Issue №19 | 5 August 2019 | ‘Swimming’
Issue №19 | 5 August 2019 | ‘Swimming’
It’s official. Queen Kirsty Young has finally handed over her Desert Island Discs microphone and a period of national mourning commences. For those of us who await each episode with bated breath, this is the end of an era.
So, to mark the spirit of the occasion, we bring you our Desert Island special — we’ve packed a suitcase of the essentials we’d pack for our trip to the island, and planned how we’d celebrate our last night in civilisation. Alex and Freya
What Alex has been up to this week: As well as listening to his new record player as much as possible, he attended the Sonos Sound Experience to hear music from The National and slowthai in a banging sound installation.
What Freya has been up to this week: Interviewed her icon, conductor Marin Alsop, and enjoyed a sumptuous pasta dinner at Bancone in Covent Garden for toyboy Alex’s birthday.
Hear
Our Desert Island Discs…
Freya:
1) Bill Whelan: Riverdance, A Symphonic Suite
Riverdance and a full orchestra? Thank you, yes please. Its closing movement, Cloudsong, will forever get my toes a-tapping. On the desert island, I’d love to make moonshine and carry on the Parr sisters’ tradition of getting legless and doing Riverdance to this great symphonic masterpiece.
2) John Adams: Harmonium
This majestic choral work opened the 2017 BBC Proms. Cycling every evening to the Royal Albert Hall together to hear world-class orchestras perform for just a few quid was a total joy. This piece — with its rich, dense wall of sound — always takes me back to that incredible summer of music with ma fave dude.
3) The Fisherman’s Friends: South Australia
When I’m on the desert island, I’ll need something to sing with gay abandon as I nurse a bottle of rum. This tune not only reminds me of my lovely grandma, I’ve done some pretty extensive sea shanty research on my pilgrimage of the southwest and this is categorically the best.
Alex:
For me, this album is rock perfection. The Boston four-piece combine surrealist lyrics with infectious bass-lines, angular guitar hooks and visceral vocals. It’s a masterpiece from start to finish — no wonder the band have the late David Bowie’s blessings.
2) Edward Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
Once described as a ‘massive lad’ live on BBC Radio 3 a few years ago by none other than me and a few other friends, I’m including Elgar because he is, in fact, a lad. The Dream of Gerontius tells the story of a man’s journey to heaven, with a stunning orchestral and choral accompaniment.
3) Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly
Freya may lob this disc back in the ocean if we ever did find ourselves stranded on a desert island together, but for me this album has everything: politically-motivated rap, stunning jazz instrumentals and some seriously catchy pop thrown in, too. What more do you need?
A playlist:
There’s still time to find the song of summer. And we’ve been looking hard.
Featuring stunning music from Angel Olsen, an absolute bop from Japanese synth rock band Sakanaction, a soulful new single from Hannah Elkins and plenty more, this playlist has it all. Leave the best music discoveries to us. Alex & Freya
Read
The books we’d take to the Desert Island…
Alex:
1) A Clockwork Orange — Anthony Burgess
Set in the near future, A Clockwork Orange follows the story of Alex (not me), a young reprobate who finds himself at the mercy of unconventional government reform methods to squash his 14-year prison sentence for murder. It’s a wacky blend of sci-fi, dystopia and off-the-cuff writing that’s incredibly rewarding to lose yourself in. (pssst — the film is a must-watch too).
2) Brave New World — Aldous Huxley
Despite being written in 1931, this book still feels as pertinent as evr. Set in a utopian society with no-frills sex, mood-enhancing drugs and a rigidly structured class system, it’s a powerful reminder of what could happen when people get left behind with technology.
3) NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories — NOFX, Jeff Alulis
Now for something a bit more light and fluffy, well, kind of. Meet NOFX, one of my favourite punk bands and their ridiculous story on how they became one of the most successful independent acts of all time.
Freya:
1) Blindness by José Saramago
An epidemic of blindness sweeps across the city, causing society to break down and become totally anarchic. Order is lost and civilisation is destroyed. An intensely claustrophobic read, and one I’ll turn to time and time again.
2) The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The root of my dissertation on women’s mental health narratives in literature and a total masterpiece of a short story. The protagonist is driven mad, trapped in a mansion following the birth of her child. A landmark piece of writing, and one I’ll forever hold dear to me.
3) Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes
The poetry collection that made me scribble out ‘Music’ and put ‘English Lit’ on my UCAS application. It is an account of Hughes’s relationship with Sylvia Plath and the psychological drama that led to the breakdown of their marriage and her consequent suicide. Utterly captivating.
Do
The last meals we’d eat…
Freya:
Starter: 10 William St (Sydney)’s whipped bottarga and pretzel.
Main: A duo of pastas: Mummy Parr’s macaroni cheese and Pasta Ripiena (Bristol)’s black truffle, porcini and ricotta mezzaluna.
Drink: Any stout from Mikkeller, our new favourite Danish brewery. Heads up, one’s just opened in London.
Alex:
Starter: Moules-frites (or mussels and chips for the Brits in the room).
Main: A number 10 meal (5 chicken strips, fries and an orange Miranda) from the best fried chicken shop in England: Maryland Chicken in Nottingham.
Drink: It’s dark, delicious and brewed by monks. It has to be a Rochefort 10 — another prime example of Belgium’s fine culinary exports.
#Capitalism
What would we take to the island to make our stay more bearable?
Without a diary, Freya doesn’t exist. So she’ll be scribbling her schedule for fire-making, coconut-shelling and all other desert island activities in this.
After sitting on one of these recently, we can confirm it’s a necessity for Alex’s lounging needs.
Odds and Ends
As the old proverb says, when Trump gives you a wall, build a see-saw.
What did a kitten do to deserve this?
