Niklas' blog

Well, I’m a sucker for Morrissey as you might know, and as such I know that he yesterday visited Kirsty Young at the jolly BBC’s “Desert Island Discs” to play outtakes from what eight discs he would bring to a desert island. No real surprises there, but a mix of varied tracks with a strong foot in the 1970s, notable exception being Robert Schumann’s “Der Nussbaum” from 1840.

I’ve created this almost-complete Spotify playlist from the tracks that Morrissey chose.

If you want to listen to the podcast in its entirety – bar complete musical selections due to copyright reasons – you will at the time of my writing this find it here.

Here’s the song list:

1. New York Dolls – “(There’s Gonna Be Be A) Showdown”
2. Marianne Faithfull -”Come And Stay With Me”
3. Ramones – “Loudmouth”
4. Velvet Underground – “The Black Angel’s Death Song”
5. Klaus Nomi – “Der Nussbaum”
6. Nico – “I’m Not Sayin’”
7. Iggy and The Stooges – “Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell”
8. Mott The Hoople – “Sea Diver”

Annotations by yours truly:

First, there’s currently nothing recorded by Klaus Nomi available on Spotify, which is why I’ve selected a recital of “Der Nussbaum” as performed by Victoria de Los Ángeles, late world-renowned soprano. Here’s Klaus Nomi’s version:

Nico’s cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “I’m Not Sayin’” is pretty interesting. Sadly her version is not available on Spotify, but Lightfoot’s original is, so I’ve incorporated that instead. Here’s Nico’s version:

Actually, that’s Jimmy Page on 12-stringed guitar in there, working as session musician back in the day.

It’s so nice to hear Ramones included with “Loudmouth”. Such a great diss track.

Well, you’re a loudmouth baby/You better shut it up/I’m gonna beat you up/You’re a loudmouth, baby

Mott The Hoople ends it all with a track very reminiscent of all things Marc Bolan, hailing from the same age. It’s quite unexpected to me, despite being very T. Rex/Bowie. When the strings start in the tears flow. Drama.

Apart from the discs, Morrissey had to choose a book, which turned out to be “The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde”. As luxury item, he chose a bed after having dwelled on to pick that or sleeping pills.