Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island

by Greil Marcus

Book Overview

In 1978, Greil Marcus asked twenty other writers on rock -- including Dave Marsh, Lester Bangs, Nick Tosches, Ellen Willis, Simon Frith, and Robert Christgau -- a question: What one rock and roll album would you take to a desert island? The resulting essays were collected in Stranded, twenty passionate declarations that, appropriately, affirmed the solitary and obsessive activity that rock listening had become. Here are salutes, elegies, thank-you...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 030681532X
• ISBN13: 9780306815324
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Eclectic and Entertaining

No disrespect to the two reviewers before me, but I felt the need to offer a glimpse into what this book has to offer. The premise is a simple one: If you're deserted on a desert island, which album (if you can have only one) would you want with you for eternity? It's not necessarily an all time favorite record, as many of the authors in this book will point out, but perhaps one that serves a specific purpose for the individual. Entries range from hysterical notations about albums fulfilling a more literal/physical need (Dave Marsh's Chapter on songs linked by the theme of masturbation), to a journalist's personal relationship with the Eagles' album Desperado. Hell, the longest chapter in this book is a writer defending Linda Ronstadt and all that she embodies (which admittedly was a bit tough to get through, but still pretty entertaining in its own bizarre way). Oh, by the way, this book was originally published in the late seventies, so all the albums discussed are a few decades old (not that this is at all a bad thing, but just wanted to make that clear). This is not just some book name-dropping cool albums that have plenty of credibility amongst audiophiles. Stranded is an interesting look inside people's emotional connections with particular artists and their music that will inevitably get you thinking about your desert island album, and the multitude of reasons behind your selection.

Message in a bottle

I am typing this review with an autographed LP cover of Something Else by the Kinks, with all Kink signatures, inclusive of Ray and Dave, and whomever else was there in front of the Warwick Hotel in the early '70's in NYC. I agree with Nick Tosches, what would I take with me to a desert island, assuming of course I could carry with me whiskey, '50's girlie pin-ups, and nothing else for day after day? How would I get a phonograph record player, little least electricity? What else has been released since 1979? Imagine, if you will, a group of the top record reviewers from the 1960's & '70's, thinking just these thoughts. A great message in a bottle from the best rock critics before they became industry shills. Picture yourself this - what are your desert island choices all these years later? I'm looking at Something Else, autographed by Ray & Dave, I'm with Janet Maslin. Oh yeah, and with Nick, pass that whiskey bottle 'round here, mate.

WHATS YOUR DESERT ISLAND DISC?

Mine is Van Morrison Moondance, Greil likes Astral Weeks, we both like this book. Its a must read if you are into music criticism. Its a must have if you need help finding a good cd.