That’s right, I’m headin’ back to Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. I’m looking to drum up some business, make some contacts and look and job and housing prospects.

Heading to the islands got me thinking about those lists that radio stations play, what 5 songs would you take if that was all you could have stranded on a tropical island. I always thought, if I had only 5 songs they picked, I’d feed myself to the sharks after about 2 hours of listening to music. I mean, you can only listen to 20 minutes of the same music over and over before your brain seeps out your ears as a purple jelly.

Now me, I took a different approach to coming up with my own list of the 5 songs I would take with me to a tropical island. Instead of going for the popular hit songs, I decided to pick songs that would maximize my listening pleasure while reducing the effect of repetition. I’ve chosen these songs based primarily on their length, but also because I really do have them in my play list and enjoy listening to them.

#5 Autobahn – Kraftwerk (22:45)
If you like electronica, then this song is one of the better ones. It’s in German, but it’s and incredible soundscape that really does go well with driving down the highway. When I visited Germany one of my requests was to hear this tune while crusin’ down the Autobahn and it was a blast!

#4 Ride Of The Valkyries – Wagner (10:07)
Gotta have some blood pumping classical music. I can picture myself surfin’ the big one with this song playing in the background. What? I never said only rock songs!

#3 In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly (17:10)
If your talking long songs, no list is complete without this song. You don’t even need mind altering substances to experience the power of this song. Just close your eyes and inhale deeply and let it out slowly. Yeahhh.. that’s it man.

#2 Heart Of The Sunrise – Yes (11:22)
The great progressive sounds of Yes come shining through with this song. It’s got all the great things you expect from Yes layered together to create a surreal landscape of sound that can take you anywhere you want.

#1 Carouselambra – Led Zeppelin (10:32)
Of course, Led Zeppelin is my favorite band but I didn’t go for the obvious Stairway to Heaven because I have heard that song enough to last me a lifetime. This song just has a happy sound and beat that it always puts me in a good mood and reminds me of my youth.

There ya go, over an hour of music and you didn’t hear the same song twice!

Cheers!
Skunky