They met on their first teaching jobs in sunny Morecambe, went to Cornwall on honeymoon, and liked it so much, they stayed.

As you can see, I was a model of elegance and restraint from the most tender of ages:

Image

The settee that I'm lying on was an old horsehair one, that was given to my parents as a freebie from friends. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the arm of the settee, playing "Black Beauty". Invariably, this involved my sister taking the starring part in whatever storyline was being played out, whilst I rocked back and forth and "neighed" at fairly regular intervals. Which brings me to my first choice:

"Galloping Home - The Theme From Black Beauty" was the first single I owned, and featured a double A side with the theme from Hawaii 5-0. On the back of the sleeve there was a colour by numbers picture of Black Beauty himself.



I've always loved this bit of music because of the sweepingness of it; something that conjures up open fields and big empty skies. This in turn reminds me of the rugged and wild landscape of North Cornwall, so in many ways, it makes me think of home.

~ In lots of ways, I was incredibly lucky to grow up where I did. Our house was less than 5 minutes from the sea, and you can hear the waves crashing onto the beach from the house and garden. North Cornwall is isolated and sparsely populated; everybody knows everybody else and a goodly number of kids who I went to playgroup with were also there right through school and into my 6th form.

My parents had interesting tastes in music. They were just that bit too old to really be into the Beatles etc. Mum liked things like The New Seekers, Dad was keen on Jim Reeves and they both loved Frank Sinatra. Equally, they both enjoyed classical music, and I inherited this from them, although to this day, I wish my knowledge of the genre was far, far wider than it is.

Dad, however, embraced the pop music of the 70s with open arms, and was especially keen on Abba. For me, they were like the Beatles of my childhood. They had hit after hit with the most perfectly constructed pop songs. Fortuitously, whilst I was dark, my best friend Carrie was very blonde, and so we were perfectly set up to role play the ladies from Abba, clutching our hairbrush microphones and jiggling around in front of the mirror as we sang our way through their songs.

Dad bought me an "Abba Songs For The Recorder" book, and I used to toot my way through this quite happily, with him accompanying me on the piano.



[youtube]-crgQGdpZR0&ob=av2e[/youtube]

As for Abba and my dad- he was a very complicated character, with very many wonderful aspects, but with some extremely difficult ones too. I used to relish the times when it was just nice and simple, just a dad and daughter and a bit of a musical joint effort, whiling the time away together.

Another bit of music we both loved was by Vaughan Williams. As a composer, he breaks certain harmonic rules, but the overall effect is so lush and rich, and again, being a bit of a country girl, the pastoral beauty of this piece of music never fails to give me pleasure:



My mum comes from a long LONG line of Lancashire Catholics, and I had to go to Mass until I was 18. Whilst my own religious beliefs are somewhat muddied and nebulous, I have grown up to be a fool for High Church fripperies, icons and certain forms of religious music. Give me a bit of Victoria or Palestrina and I'm a happy little pilgrim.

We had a very scratched LP of various choral pieces, as sung by the Choir of King's College Chapel, and this was my favourite. Still love it:



So, swiftly onto teenage years. I was at the same comprehensive school where BOTH my parents taught, and where my exceedingly studious and well-behaved big sister had blazed a superlative academic trail. I got on with it as best I could, whilst enjoying the full range of wondrous early and mid -80s music. I know that many people pooh-pooh it as a era of mediocre musical output, but to be a teenager in Cornwall and be able to see all the New Romantic bands on the telly with their frilly blouses and velvet knickerbockers and then be able to wear similar at your school disco was something magical. I find it ever so hard to choose something from this time because it's a rich vein for me to mine, but, if pushed:

[youtube]oOg5VxrRTi0&ob=av2e[/youtube]

Having this on my desert island would perk me up greatly, esp the hook on the chorus.


Finally, I left Cornwall and went to uni. ( in Devon....) My first year was 1988-9, a year of new friends, learning to smoke ( because it's big AND clever), drinking to excess and lounging around in dank student bedrooms listening to various gloomy stuff.

