"Desert Island" Discographies

Indymisanthrope said:
But almost all of them ARE musical artists too! Do we only get to take music where someone *performed* on the record? What is performance? What about composers? Lyricists? Aren’t we hearing their work too when we listen to a record, even if it’s not their breath or vocal chords or hands making the sounds?

Not *just* trying to be difficult here (although, also that) but I think there’s actually something to delve into here. If I pick Ray Charles, do I get Kanye West sampling Ray Charles? For that matter, if I pick Kanye West, do I get all the beats he made for other people? What is that, if not instrumentation?
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More to the point, the original question was about the discographies of 15 "musicians," and not to get all "what is art?" about this but, well, what is a musician, especially in today's studio environment? And if Nile Rodgers' or Brian Eno's contributions, even the non-performative ones, don't count as "musical," then what are they?

(Again -- that wasn't even my real list. This just has some gears turning in my head now, posting "out loud" to clarify my own thoughts.)
 
I’m just going to do my top 15 albums that I’d want on a desert island just because I feel like it
  1. A Winged Victory for the Sullen - s/t
  2. The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas
  3. Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
  4. Eluvium - Copia
  5. The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
  6. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
  7. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
  8. The National - Boxer
  9. Beach House - Bloom
  10. The Replacements - Tim
  11. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
  12. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
  13. Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps
  14. Big Star - #1 Record
  15. Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes
 
:) Stephen Malkmus
;) Neil Young
:( A Tribe Called Quest
:cool: Trio
:p Wu-Tang Clan
:D Madlib
:eek: The Highwaymen
:oops: Art Blakey
:rolleyes: The Grateful Dead
o_O The Traveling Wilburys
:cautious: Guided By Voices
:censored: The Velvet Underground
:cry: Rolling Stones
:love: Kurt Vile
:LOL: Jim O’Rourke

I know I am abusing the rules but they’re not my rules and it’s my desert island so with that in mind…

Jim O’Rourke would nab me Sonic Youth and Wilco albums. Kurt Vile would give me a War On Drugs album. Madlib would give me Madvillian, Quasimoto, and Freddie Gibbs. Wu-Tang would give me a whole bunch solo records. The Highwaymen gives me Cash, Waylon, Willie, and Kristofferson catalogs. The Traveling Wilburys give me George Harrison (and thus The Beatles catalog) along with Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison. Trio gives me Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstadt discography. Stephen Malkmus gives me Pavement and Silver Jews. Lastly, Velvet Underground gives me John Cale, Nico and Lou Reed solo albums.
 
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Indymisanthrope said:
Nile Rodgers
Dave Fridmann
Phil Spector
Rick Rubin
Dr. Dre
Quincy Jones
Steve Albini
Brian Eno
Sam Phillips
Berry Gordy

(Not my real list, just wanted to see who I could come up with to give me the broadest cross-section possible.)
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Reading through the other lists now, glad I wasn’t the only one gaming the system.
 
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