If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Jess Klein, whose latest LP, Behind a Veil, is out now. You can listen to the album below — after reading her Desert Island picks, of course!

Buddy Guy, A Man and the Blues

I never get tired of how his voice and guitar sound both so broken in because of how he stretches each of them so much to express his feelings. And yet neither ever sounds rough. There’s always that sweetness beneath the pain.

Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks

Probably nothing I can say about this album that hasn’t already been said. It just brings a girl comfort to hear such brilliant, intimate and impassioned writing. Idiot Wind is such a weird and perfect concept.

Candi Staton, Evidence: The Complete Fame Recordings

So earthy, real, and power packed. Believe me, if you’ve got a broken heart there’s nothing more satisfying to sing along to at the top of your lungs in the shower, or maybe in this case under a palm tree, than “The Best Thing You Ever Had.” “Get it When I Want It,” “He Called Me Baby,” “Mr. and Mrs. Untrue” — oh lord, so good, I have to go listen to it now! Plus it’s a double disc so I cheated – ha!

Damien Dempsey, Seize the Day

In my opinion, Damien is the best singer/songwriter of my generation. He puts so much passion and energy into his live performances and his voice and lyrics are deadly. He’s kind of a national hero in Ireland; in the States he’s less known. I had the chance to tour with him a few years back and watched each night with my jaw on the floor as he’d get the whole room singing along with him by the end of the first song. Damo’s work inspired me to keep going at a time when I was questioning why I play music. If I was stuck on a desert island, I’d want to hear the lyrics “I’m never going to let your negative vibes and comments get through to my psyche and cripple me”!

Free To Be You and Me

I’d bring this one because it reminds me of my childhood. If I was stuck on a desert island I would want to remember that I had a past. Plus it’s a great f*cking concept – not that I’d likely be worried about what anyone else thought if I were stuck on an island alone – but truly, we should all be free to be who we are.

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Bohème, whose latest LP, Follow the Freedom, is out now. You can hear music from the album below — after reading her Desert Island picks, of course!

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

This is the perfect example of live-to-tape performance. No click on this bad boy! Listening to this album I’m totally transported to another place. Perfect for long drives and at-home hangouts. The playing is perfection, the vocals are haunting and the songs are classic Van. Listen with headphones if you want to really trip.

Tom Waits – Closing Time

What can I say about this album that would do it justice? It’s a master class in songwriting from beginning to end. And as well-sung an album as Tom Waits has ever produced, in my extremely humble opinion. “Martha” makes me cry every single time. My love affair with Mr. Waits spans decades, but it all began here.

Rickie Lee Jones – Rickie Lee Jones

That voice, the irreverence. A perfect mix of folk and street. She is the original hard candy with a soft center. Funk and soul meet white girl ’70s jive talk. Rickie can turn a phrase like no other. Hooks for days. This album is a classic.

The Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1964-1971

OK. You know why this is awesome, right?

The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong on Verve

All I’m saying is, as a singer you must kneel at the altar of Ella. As a performer who wishes to distinguish, Louis Armstrong broke the mold. And as a songwriter, it behooves you to look back to move forward.

Follow the Freedom is the debut album from Bohème, a name taken by Cassidy Catanzaro, an established and acclaimed musician, singer, songwriter, producer and entrepreneur, to mark a new chapter in her career, and in her life.

From late 1999 to early 2008, Cassidy was the frontwoman and primary songwriter in Antigone Rising. After releasing four independent albums, the all-female rock band was signed to Lava/Atlantic Records, and its 2005 major label debut From the Ground Up sold upwards of 500,000 copies.

Celebrated for the excitement of her live performances, Cassidy toured/played shows with the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Dave Matthews, Rob Thomas, The Allman Brothers, Macy Gray, Raphael Saadiq, Charice & Norah Jones.