I remember hearing this for the first time at the student disco on a Friday night. The DJ was none other than Thom Yorke and he played this every week without fail.



Whilst this isnt' my favourite Pixies track, it brings back fabulous memories of me and my best friend/partner in crime Sam, staggering round the dancefloor, in a haze of cider and black. A few months later, the DJ in the local "niterie" in my home town dared to play it. "OOH" I cried and grabbed my friend's hand, rushing onto the floor just as EVERYBODY else rushed off it. We stuck it out, bravely.

As I've got older, I''ve found it harder to listen to entire albums. It's almost as thought I can feel time slipping away a bit, and I don't want to waste any of it, listening to things that I just don't like. This is a bit of a shame, I think, because it's inevitably closed my ears to a lot of new music. It also means that I return more readily to familiar tracks. It's been a real character shift as I used to have music on the go all the time, whether I was studying, driving or just fannying around. I now look at people who have their ipods on whilst walking down the street or on the train and I can't understand why they want to block out the world.


I could agonize for ages about my remaining two Desert Island tracks. But bearing the above in mind, I'm going back to classical for my final two tracks, as they are perennial favourites....

My top choice for an entire musical work would be Bartok's Concerto For Orchestra. It's a wonderful clash of different inspirations and themes, from the roots of his beloved Hungarian folk music, to the repeated use of set number sequences.

This is the 3rd movement. Whilst the first is all pomp and grandeur and the second is playful, this one is strange and a bit spooky....I could crash around the island, to my heart's content, whilst this played:




Finally, my absolutely, definitely favourite piece of music. Ever. I cry pretty much every time I hear this. It's sad and joyful all at once, such simple musical progressions and yet so intricate in the way the various parts interweave. It's musical perfection. The most profound time for me hearing this was in a freezing cold church in Krakow ( so cold that the violinist's strings snapped), being played by a string ensemble. I blubbed my eyes out. It was a stupendously happy experience for me. For this reason, I would have it in reserve on my island, to be played when, hopefully, my rescue ship appeared over the horizon.



For my book, it has to be this: Image

one of the very few books that I re-read regularly and enjoy it every time.

In terms of luxuries, a radio so I could listen to the football on 5 Live. Or maybe an endless supply of cava. Or my own herd of alpacas. I don't know. I know I would yearn to be rescued, so maybe my luxury would be the hope of rescue and return to family, friends and cats.
Image

User avatar
Corporate whore
Genuine and Authorised Pope
Posts: 16267
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 16:36
Location: ,Location, Location

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Corporate whore » 01 Jan 2012, 14:44

I nearly chose 'For Unto Us a Child is Born' instead of the Halleluliah chorus - a great piece of music, but a bugger to sing.

And we walked down the isle to the dound of Paschabel being strangled on an organ, so thats another tune with happy memories.
Image

User avatar
Magilla
Otago Mago
Posts: 15081
Joined: 19 Jul 2003, 04:02
Location: Gazing at the harbour.
Contact:

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Magilla » 01 Jan 2012, 20:17

Really good write-up Pippa, another cool episode in this neat series.
"U2 routinely spent a year in the studio...I have a theory: if you put four monkeys in the studio for a year with Lanois and Eno and Lillywhite, they would make a pretty good record, too."

User avatar
C
Robust
Posts: 78995
Joined: 22 Jul 2003, 19:06

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby C » 01 Jan 2012, 20:52

A robust read.

Prog-free but never mind Pixies [almost] makes up for it!

Seminal

HNY!






.
Lord Rother wrote:And there was me thinking you'd say "Fair enough, you have a point Bob".

User avatar
Leg of lamb
Jane Austen enthusiast
Posts: 9466
Joined: 19 Oct 2003, 11:33
Location: Crying in the chapel
Contact:

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Leg of lamb » 01 Jan 2012, 21:58

Thanks very much for this, Polishgirl. I've just been writing my own and yours is an example of brevity and clarity in comparison! Nice to see some classical choices, too. I think we can forget that people have different musical journeys on BCB.
Brother Spoon wrote:I would probably enjoy this record more if it came to me in a brown paper bag filled with manure, instead of this richly illustrated disgrace to my eyes.

