Desert Island Meme

I've come up with a Meme. It started with a book. The book was "Stranded" and edited by Greil Marcus. The premise was simple: Twenty rock and roll writers pick the one album they would take with them if they were stranded on a Desert Island. So the purpose of this meme is also fairly simple: pick one album that you would take with you if you were stranded on a Desert Island.

I've given this a lot of thought. After I read the book twenty some years ago I tried to think of what one album I couldn't live without. What one album would I want to have with me and to be the only album I would be able to listen to.

Immediately I thought of the albums of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles. These three I always go back to. They are my Holy Trinity. Pretty much any of their albums I could listen to over and over. But which one of theirs do I pick?

Or do I decide to go with a newer choice? Newer musicians that have come to mean so much to me like Wilco or Lucinda Williams. Is there a way to pick just one to listen to for the rest of my life? Or do I chose something from a more obscure artist like Theresa Anderson or Shannon McNally.

In the end I went with my first love and something that I never grow tired of listening to.

When I was a kid the first music I remember listening to and making an impression on me was the Beatles. My cousin Debbie was about a decade older than me and was a teenager during the years of the Beatles' popularity and I always remember thinking how cool that would have been. I really didn't get into music until the end of their career. I was eleven when they broke up.

The first piece of music I ever owned was the 45 single of the Beatles' "Eight Days A Week" with the B-Side "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party." Later the first album I purchased was Beatles VI with those two songs on it. At first all I bought was Beatles music. I had a friend at the time that was a big fan of the Monkees and I remember how we'd call each other up whenever we'd buy a new album of our favorites. Of course I was buying older albums of the Beatles since they had already came out.

I remember finding out that there was a Beatles song that wasn't on any of their American albums and calling the radio station constantly asking for the song. They never played it. I also discovered that the American versions of their albums were different from the ones they released in England. It wasn't until the release of "Rubber Soul" that the two sides of the Atlantic started releasing the same versions. The American versions were stripped down affairs of what they originally released.

As a kid I championed the Beatles music while to most of the kids my age they were yesterday's news. I grew up out of step with my generation, they were listening to Grand Funk Railroad while I was listening to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

I can go months without listening to a Beatles song, but whenever I hear one I am entranced by their voices and their music. I'm not one that thinks their childhood as the best time of their life and want to hold onto and cherish their memories from that age, my love of the Beatles isn't nostalgia. I still think they created some of the greatest and freshest music of the last forty years. Their music still holds up today.

But what album would I bring? That's when I realized the album was "1" the greatest hits that was released in 2000. The track list is:

