The Sonic Collective is entering our tenth year, and we thought it would be fun to start 2024 off with something a bit different… a thought experiment! Feel free to play along! Don’t think too hard about this setup – it’s meant to be an absurd scenario…
Here goes:
You find yourself on a sinking ship. Maybe it hit an iceberg, maybe pirates have boarded and sabotaged the hull. The only thing that matters is that you’ve gotta get yourself off the boat alive and over to the desert island that is a short swim away. Oh, and while you’re at it, you have room to bring TEN albums (and presumably the means to play them). Why were you travelling with all the music in the world? Who knows… Just choose ten albums to take with you!
That’s it. Simple, right?
Actually, no.
Who knows how long you’ll be stuck on this hypothetical island. Maybe for the rest of your life! These 10 albums had better be good, and your choices better be strategic. Will you lean into nostalgic music from your youth? Music that sparks joy? Music that offers enough complexity that you won’t tire of it? What about music that you just started getting to know? Are you taking the thought experiment literally and bringing beach music? These are the questions we faced when the four of us spent over a month pondering which ten albums we’d bring. And as expected, it generated a very interesting conversation between ourselves.
Our desert island albums:
Click on our names to see our album choices and some notable songs, or just go for a long scroll. All albums are linked on Spotify, if you wanna hear our choices for yourself.
Scott G’s albums Darren’s albums Scott C’s albums Alain’s albums
Scott G
The Tragically hip — Day For Night
Notable songs:
- Grace, Too
- So Hard Done By
- Nautical Disaster
Bruce Springsteen — Born in the U.S.A
Notable songs:
- Dancing in the Dark
- Born in the U.S.A.
- I’m on Fire
Bryan Adams — Reckless
Notable songs:
- Run to You
- Heaven
- Summer of 69
Veruca Salt — Eight Arms to Hold You
Notable songs:
- Volcano Girls
- Benjamin
- With David Bowie
Roxette — Look Sharp!
Notable songs:
- The Look
- Dressed for Success
- Listen to your heart
Guns N’ Roses — Use Your Illusion II
Notable songs:
- Knockin’ on Heave’s Door
- Civil War
- You Could Be Mine
U2 — The Joshua Tree
Notable songs:
- With or Without You
- Where the Streets Have No Name
- Bullet the Blue Sky
Tom Petty — Full Moon Fever
Notable songs:
- I Won’t Back Down
- Free Fallin’
- Runnin’ Down a Dream
Pet Shop Boys — Actually
Notable songs:
- It’s a Sin
- What Have I Done to Deserve This?
- Rent
Heart — Heart
Notable songs:
- What About Love
- If Looks Could Kill
- NEver
Darren
Sade — Stronger Than Pride
Notable songs:
- Love is Stronger Than Pride
- Paradise
- Nothing Can Come Between Us
The Police — Synchronicity
Notable songs:
- Every Breath You Take
- King of Pain
- Synchronicity II
Bob Marley — Legend
Notable songs:
- One Love / People Get Ready
- Redemption Song
- No Woman, No Cry
The Beatles — Revolver
Notable songs:
- Eleanor Rigby
- Tomorrow NEver Knows
- And Your Bird Can Sing
Talking Heads — Stop Making Sense
Notable songs:
- Burning Down the House
- Once in a Lifetime
- This Must Be The Place
A Tribe Called Quest — Midnight Marauders
Notable songs:
- Award Tour
- Electric Relaxation
- Oh My God
Billy Idol — Rebel Yell
Notable songs:
- Rebel Yell
- Eyes Without a Face
- Flesh For Fantasy
Miles Davis — Kind of Blue
Notable songs:
- So What
- Freddie Freeloader
- Blue in Green
Tom Petty — Wildflowers & All The Rest
Notable songs:
- Wildflowers
- You Don’t Know How it Feels
- It’s Good to be King
Nirvana — Nevermind
Notable songs:
- Polly
- Something in the Way
- Smells Like Teen Spirit
Scott C
Prince — Purple Rain
Notable songs:
- Let’s Go Crazy
- When Doves Cry
- Purple Rain
Pink Floyd — Dark Side of the Moon
Notable songs:
- Us and Them
- Breathe
- The Great Gig in the Sky
U2 — The Joshua Tree
Notable songs:
- Where the Streets Have No Name
- With or Without You
- Running to Stand Still
Foo Fighters — The Color and the Shape
Notable songs:
- Monkey Wrench
- My Hero
- Everlong
Van Halen — 1984
Notable songs:
- Jump
- Panama
- Drop Dead Legs
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass — Greatest Hits 1
Notable songs:
- Tijuana Taxi
- Lonely Bull
- Spanish Flea
Phil Thornton — Tibetan Meditation
Notable songs:
- Meditation
- Welcome Return
- Mandala: Ascent
ACDC — Back in Black
Notable songs:
- Back in Black
- What Do You Do For Money Honey
- You Shook Me All Night Long
The Rolling Stones — Exile on Main Street
Notable songs:
- Tumbling Dice
- Shine a Light
- Happy
Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin 2
Notable songs:
- Ramble On
- Lemon Song
- Heartbreaker
Alain
Marianas Trench — Masterpiece Theatre
Notable songs:
- Celebrity Status
- Acadia
- Masterpiece Theatre 3
I Mother Earth — Scenery and Fish
Notable songs:
- One More Astronaut
- Another Sunday
- Like a Girl
Oh, Sleeper — Son of the Morning
Notable songs:
- Son of the Morning
- World Without a Sun
- Reveries of Flight
Limp Bizkit — Significant Other
Notable songs:
- Nookie
- Break Stuff
- N 2 Gether Now
Tool — Aenima
Notable songs:
- Stinkfist
- Forty Six & 2
- H.
Odesza — The Last Goodbye
Notable songs:
- The LAst Goodbye
- Better Now
- Equal
Deftones — Around the Fur
Notable songs:
- My Own Summer (Shove it)
- Be Quiet and Drive
- Around the Fur
Marianas Trench — Ever After
Notable songs:
- Fallout
- Stutter
- No Place Like Home
Gunship — Dark All Day
Notable songs:
- Dark All Day
- Drone Racing League
- Time after Time
Nirvana — In Utero
Notable songs:
- Rape Me
- Pennyroyal Tea
- Heart Shaped Box
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