One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was read an article about puberty to a class of middle school children.  It was written by Bill Cosby.  I was sweating buckets and his humor did not lubricate the ordeal AT ALL.  The second most difficult thing was to make this mix.

A Desert Island Disc is a list of the 25 songs you would choose to take with you, if God forbid you were ever stuck on a place without music or access to it.  You could be there for months or years, the point is you don’t know how long it could be. They can be any length, but JUST 25!  Could you do it?  You would have to survive possibly years or forever with just these choice tracks and you would have to live with your decision.  It is a brutal, unfair and unrealistic situation to put yourself in.  But it changes you.  You are forced to choose between your cousin and your Aunt Milly time and time again.  You may start with the 50 songs you’d like to jam mp3 style onto a CDR, but nay my friend, your DiscMan won’t play such a thing.  But your solar-rechargeable AA batteries will allow you unlimited happy fun time with the ones you do whittle down to.

If you are brave enough to ever take up this challenge yourself, you’re forced to face the “you” that you present to the public and the one “you” hide in your 25 Most Played on iTunes.  How many times have you REALLY played that one Seal song?  You’re gonna have to be honest!  Because this is for YOU and you ONLY.

For example, I made the sudden realization that I can’t listen to loud upbeat rock songs more than 5 times in a row before I’m itching for an alternative.  Even my cherry-breaker “Everlong” was hard to take after listen number six.  So it turns out I’m more of a slow-burn orchestral soul who enjoys instrumental interludes that leave room for thought, interpretation and memory.  That alone is worth the ticket-price to find out.  You may have a song that represents a time in your life.  You may have a band that you listened to exclusively while studying for Final exams.  You may even feel a personal connection with a singer or a guitar riff.  THESE are the songs that you’ll want to have with you.  Not necessarily the one that blows you out of the water riiiight NOW.

It’s a fun experiment, and I guarantee you, you’ll learn something about yourself.  After all the gnashing and grinding, you’ll be left with something you could love on your worst days and enthrall yourself to on the best.  If you ARE music, what songs make up your life?

Requirements:

-25 songs

-Order doesn’t matter.  This isn’t a ranked list.

-Any length

-No repeats (why would you do that to yourself?  This is for you!)

-Be honest.  No one else has to see this.

This is Matt’s disc.  And by sharing it, he reveals much about himself.  He trusts, you the reader, not to think too many pointy hot thoughts at it.  Instead he hopes you take up the challenge for yourself!

Matt’s Desert Island Disc by The Wounded Jukebox

-Matt