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Chris says: Below you’ll find my piece on Desert Island Discs. But first I wanted to give you a bit of info on myself and my album. I’ve completed an album called Homesick recently that was recorded entirely on an iPhone using nothing but the mic of the phone and a 4 Track app. I was inspired by great music from the 60′s that used limitations in creative ways and tended to favor full, unedited takes in order to capture the honesty of the moment. Because it was all done on the phone, I wasn’t limited to staying in the same studio to record everything. So I went all over Los Angeles, from The Greek Theater to Little Tokyo. We filmed everything also on the phone and made videos for each song. Many of my friends and family pitched in. It was an absolute blast to make. It will be released on May 22 exclusively on iTunes and on June 26 in all other digital outlets. Limited quantities of CDs and Vinyl are also forthcoming. Ok, enough plugging, off to the island we go!

*****

If you were stuck on a desert island, what five albums would you take with you?

There’s three ways I’d like to answer this question. The first way will be to just simply list my five favorite albums of all time. Easy. Here they are:

The Beatles, Abbey Road

Nick Drake, Pink Moon

The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

Van Morrison,Astral Weeks

Joni Mitchell, Blue

Each of those albums has shaped who I am as a person and a musician. I decided to write my own songs and start a band the first time I heard Abbey Road. I decided to learn guitar after hearing Pink Moon (I was strictly a piano player before then). Pet Sounds and Astral Weeks taught me the virtues of meticulous attention to detail AND putting a bunch of random people in a room together and seeing what happens. And Blue taught me about honesty and opening yourself up. Without these albums and about 50 others, I wouldn’t be here now writing this piece and I probably wouldn’t be writing and singing songs. Well, maybe I would, but how are we to know? Multiverse, I’m sure.

*****

The second way I’d like to answer the question is to think what albums would serve as a proper soundtrack to solitary island life. To do this, I figure that you’d need music for all your different moods. This makes it hard to boil it down to 5 albums. But let’s say you’d need one album to convey the loneliness you feel at night, one album for those times where you’re in a lighter mood and perhaps even laughing at your own situation, one album for when you need to let out some aggression, one album that reminds you specifically of home, and one album that defines your new home and identity as an islander. Here’s what I came up with:

LONELINESS: Nick Drake, Pink Moon

This is the only holdover from my favorite albums list. It is perhaps THE album for working through loneliness and depression. Sitting by myself out in the middle of nowhere, I would find comfort in the fact that there’s someone who can empathize with my plight and maybe I wouldn’t feel so alone.

LAUGHTER AS COPING MECHANISM: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

Ray Davies and company would serve well as the soundtrack to those days when I’m able to shrug off the blues and try and enjoy my life on the island. This is some bittersweet stuff all about nostalgia and the absurdity of living in the past. It would allow me to laugh at all the chumps out there taking pictures of each other to prove they really existed, and be happy living in the now.

LETTING OUT AGGRESSION: James Brown, Star Time

The obvious choice for this would be a punk record, like Static Age by The Misfits. But I decided to go with the hardest working man in show business to get me dancing all over the place. Not only would this collection serve as a great outlet for my own aggression, but the sheer amount of material (71 tracks) means it would take a long time to get tired of it, and that is definitely something you’d want to consider if you were out on your own for all of eternity.

REMINDER OF HOME: Chris Price, Homesick

What better way to recall my previous life as a city dweller and non-island person than this? This may be cheating, but honestly it’s not like I’m saying its my favorite album or anything. I’m just saying it would be nice to hear this album and think of all the places we went to make it and all the friends and family who got involved in it. It would be my way of keeping those people and places fresh in my memory.

ISLAND IDENTITY SOUNDTRACK: The Congos,  Heart Of The Congos

This one’s easy. There is nothing that says “cast away” to me like The Congos singing “Fisherman”. I’d sit there in the sand, drunk on coconuts, tossing a line into the sea to try and find dinner, soaking up the sun. This album and particularly that song would become a mantra of mine. Island life would be sweet.

*****

The third and final way to approach this is to realize that I probably won’t have any electricity on this island, so even if I had a boombox the batteries would eventually run out and I’d just be stuck with album covers. So which 5 album covers would I want to stare at forever? These are the 5 I thought of:

Nick Drake, Pink Moon (hat trick!)

The Beatles, Revolver

Antonio Carlos Jobim, Wave

Jane Brikin/Serge Gainsbourg

Miles Davis, Bitches Brew

*****

Cast Away is a good movie. The End.