User avatar
Corporate whore
Genuine and Authorised Pope
Posts: 16267
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 16:36
Location: ,Location, Location

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Corporate whore » 02 Jan 2012, 14:26

Bump
Image

User avatar
quix
Posts: 6480
Joined: 11 Apr 2007, 13:49
Location: La la land

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby quix » 02 Jan 2012, 16:17

i looked rather like that myself when i was a baby!! :D

great eclectic choices polishgirl and lovely write up.

i might read angels and men now too...

lovely stuff.

User avatar
Spock!
Posts: 15869
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 21:26
Location: By the banks of the mighty Bourne

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Spock! » 02 Jan 2012, 21:54

Enjoyed the read and choices, thank you. I am slightly intrigued by your user name, I'd assumed at least one of your parents was Polish but not so. You have been to Krakow - did your time in Poland have a profound affect on you?
Image

User avatar
Polishgirl
Posts: 9513
Joined: 21 Dec 2009, 22:06

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Polishgirl » 02 Jan 2012, 23:20

Thank you. :)

I've been to Poland 3 times now and loved it every time. When it came to choosing a username for BCB, I just made something up in a rush, as is my usual way of doing things. It's random and not that significant.
echolalia wrote: I despise Prefab Sprout. It will be decades before “hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque” is surpassed as the most terrible lyric in pop history. That fucking bastard ruined all three things for me forever.

User avatar
Six String
Posts: 23075
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 20:22

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Six String » 02 Jan 2012, 23:51

Yes that was a nice read and I concur with Magilla's comments. It was a nice surprise to see so many classical pieces chosen since all we seem to talk about around here is pop and rock....well and a bit of jazz too. ;)
Everything is broken
B. Dylan

User avatar
kath
Groovy Queen of the Cosmos
Posts: 49085
Joined: 22 Feb 2006, 15:20
Location: new orleans via bama via new orleans

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby kath » 03 Jan 2012, 00:08

that was wonderful. i'm a freak for classical, and i love yer picks here. throw in the pixies, and i'm a happy kath.

ya know, i can't imagine what it would be like to have BOTH my parents as teachers in my school. i don't think it would've changed my bad behavior, but it would've given them even more of a reason to turn to their vices. i DO know what it was like to have an older sister blaze academic trails ahead of you in school. chi chi was 5 grades ahead of me. she aced everything, finished everything early, won all sorts of national awards, that kinda crap. when those teachers got me, they thought they were getting another chi chi. they thought that for about three minutes. heh.

by the way, i am yet another person who walked down the aisle to the canon. in my case, the musicians were all in-house, so to speak. my chinese ma-in-law on violin, bro-in-law on acoustic gweetar, close family friend and future attilan godpa on organ. i had to talk yi mei into playing it on violin. she apparently thought i should pick something more radical, wild and challenging so she could properly display her violin-playing skills. mwhaha. i told her if she wanted grandspawn, she needed to behave. she did. i will forever love that piece of music.

thanks for the great read.

p.s. nice to know you started with yer lil stuffed animal fetish early.

User avatar
Polishgirl
Posts: 9513
Joined: 21 Dec 2009, 22:06

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Polishgirl » 03 Jan 2012, 00:35

kath wrote:p.s. nice to know you started with yer lil stuffed animal fetish early.



Always and forever.

Cheers, Kath.

I would say on a serious note, to any teachers, do NOT under any circumstances, even for a moment, entertain the thought of having your children attend the school where you teach. It's a frustrating, no-win, position to be in: the other pupils all want you to be bad, whilst the teachers alll expect you to be a model student and an example-setter. The best you can do, in this situation, is to tread a steady path of mediocrity between outright exciting badness and excruciating little cherub shiny halo goodness. :o
echolalia wrote: I despise Prefab Sprout. It will be decades before “hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque” is surpassed as the most terrible lyric in pop history. That fucking bastard ruined all three things for me forever.