1. "Love Me Do" – 2:20
   • Released in the UK on October 5, 1962, and in the U.S. on April 27, 1964, where it reached #1 in the U.S. for 1 week on May 30. This is the version released in the U.S. with Andy White on drums and Ringo Starr on tambourine.
2. "From Me to You" – 1:56
   • Released on April 11, 1963 in the UK and reached #1 on May 2, where it stayed for 7 weeks.
3. "She Loves You" – 2:21
   • Released in the UK on August 23, 1963, where it stayed at #1 for 6 weeks, then again on November 28. Released in the U.S. on September 16, 1963, and went to #1 for two weeks on March 21, 1964.
4. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" – 2:24
   • Released in the U.S. on December 26, 1963, it reached #1 for 7 weeks between February 1 and March 20, 1964. Released in the UK on November 29, 1963 and stayed at #1 for 5 weeks.
5. "Can't Buy Me Love" – 2:11
   • Released on March 20, 1964 in the UK and on March 16, 1964 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 for three weeks in the UK on April 2, 1964. The song went to #1 in the U.S. for 5 weeks on April 4, 1964.
6. "A Hard Day's Night" – 2:33
   • The song reached #1 in the UK for 3 weeks on July 23, 1964 and was #1 for 2 weeks in the U.S. on August 1, 1964.
7. "I Feel Fine" – 2:18
   • The song stayed at #1 for 5 weeks in the UK starting on December 10, 1964, and reached #1 in the U.S. on December 26, 1964.
8. "Eight Days a Week" – 2:44
   • Released on February 15, 1965 in the U.S., where it went to #1 for 2 weeks on March 13, 1965.
9. "Ticket to Ride" – 3:10
   • The song, released there on April 9, 1965 in the UK, was #1 for 3 weeks on April 22, 1965. The song was released in the U.S. on April 19, 1965, reaching #1 for 1 week on May 22, 1965.
10. "Help!" – 2:18
    • Released on July 23, 1965 in the UK, it reached #1 for 3 weeks on August 5, 1965. In the U.S., it was released on July 19, 1965, reaching #1 for 3 weeks on September 4, 1965.
11. "Yesterday" – 2:05
    • The song was released on September 13, 1965 in the U.S., attaining #1 for 4 weeks on October 9, 1965.
12. "Day Tripper" – 2:48
    • Released on December 3 in the UK, reaching #1 for 5 weeks on December 16, 1965. A tape drop-out that appears in previous stereo releases of this song has been corrected here.
13. "We Can Work It Out" – 2:15
    • Released in the UK on December 3, 1965 and reached #1 for 5 weeks on December 16, 1965. The song was released on December 6, 1965 in the U.S., and reached #1 for 3 weeks on January 8, 1966.
14. "Paperback Writer" – 2:18
    • Released on June 10, 1966 in the UK and on May 30, 1966 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 for 2 weeks in the UK on June 23, and for 2 weeks in the U.S. on June 25, 1966.
15. "Yellow Submarine" – 2:38
    • The song was released on August 5, 1966 in the UK, where it reached #1 for 4 weeks on August 18.
16. "Eleanor Rigby" – 2:06
    • Released on August 5, 1966 in the UK, reaching #1 for 4 weeks on August 18.
17. "Penny Lane" – 2:59
    • Released on February 17, 1967 in the UK, and on February 13, 1967 in the U.S.. The song reached #1 in the U.S. on March 18 for 1 week.
18. "All You Need Is Love" – 3:47
    • Released on July 7, 1967 in the UK, it reached #1 for 3 weeks on July 19. In the U.S., it attained #1 for 1 week on August 19, 1967.
19. "Hello, Goodbye" – 3:27
    • Released on November 24 in the UK, it reached #1 for 7 weeks on December 6, 1967. In the U.S., the song was released on November 27, 1967, and reached #1 for 3 weeks on December 30, 1967.
20. "Lady Madonna" – 2:16
    • Released on March 15, 1968 in the UK, reaching #1 for 2 weeks on March 27.
21. "Hey Jude" – 7:04
    • Released on August 26, 1968 in the U.S. and on August 30 in the UK. It reached #1 in the UK for 2 weeks on September 11 and was #1 for 9 weeks in the U.S., starting on September 28, 1968.
22. "Get Back" – 3:12
    • Released on April 11, 1969 in the UK and on May 5, 1969 in the U. S.. It reached #1 in the UK for 6 weeks on April 23, and in the U.S. for 5 weeks on May 24, 1969.
23. "The Ballad of John and Yoko" – 2:59
    • Released in the UK on May 30, 1969 reaching #1 for 3 weeks on June 11.
24. "Something" (George Harrison) – 3:01
    • Released on October 31, 1969 in the UK, and on October 6 in the U.S. It reached #1 for 1 week in the U.S. on November 29, 1969.
25. "Come Together" – 4:18
    • Released on October 31, 1969 in the UK, and on October 6 in the U.S.. It reached #1 in the U.S. on November 29, and stayed there for 1 week.
26. "Let It Be" – 3:50
    • Released on March 6, 1970 in the UK, and on March 11, 1970 in the U, S., reaching #1 for 2 weeks on April 11, 1970.
27. "The Long and Winding Road" – 3:37
    • Released in the U.S. on May 11, 1970 and reached #1 for 2 weeks on June 13, 1970. This version has the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn. Produced by Phil Spector, it is the only track not produced by George Martin.

It covers their entire career and has songs I could listen to over and over. It has the pop songs of their beginning like "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and than their more adventurous music such as "Hey Jude" and "Revolution." To me it's like a brief history of pop music on one album.

I know the tradition of a meme is to tag someone but I never know who to tag, so I'll tag anyone reading this that would like to take their try at picking one album. I'm hoping Travis, Bond, Malcom and Starrlight give it a go because I am very curious to see what their pick would be.