Chris Price

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If you had to go away for a while and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of singer/songwriter Orbo (Ole Reinert Berg-Olsen,) who, along with his band The Longshots (and some special guests like Delbert McClinton) is getting ready to release Prairie Sun on May 22nd. You can check out the video for 

Orbo says: I’ve often wondered about what songs I love the most and found it impossible to select a certain few. The album format is kind of disappearing with digital music single sale nowadays, and to me that’s tragic, cause I don’t think anything beats a good album. I really love when songs on an album grow on me, and I’ll keep listening to albums for as long as they come out in this great format. I don’t like to make mix tapes with songs from other artists or albums, cause I like to get under the skin of the songwriter and get the whole idea of what they’re talking about. Certain artists I just can’t live without and certain albums are part of my life – so as I need my arms and legs these five albums would be essential to my survival on a desert island.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Double Fantasy

Lennon’s finest work in my opinion. Songs about love, life, family and Lennon himself – a man I’ve been fascinated by for many years. He captures everything in one great pop album and the sensual ‘Woman’ would help me remember what a woman feels like on a desert island. Also, ‘Beautiful Boy’ grasps that moment in time that passes in life maybe never to come back. Your own child growing up in such a fantastic world as this. And who knows, maybe left stranded on an island even Yoko’s songs would catch my interest!

Kevin Welch, A Patch Of Blue Sky
This great album by America’s greatest kept secret, singer/songwriter Kevin Welch’s fantastic album came out the year my daughter was born (2010) and I still listen to it.  Almost a philosophical album, so near, so stripped and so intensely close to a universal truth for all mankind.

Tom Petty, Wildflowers
This album is a fine piece of handcraft in the art of rock’n'roll. It sums up how great songwriting can become with great studio musicians working out songs and recording them. It goes to show that a great producer is essential. Rick Rubin made a diamond with Tom Petty here, and to me, he was never able to do it again, which is why it’s so great.

Warren Zevon, Life’ll Kill Ya
One of the weirdest, but most intelligent albums of all time from the greatest of them all.

Tom Waits, Mule Variations
You’re gonna need some theatrical entertainment whilst on an island. This one is it.

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Fiery Pit of Hell Discs is the same exact concept as Desert Island Discs, only you know…evil.  After all, a metal artist seems more likely to be stranded in the bowels of hell than on a sandy beach anyway, right?

Today’s edition comes from doom merchant Judd Madden.  Madden is a one man wrecking crew from down under, creating monolithic, epic, instrumental doom metal that’ll have your insides shaking with fear.  He has four records out which you can download from his Bandcamp page. Pay special attention to Madden’s latest album, Doomgroove which offers up a nice traditional doom mix of head bashing riffs with the feeling you’re stuck in quicksand.

I asked Madden to let me know the five albums he’d want to be stranded with and he didn’t disappoint with the list returned to me.  See what Judd’s classics are and buy his fucking record while you’re at it.

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (1970)
Let’s start with the godfathers of doom. I was really torn between the first four albums, they’re all brilliant.  The energy and enthusiasm on Black Sabbath is amazing. Just four guys, jamming out. It was considered ‘dark’ at the time, but for me it’s pure groove, and actually quite positive feeling.  Every time I listen to this album it reminds me how much I love music, and life.

Neil Young – Live Rust (1978)
Again, I was torn between so many Neil albums, so I cheated – and chose a live one. I’m listening to the first track “Sugar Mountain” now and I feel the tears welling up… Ha ha.
Every song on Live Rust is fucking heartbreaking and inspiring. I love the live sound, the rawness and the mistakes – Neil’s voice breaking. A truly talented and amazing songwriter. It was the first time I really sat down and took notice of lyrics.

Sleep – Holy Mountain (1992)
A Sabbath-inspired album with Sabbath already on the list? Hell yeah. Why? Because the riffs are monumental. And super catchy. The simplicity of Sleep always amazes me.
Probably the heaviest three-piece ever. It’s impossible to listen without nodding along… albeit very slowly on some tracks. Sleep taught me to slow down.

