Desert Island biases

[rlm@ms_aspen.hac.com (R. L. McMillin)]

... here are mine, in no particular order, and not paying attention to the
number involved, but trying to keep the overall list reasonably short.

Talking Heads: Talking Heads '77/Fear of Music
	David Byrne at the height of his abilities, before the drugs got
	to him.  Byrne gave radio a well needed kick in the pants for
	forgetting the African roots from which so much pop sprang.
	IMHO (keep in mind I've not seen the Hammersmith video), "Stop
	Making Sense" is the finest rock film ever made.

Sunday In The Park With George:
	THE definitive Sondheim, and his statement on Art.  The most moving
	Broadway show I've ever seen.  (P.S.: For you Dorothy Parker, Stephen
	Sondheim, or Leonard Bernstein fans out there, Deutche Grammophon is
	releasing their collaborative effort _Candide_ in August, with
	Bernstein conducting... should be interesting!)

Joe Jackson: Jumpin' Jive/Night and Day
	If any Briton in the musical world deserves to be given an honorary
	American citizenship, it's Joe Jackson.  You can tell he's the child
	of a jazz musician; he knows his musical history, and it shows in
	his love for that idiom.  I don't think he's given enough credit
	in this country, chiefly because reviewers (at least, those in the
	L.A. Times) expect him to be perpetually cynical.

Elvis Costello: Imperial Bedroom/Get Happy!
	Declan MacManus cheekily changed his name to Elvis, and ever since,
	we've been treated to his razorous wit.  Some people (including
	myself) see him as a modern counterpart to Cole Porter, prolific
	and wickedly funny.

The Cars: Candy-O/The Cars
	Slick commercial music with great hooks.

The Waitresses: Greatest Hits
	And I hate the idea behind Greatest Hits albums, too!  Optimistic
	"take no prisoners" cynicism from Patty Donahue.  "My goal?  My
	goal is to find a cure for irony and make a fool out of God!"

X: Los Angeles/Wild Gift
	A cheer for the home team!  Much that was Los Angeles club
	music in the late '70s and early '80s.

Kate Bush: The Sensual World
	I chose this album because for the first time, she seems to really
	come into her own element.  Her other works seem a bit distant
	and almost sylphlike, and while I enjoy them, there's nothing like
	the visceral reaction I get from every song on this album,
	particularly "This Woman's Work".

Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony
	The master's magnum opus.  The apocryphal story of someone turning
	him around to see the applause he could not hear after the final
	chord sounded makes it that much more appealing.  Every composer
	afterward has been influenced by him; in a sense, he was the Newton
	of music.

Gilbert and Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore/The Pirates of Penzance
	Gilbert and Sullivan grew to loathe each other, but not without
	first giving us these beauties, reminding us that it's important
	to be able to satirize important institutions.  "Saturday Night
	Live" for the 19th century.

Stay Awake: Various Reinterpretations of Music from Disney Films
	If this were a movie, you'd call it a sleeper.  The Replacements,
	Bonnie Raitt, Sinead O'Connor, NRBQ, Syd Straw, Buster Poindexter,
	Suzanne Vega, and Los Lobos (and more!) all put a loving, wonderful
	new spin on the old Disney standards.

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Whew!  I hope you're all still awake...

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As yet another footnote, I would recommend to any out there looking to
brighten the normally dismal music scene to take a listen to "Big
Daddy: Making Our Own Groove" on Rhino Records.  They're an L.A. party
band that specializes in putting '50s tail fins on the likes of Vanilla
Ice, Sinead O'Connor, and Andrew Lloyd Webber (listen for the "Meow Mix"
song at the end of "Memory").  It is funny!