Answer me, these questions three with Jan and RTS: "You, Bob Marley, a boom box and - "

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Toss up: If you and Bob Marley were stranded on a island with a boom box and one Pink Floyd album what would that album be?

Jan
First, the albums I didn't pick:

1. "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Saucer Full of Secrets" - Yes, the Syd Barrett years. It is cool to see what Syd and the boys were exploring but I think Bob would get tired of psychedelic experimentation and would throw "Saucer" in the ocean after listening to "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" the 50th time.

2. "Obscured By Clouds" - This was a close one for me. I loved this album in high school. It's actually a soundtrack to a movie (La Vallee) which I never saw. The band takes a great leap forward and you get to start to hear the Floyd we all know. Honestly, a hard one to pass up as I bet Bob would like to clap along to "Free Four" but I think he and I could do better.

3. "Atom Heart Mother" - This is a cult favorite. My friend Paul in college was the biggest Floyd fan I knew and he played this incessantly freshman year. One particular night I was lost inside my head for a while while it was on and that might by why I didn't choose it to bring with me to the island.

4. "Animals" - Highly underrated and a great album end to end. Tough one to pass up but it's pigs, dogs, and sheep that might get to be too much after a while with the snorting and the barking and the bleating.

5. "Wish You Were Here" - Two of my favorite Floyd songs are on this album "Wish you were here" and both parts to "Shine on you crazy diamond" but "Welcome to the machine" and "Have a Cigar" ruin the momentum of the album for me and I don't need to get into a discussion of the recording industry with Bob every time I hear it.

6. "The Wall" - Like I said, formative album for me musically. This is also hard one to pass up on because of how epic it is - really a great rock opera. I think Bob would like it and get totally into it and jam out but it might get a little heavy while strolling the beaches looking for coconuts.

Winner: "Dark Side of the Moon"

There is a reason it spent 14 years on the charts. Yes, every 15 year old gets a copy as a rite of passage but there are seminal songs on the album. I find "Money" to be annoying, I was never a huge fan of it but it has a nice bass beat that Bob might get into and I'd like to hear him sing out "Money, it's a gas" in his Jamaican accent. "Breathe," "On the Run," "Great Gig in the Sky," "Us and Them," "Brain Damage" into "Eclipse" - they all give me something to wake up to, something to go to sleep to, something that gives a little hope, and something to lose my mind to as Bob and I count down our final days together.

Yes, that is a long way at getting to one of the most popular albums in history but it’s Pink Floyd.

RTS
Dang, just when I thought I knew you, you go and do something like this. I thought for sure you would go with Obscured By Clouds. I was all prepared to comeback with a very similar case for Darkside. Unlike other monumental classic rock albums, like Zeppelin IV, Darkside is still very listenable and holds up time and time again.

Since you chose Darkside, I will go with Obscured by Clouds, which you helped turn me on to. When I put on a Pink Floyd album, this is the one I go with it. It does not have the hits of Darkside, but it is a solid album that I listen to from start to finish and do not skip any songs. Imagine sitting on a beach mellowing out watching the waves roll in while listening to the first song, Obscured, with Bob doing what Bob does best. I might lose my mind. The Gold It's In The... is probably my favorite Floyd song. What I find so odd about it, is that it seems almost like a throw away song. There is very little written about the song and was almost never played in concert. The only reason I would consider choosing another album would be that this one is soooo mellow with the exception of The Gold Is In The.... As you mentioned this album is a soundtrack. I have read that Floyd watched clips of the movie and then timed certain items in the songs to match the movie. If you are a believer that Darkside of the Moon was timed/synched to the Wizard of Oz (I am not), you might use this album and the process as evidence.

Toss up: If you and Bob Marley were stranded on a island with a boom box and 3 Bob Marley albums what would they be?

RTS
I will admit that I do not throw on Marley like I used to. The first two choices were easy though, Kaya and Uprising. I absolutely love the eerie sound of Sun is Shining on Kaya. Kaya ends with Time Will Tell. It is one of those songs that can tug at the inner me and force me to reflect on myself. Uprising has a more refined sound than most if not all of Marley's albums. Coming In From the Cold and Could You Be Loved sound like they could be hit singles in the mainstream. The album ends with Redemption Song. How can one not like that song?

For my third choice I am going with Catch a Fire. If I really studied the albums grading song by song it might not be 3rd. However, it has a very different sound from the other albums I chose. This was one of the first Marley albums I owned and thus is very familiar and comfortable for me. Alright, I am ready for you to hit me with the deep tracks and off the wall albums that a connoisseur like yourself can dig up. Bring it on.

Jan
You had me at "Time Will Tell." Love the choices and because of your challenge I will choose three different albums. Not that you really have to go very far to find gems.

1. "Live!" - Because, well, it's live. One of those "could you imagine being there?" kind of shows.

2. "Survival" - You think Bob Marley and you think fighting for freedom. This album is all that, "Africa Unite" "Zimbabwe" "Ambush in the Night" - It's the kind of album that makes 35 year old white guys from Minnesota shout out "Haile Selassie I."

3. Best for Last: "Bob Marley v. Lee Scratch Perry: The Upsetter Years 1970-1971" - OK, this isn't a Marley "album" it is a compilation of Marley recordings with Perry but if someone had only one reggae album in their collection this is it. It’s Marley, it’s Perry, it’s early and it’s bad ass.

Not too clever but I have no doubts that Bob would appreciate any of them, it'd be kind of odd that he would get pissed off for one of my selections, right? Make the rest of our time on the island a little uncomfortable.

Final toss up: If you and Bob Marley were stranded on a island with a boom box that only played one Doors song once a month. What song do you choose? I'll go first as I know that The Doors have a special place in your heart.

Jan
I'd take LA Woman as our monthly song. This is one of those songs that in college got me pumped up. It was my Foosball song. I'm getting excited thinking about it. I think Bob would like it. "Mr. Mojo risin' got to keep on risin', ridin', ridin'." I got next game! C'mon! Who wants this!?!?

Sorry, that was 15 years ago (yikes.) So, your turn? What is it gonna be Door-head?

RTS
Wow, set the way back machine for just short of two decades ago. Once upon a time I listened to quite a bit of The Doors, but I can not say that those albums do much more than collect dust in my collection these days. I thought about something more lively like Waiting for the Sun or People Are Strange but ended up taking Riders on the Storm. I guess by my choices I can see how I have mellowed over the years. I tell you what, if there was one guy I would not want to be stuck with on an island, Jim Morrison would be a safe bet.