Meshuggah – Nothing (2002)
Meshuggah are so unique, all of their music just destroys me, this album most of all, in a good way. The complexity and the mechanical mathematics are overpowering. Within all the aggression and harsh tones however, is a balance.  A sense of the universe. It’s complex but all the pieces fit. It sounds like chaos but when you learn, and listen, it’s perfect.
The end of Straws Pulled at Random – the guitar solo – makes me roll back my head and look to the sky.

Sunn O))) – The Grimmrobe Demos (1999)
The plates of the Earth slowly moving against each other.

The structure of this album emerges so slowly, its extremely meditative and cathartic.

It requires patience; listening in bed is heavily recommended.

Dear friends, play this at my funeral.

Not for its doom, but for its beauty.

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Brian Buchanan of Enter the Haggis, whose latest LP, Whitelake, is out now. You can hear a song from the album below — after reading Brian’s Desert Island picks, of course!

This was damned near impossible (in reality, I’d just make five mix CDs). ETH fans might be surprised not to see any celtic or folk albums on this list, but I’ve grown up a fan of rock music and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I think I’ll fill up an iPod Nano and have it surgically implanted under my skin so that I never have to make this kind of choice.. but If I had to listen to just five albums for the rest of time, this list would be close:

Mezzanine, by Massive Attack

I was introduced to this album by a high school friend and musical collaborator shortly after I left home for the first time. He played me “Teardrop” in his car one night after a show (many people would know it as the theme song from House M.D.), and it just about made me quit music forever. The organic sounds mixed with tasteful and brilliant electronic production make for an unbelievable sonic tapestry, which would be enough on its own — but the songwriting is top notch, too. (Check out “Inertia Creeps.” Amazing.)

This is one of those albums you’ve heard a thousand times without knowing it, in movies and TV shows for the last decade or more, and it’d be my downtempo/electronic pick. RUNNERS UP (even though I know this is cheating): Homogenic, by Bjork; The Fragile, by Nine Inch Nails; Simple Things, by Zero 7.

Siamese Dream, by The Smashing Pumpkins

I started listening to popular music in the mid-Nineties, right in the middle of the “alternative” explosion. It took me awhile to get my head around Billy Corgan’s voice, but the songs he wrote were so carefully crafted and so intricate. I was raised on classical music, and even today I have a real weakness for well-orchestrated and multi-layered music. I learned how to play every note of this album on guitar, and I still probably throw it on once every couple of weeks. “Soma” and “Geek USA” are just stupidly good songs. RUNNERS UP: Throwing Copper, by Live; Rage Against The Machine, by Rage Against The Machine.

Elgar Violin Concerto and The Lark Ascending, by Hilary Hahn

I don’t think there’s a violinist alive with more ludicrous chops than Hilary Hahn. From a purely technical standpoint, the third movement of Elgar’s Violin Concerto is just ridiculous, and she plays it like it’s a warm-up. I can’t tell you how many times I listened to this concerto when I first bought this CD, but it’s the only disc I’ve ever worn out.

If that wasn’t enough, her performance of Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” is the kind of musical experience that can change who you are as a listener. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’d pick this album because it’s one of the only things I’d run back into a housefire to save. RUNNERS UP: Rachmaninov Piano Concertos 2 & 3, by Tamas Vasary; Schoenberg; Sibelius: Violin Concertos by Hilary Hahn.

OK Computer, by Radiohead

I’m not going to say anything about this album that a million other people haven’t written over the last decade and a half. I’ll just say that it was a huge influence on me as a writer and musician (and continues to be) and that “Subterranean Homesick Alien” is one of the greatest recordings EVER EVER EVER. Nuff said. RUNNERS UP: Grace, by Jeff Buckley; (), by Sigur Ros; Boxer, by the National, Funeral by Arcade Fire.

Scenery and Fish, by I Mother Earth

This was the hardest pick of the bunch but I felt like I needed at least one harder-rocking Canadian album. This is the best album by one of the best rock bands to come out of Canada. Edwin sings his heart out, Jag Tanna rocks some of the most innovative guitar lines recorded before or since, and the sheer joy and virtuosity with which all parts are performed is audible proof that pop music can still be progressive. “Used To Be Alright” and “One More Astronaut” are two rock songs which, although overplayed in Canada, deserved much wider airplay than they got internationally, and “Earth, Sky and C” is just epic. This is the rock album I play for people who think “Canadian rock” means Nickelback and Sum 41. RUNNERS UP: Edges of Twilight, by The Tea Party; Billy Talent III, by Billy Talent; In Loving Memory Of, by Big Wreck.

