In honor of her upcoming birthday, this month's Desert Island Discs are brought to you by my beautiful sister, Kathryn. Kathryn and I were latch-key kids and instead of doing our homework when we got home from school, we immediately threw on MTV's Top 20 Countdown, chowed down on frozen Ssips, and watched our favorite hair bands duke it out for #1. And while our tastes have digressed quite a bit since then, we'll always have Nikki Sixx playing the piano on "Home Sweet Home" and Slash's guitar solo on "November Rain." So without further adieu, here's her list...
Click here to listen to all the tracks!
1) Bad/40/Where the Streets Have No Name (live in Boston) by U2... I just could not decide between Bad or Where the Streets Have No Name. I love both. Solution? The live performance from Boston that includes both in one track. I have loved U2 for as long as I can remember, and their live performances are second to none.
2) Patience by Guns n Roses... I am pretty sure I have whistled along with Axl Rose (whom I intended to marry when I turned 16, during my lengthy love-of-guys-with-long-hair phase) over 100 times. I used to be notoriously IMpatient, and this song was a calming presence during some tumultuous childhood years.
3) Both Hands by Ani DiFranco... I remember exactly where I was and who I was with the first time I heard this song, and it was love at first listen. Who hasn’t been in a failing relationship but struggled to finally let go? “I am writing grafitti on your body / I am drawing the story of how hard we tried.”
4) All You Need is Love by The Beatles... So simple, so true, and so very appropriate for someone who wears her heart on her sleeve. I grew up listening to The Beatles with my dad and sister, and I have fond memories of being silly and singing their songs at the top of my lungs. If I’m going to be stuck on a desert island, I’ll need an uplifting and hopeful song that takes me back to happy kid moments. And at the end of the day, I really believe all we need is love. The rest can fall in line.
5) Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd... I could have easily chosen 8 Pink Floyd songs I can’t live without, but this particular song is in my Top 3 of all-time favorites. I could be in the worst mood ever and this song will make things better. “How I wish, how I wish you were here / We’re just two lost souls / Swimming in a fish bowl / Year after year / Running over the same old ground / What have we found? / The same old fears / Wish you were here”
6) Feeling Good by Nina Simone... Oh how I adore Nina Simone. Total girl crush. This song is soulful, sexy, and would be the theme song of my desert island experience. From the opening line of “birds flying high” to the climactic end, this song is flawless.
7) Fix You by Coldplay... As with Pink Floyd, I could have easily chosen 8 Coldplay songs I can’t live without. But I chose “Fix You” because it’s the kind of song you want during hard times. It helped me get through 2009. “When the tears come streaming down your face / When you lose something you can’t replace / When you love someone but it goes to waste / Could it be worse? / Lights will guide you home / And ignite your bones / And I will try to fix you.” We all love, lose, and pick ourselves back up again. For me, this song is equal parts “cry your eyes out” and “hang in there, it’ll be okay.”
8) Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls... Because it’s fun. And it reminds me of college, which was the most fun, responsibility-free time in my adult life. I know this song by heart, pretend I can actually sing while singing it, and it puts a smile on my face whenever I hear it.
Thanks, Kat!! Happy Birthday! :)