User avatar
fange
100% fangetastic
Posts: 14171
Joined: 20 Jan 2010, 11:30
Location: 香港

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby fange » 03 Jan 2012, 01:05

Thanks for a great read, polishgirl. We seem to be about the same age, so several of your picks like the Abba, DD and Pixies hold special musical and personal merories for me as well. And as one who has never really been bitten by the classical bug, i must say i enjoyed the pieces you put up - perhaps the sharper focus and context of trying to hear them with your ears realy helped: i was never exposed to it much early on, and the humungousness(?) of the genre has probably played a part in my lack of broader classical explorations up till now. The Pachelbel especially was lovely.
Cheers!
Jonny Spencer wrote:
fange wrote:I've got my quad pants on and i'm ready for some Cock.


By CHRIST you're a man after my own sideways sausage, Ange!

User avatar
copehead
BCB Cup Stalinist
Posts: 24763
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 18:51
Location: at sea

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby copehead » 03 Jan 2012, 13:24

As I've got older, I''ve found it harder to listen to entire albums. It's almost as thought I can feel time slipping away a bit, and I don't want to waste any of it, listening to things that I just don't like.


Age or iPods?

Good read
Dancing in the streets of Hyannis

Image

Bear baiting & dog fights a speciality.

User avatar
Polishgirl
Posts: 9513
Joined: 21 Dec 2009, 22:06

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Polishgirl » 03 Jan 2012, 16:20

Copehead wrote:Age or iPods?


Good question. Both, probably. Having an iPod just helps me to limit my range of listening. :? I only actually use the ipod when I'm flying.
echolalia wrote: I despise Prefab Sprout. It will be decades before “hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque” is surpassed as the most terrible lyric in pop history. That fucking bastard ruined all three things for me forever.

User avatar
copehead
BCB Cup Stalinist
Posts: 24763
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 18:51
Location: at sea

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby copehead » 03 Jan 2012, 17:59

Polishgirl wrote:
Copehead wrote:Age or iPods?


Good question. Both, probably. Having an iPod just helps me to limit my range of listening. :? I only actually use the ipod when I'm flying.


It drags me back to self imposed playlists rather than albums because they are a comfort zone, so it limits my listening despite the fact that I am adding ever more music to it
Dancing in the streets of Hyannis

Image

Bear baiting & dog fights a speciality.

User avatar
trans-chigley express
Posts: 19238
Joined: 11 Nov 2003, 01:50
Location: Asia's WC

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby trans-chigley express » 04 Jan 2012, 00:16

Polishmybaubles wrote:



Seeing that album cover brings back memories. We use to have that very album and I would play it on on a crappy old mono record player. I can still hum most of those theme tunes - Hawaii Five-0, Van Der Valk, Owen MD, The Persuaders, Follyfoot, The Onedin Line and Black Beauty of course.

I envy you growing up in Cornwall. I love it there and visit frequently when I'm in the UK and I would have loved to have grown up there.

The Bartok piece is the only one I'm not familiar with and will give it a listen later.

Really enjoyed that, polishgirl.

User avatar
Quaco
F R double E
Posts: 47382
Joined: 16 Jul 2003, 19:41

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Quaco » 04 Jan 2012, 02:42

The Galloping Home theme is wonderful. I had never heard that before. The ABBA and preponderance of classical choices, as well as your reasons for things, made this an especially good read for me. Thank you and best of luck. JM
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Limpin' Jez McKenzie
Poptastic
Posts: 15392
Joined: 05 Jul 2004, 22:01

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Limpin' Jez McKenzie » 04 Jan 2012, 14:28

Very good.
I kept thinking "swim as far as you can, swim as far as you can".

User avatar
Moleskin
Posts: 14607
Joined: 18 Feb 2004, 12:38
Location: We began to notice that we could be free, And we moved together to the West.

Re: Desert Island Disks - Polishgirl - 1st January 2012

Postby Moleskin » 04 Jan 2012, 16:21

Great stuff.
@hewsim
-the artist formerly known as comrade moleskin-
-the unforgettable waldo jeffers-

Jug Band Music
my own music


Return to “BCB Desert Island Discs & BCB Interviews”