Not a bad desert island playlist, right? See how many of those influences you can pinpoint in the Whitelake track “Devil’s Son,” embedded below — then stream the entire album for free at the band’s website.

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Stephan Bayley of City Squirrel, whose latest album, defeat, is out now. Visit the band’s site for samples of their music — after reading Stephan’s Desert Island picks, of course!

John Cale – Paris 1919

Paris 1919 is the ultimate album by my favorite still-living singer-songwriter. As a founding member of the Velvet Underground, John Cale is too often overshadowed by his former bandmate Lou Reed. In his career, Cale’s pretty much mastered every aspect of his craft. He started by introducing us to his unique style of viola playing, along with the punk bass parts he did on the first two V.U. albums, which, in a way, paved the way for everything else he did ever since.

In short, he’s done it all. Still, Paris 1919 isn’t for everyone. But for me this is his greatest moment. Sonically, the recordings–done in the early ’70s–are actually quite dull by today’s standards. But this album speaks to me like none other, as the songs sometimes have odd, yet brilliant, arrangements. I met John Cale after one of his shows a long while ago and had him sign my copy of this CD. He scribbled his name with a Sharpie on the front while sitting in the passenger seat of the van, waiting to leave. Brushes with greatness–life affirmed.

Radiohead – In Rainbows

I am, admittedly, a late bloomer when it comes to Radiohead. This was the first album of theirs I really got into. And maybe it’s just because it was my first real exposure to them, but I feel like it’s their most solid album from top to bottom. There are no extensive electronica meanderings that might let up on the intensity like on some of their other albums. Yet, this album is almost full of “Perfect 10s” to me. I’ve since gotten into their back catalog and think, “Man, how do they consistently put out so much great shit?!” Professional athletes who regularly, and easily, out-perform their peers are often accused of taking steroids. So, I am publicly accusing Radiohead of taking steroids–lots of ‘em. Or, at least, perhaps lots of something, if not steroids…

Elliot Smith – Either Or

I have done so many home recordings, so many demos, so many songs where I’ve done all the instruments and sang everything in my own little dark hole of songwriter’s solitude. All the while I feel I have gotten better over the years. But nothing done in my home even comes close to this Elliot Smith album in which he displays complete, singular mastery of the home demo variety.

Even after he bitch-slaps the genre out of the park, it still has my favorite collection of Elliot Smith songs on it. “Ballad of Big Nothing” is an all-time fave, and the guitar solo on “Cupid’s Trick” makes the hair on my arms stand on end whenever I hear it played. While I can appreciate the pristine production qualities of the later recordings, I find I’m most comfortable with this stage of his career and that this album has the perfect blend of his styles of songwriting–with an additional keen sense of arranging, since all the instruments were played by him. Elliot Smith kicked some serious ass and for me this album is my favorite example as to why, or how. Plus I’d like to think we would’ve gotten along swimmingly. I wish I had moved to Portland years earlier; I wish I had been his friend.

Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

While the follow-up release, Veckatamist, propelled Grizzly Bear beyond indie-only status and into national television performances and TV ad spots (“Two Weeks” was used in a Volkswagon commercial), it was their lesser known album, Yellow House, that sucked me into their world. I went ape over this album when it came out and listened to it religiously that year. This album introduced me to sonic possibilities I hadn’t thought of from an engineering standpoint. Their use of compression, reverb, room mic’ing and extreme treatments on certain instruments made this album sound pretty exotic to me. That, plus the fact that the songs were very intensely performed and the singing was great made me a believer in them. So, I willingly joined the throngs of indie dudes and drank from the Grizzly Bear punch bowl of a few years ago. For me, Yellow House was the appetizer I harkened back to long after the fancier main course, Veckatamist, was devoured.

Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Spanish Dance Troupe

Since Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci is one of my favorite bands ever, I felt the need to include something by them on this list. Not that this album is clearly their best, it just happens to be the one that means the most to me. Again–as is often the case–this was my first exposure to their music. Led by my second favorite living Welsh singer-songwriter, Euros Childs (see John Cale above for number one), this band to me is the perfect blending of anglo-folkiness, psychedelia, moodiness laced with spurts of amphetamine, sometimes sung in Welsh, and at other times in English. But regardless of the tongue, I was hooked by their overall charm and wanted to hear the end of every story.

Track one is very visual–I would guess written about Euros’ grandmother. “She ain’t walking down the hallway anymore, she’d been going down for 80 years or more, but now her memory lives on, in a children’s song, she ain’t walking down the hallway anymore.” The acoustic and pedal steel guitars drift off by song’s end into a Heaven that we hope exists. Track two then drags us back to Earth and into a dance party somewhere with their unique version of Welsh folk-punk in, “Poodle Rockin.”

I saw this band play at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis a long time ago. Then a few years later, after the band had broken up, Euros Childs played a show in Portland at a club called Holocene. We invited him over to our table to chat, and I mentioned to him that I saw him play several years ago, and that I got a photo taken with him, etc. I asked him if he remembered that night. He turned to me and unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the t-shirt underneath which said “400 Bar.” Hells-to-the-Yeah! We then shared our bottle of wine with him before he went up on stage. Afterwards a friend of mine, who’s bolder than I, grabbed one of the set lists for me, and we had the band sign it. I love my friends. Again, brushes with greatness, with great friends–Affirming existence for me.

City Squirrel, “Free to Disappear”

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Conor Mason, whose latest LP, Standstill, is out now. You can hear a couple of tracks from the album below — after reading Conor’s Desert Island picks, of course!

BECK – SEA CHANGE

This is my favourite Beck album. Not having been too familiar with Beck’s back-catalogue, other than the more popular singles that feature on the likes of Odelay and Midnite Vultures, Sea Change was a record that really blind-sided me. I was blown away by the song-writing, beautiful string arrangements and the more intimate vocal style. “Lost Cause” is possibly my favourite on the album, but “Lonesome Tears” wouldn’t be far behind.

THE WALKMEN – BOWS & ARROWS

As well as being a great album, I have a sentimental attachment to this record; it reminds me of some real good times. I love the rhythm and the energy in the songs. Although there are obvious stand-out tracks like “The Rat,” I really get off on the atmosphere of the album as a whole; it sounds like there is warm fuzzy distortion on everything from the organs to the vocals. “No Christmas While I’m Talking” is a personal highlight.

ELLIOTT SMITH – FIGURE 8

I’m a big fan of Elliott Smith, it’s no secret! He has so many great albums I would be hard-pressed to choose just one. I admire the stripped down earlier albums a lot but in the end I would likely take one of his latter records, probably Figure 8. For me it balances the more full-bodied, bigger production numbers like “Happiness” with those intimate moments he is renowned for, as on “Somebody That I Used To Know.” Both rank amongst my favourite songs of all-time. The consistency in Elliott’s writing, from his first album to the last, is something you’re not likely to see from an artist very often.

CASHIER NO. 9 – TO THE DEATH OF FUN

I think it would be good to bring some music from closer to home. I’ve been listening to Cashier no9′s debut album plenty recently. It’s just a great collection of songs finely produced by David Holmes. My favourite track is “Good Human,” but “Lost At Sea” would probably be more apt for my deserted predicament.

THE FLAMING LIPS – THE SOFT BULLETIN

This is the first Flaming Lips album that I heard – despite it being their umpteenth – and it remains my favourite. The Lips are always thinking outside the box when it comes to song-writing, making brilliant use of synths and samples to beef up the sound. “Race for the Prize” would no doubt inspire me back into building a raft to get me out of here!

Not a bad desert island playlist, right? See how many of those influences you can pinpoint in these tracks from Conor Mason’s Standstill, out now.

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Russell Howard, whose latest release, City Heart, is out now. Visit his official site for samples of Russell’s music — after reading his Desert Island picks, of course!

The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

One of the few non-classical records in the house as a kid, Sgt. Pepper’s was my introduction to pop. Listening to this record was like stepping into an alternate universe and ultimately gave me the first twinge of “hey, I want to do that.” Listening to it now puts me back in that anything-is-possible frame of mind.

Counting Crows, August & Everything After

There is something powerful in the simplicity of this record. It’s a perfect storm of T-bone’s production, Adam Duritz’s wistful vocals, and just plain old great songs. A&AE came out in 1993, but I didn’t get a copy until 2001, after the band had released two follow-ups. Did I mention I was a late bloomer? When I did get ahold of it, it didn’t leave the CD player for weeks. There is a deep-seated angst that resonated with my 17-year-old self’s quest for self importance… and I imagine would resonate even more facing the isolation of a desert island.

Jeff Buckley, Grace

Another debut from the early ’90s, it took awhile for this record to find its way to me and even longer for me to warm up to it. At first I felt that the shifts from song to song were jolting and that the record didn’t hang together very well. For a long time I skipped straight to the standout tracks (“Last Goodbye,” “Lover,” “Hallelujah”) but on a flight home from college for Thanksgiving I listened all the way through. It was an epiphany and I haven’t listened to it any other way since.

David Gray, White Ladder

This record is where it all came together for me. I had spent my afternoons singing and playing along with the bulk of the ’90s greatest alt rockers, and then White Ladder happened. It was like David Gray had taken all of the individual elements that had inspired me and mashed them into something refreshing and compelling that allowed me to brush that Pearl Jam chip off my shoulder.

Ultimate Jump Little Children Mix Tape

This is a mythical item that I hope becomes a reality. Jump has so many great songs scattered across their catalog (mostly revolving around geography), and I fantasize about them all being on one super album. As so often happens with me, I didn’t get into Jump until they were nearly broken up, so if NASA would only finish that time machine I keep bugging them about…

Hear how all those influences came together in Russell’s latest single, “Home Sweet Home” — and then visit his site to order your copy of City Heart:

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If you had to go away for awhile and you could only take five of your favorite albums with you, which ones would you choose? Yes, we know it isn’t a fair question, but that hasn’t stopped us from asking music fans who happen to be recording artists in their own right. This edition of Desert Island Discs comes courtesy of Erik Brandt, whose latest solo release, The Long Winter, is out now. Visit Erik’s site for samples of his music — after reading his Desert Island picks, of course!

Invariably these kinds of exercises make me feel as if I’m back in middle school trying to play the “cool kid” game which is always filled with hidden trapdoors and pitfalls. Is this when I’m supposed to name-check all the bands everyone else seems to always say?

Well…if I’m going to be stuck on a desert island and–somehow against all logic–I have access to a CD player and electricity, I want to listen to music I genuinely enjoy–not the music I’m supposed to like. Here are five pivotal albums that have stood the test of time in my mind:

U2, The Joshua Tree

Rarely has a band made such a soaring, anthemic, glorious near-perfect album. The personal memories alone that I have associated with these tracks would sustain me for years of agonizing bordeom while trapped on an island.

The Jayhawks, Tomorrow the Green Grass

Gary Louris’s screaming electric guitars and his and Mark Olson’s harmonies with the backdrop of Karen Grotberg’s keys never fails to elevate me from wherever I am. This album simply refuses to age for me.

The Waterboys, Fisherman’s Blues

I somehow encountered this album in the public library of my rural southern Wisconsin town. Upon cueing it up on my father’s turntable and having a first listen, I knew I was encountering something special that I had never heard before. Irish folk mixed with rock and poetry. A door opened up in my brain and I went through and I’ve never been able to find my way back home.

Willie Nelson, Teatro

It’s not necesssarily the song selection of this album–it’s the magic of how it was created and the groove Lanois was able to capture. Willie is backed by an all-star cast of players who create this narcotic atmosphere. This is an album I’ll listen to five times in a row.

R.E.M., Murmur

It doesn’t really matter what Stipe was or wasn’t saying on this album–it is clear that they were doing something unique and that they were breaking all the molds here. No one else had what they had or saw music they way they did and they created a classic in this album.

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