Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles — "Desert Island Songs"

Host: Janda Lane
Guest: Keith Hastings, Program Director at The Drive (Chicago)
Date: September 3, 2025
Podcast Network: Gamut Podcast Network

Overview

In this special bonus episode, Janda Lane tackles the timeless, impossible question faced by all true music lovers: If you could only take three classic rock songs with you to a desert island, which would you choose? Joined by Keith Hastings, her boss and fellow music aficionado, the two dive deep into personal meaning, storytelling, and the soul-nourishing power of music. With heartfelt and revealing discussion, they each reveal and dissect their three "desert island" tracks, unearthing the reasons these songs would be their chosen companions in isolation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Challenge of Picking Only Three Songs

• Both Janda and Keith acknowledge the intensely personal and nearly impossible nature of the task, emphasizing how music fulfills deep emotional and spiritual needs, especially in isolation.
  • "It's an impossible task, especially when you're talking about such a small number of songs to people who love music and live and breathe music every single day." (Janda, 01:04)
  • Keith approaches his choices with a numeric strategy (one per decade: '70s, '80s, '90s), while Janda seeks tracks with spiritual and emotional uplift.

2. Janda's Desert Island Three

1. "Loving Cup" — The Rolling Stones

• Why this song?
  • Janda needs a song that brings positivity, energy, and the essence of rock and roll to her isolation.
  • The combination of raucous instrumentation and sweet love lyrics delivers comfort and a reason to dance, even in the worst conditions.
  • “There are lyrics in this song that will kind of, you know, take me to a place of memory, probably that will serve that part of, you know, my emotional need from these songs.” (Janda, 02:44)
  • Quote: “You see the tongue and the lips. You see the logo. You picture Mick, the world's greatest peacock, out there doing his thing, you know... It's just something that's gonna lift me up and it's gonna make me dance around on the sand, even if later I have to eat bugs because I don't know how to fish.” (Janda, 04:17)

2. "Starman" — David Bowie

• Why this song?
  • It’s an uplifting anthem, rich in hope, wonder, and cosmic boogie.
  • Janda highlights Bowie's recurring themes of stars, but picks "Starman" for both personal emotional support and the irresistible urge to dance.
  • “When he sings 'There's a starman waiting in the sky, he's told us not to blow it because he knows it's all worthwhile.' That checks the box for me for my criteria.” (Janda, 11:17)
  • Connection to pop culture: Keith draws a parallel to "The Martian" film, tying the idea of being stranded and waiting for rescue to the song’s hopeful spirit. (11:55)
  • “If I'm gonna only have three songs plus that boogie oogie in this song... it will make me feel happy anytime I hear that song.” (Janda, 10:46)

3. "Keep Your Head to the Sky" — Earth, Wind & Fire

• Why this song?
  • A deeply personal choice, this song became a spiritual anchor for Janda during moments of loss and challenge, especially after her mother's passing.
  • She emphasizes the song’s gospel-like message, the soaring vocals of Philip Bailey and Jessica Cleaves, and the transformative power of its closing harmonies.
  • “The song is basically, keep your head to the sky. Surely the clouds are gonna tell you why. You know what I mean? Like, what else are you doing on a freaking desert island but looking up at the sky and checking out the clouds...” (Janda, 19:45)
  • “At the end of the song, the very last repeat of the title ... Philip Bailey is joined by Jessica Cleaves ... They came up with such a celestial tone and note together, wound together like that. It just fills my entire being with love and peace and goodwill.” (Janda, 21:42)
  • Keith compares the vocal magic to vintage Crosby, Stills & Nash: “It's people doing stuff with their voices that most people can't do to reach something inside people... in a way that they haven't been reached before.” (Keith, 22:14)

3. Keith’s Desert Island Three

1. "Echoes (Live at Pompeii)" — Pink Floyd

• Why this song?
  • Chosen both for length (“you get a lot of time on a desert island”) and for its life-affirming arc, evocative soundscapes, and meditative qualities.
  • “The way that live mix from Pompeii starts out with the drip, drip, drip, and just builds... until it has you right there where you think you're gonna die. And then it pulls back and life crawls out of the pool.” (Keith, 05:41)
  • “Cloudless every day you fall upon my waking eyes inviting and inciting me to rise.” (Keith quoting lyrics, 07:13)
  • Keith notes the special vocal harmony Rick Wright adds live, claiming it makes the song "perfect." (Keith, 08:48)

2. "Telegraph Road" — Dire Straits

• Why this song?
  • A cinematic, 14-minute epic spanning the American experience, from frontier beginnings to modern malaise—a movie in song form delivering narrative and emotional complexity.
  • Keith associates the song’s Midwest imagery with his personal history, and values how it offers the feeling of being among people even while alone.
  • “I can just see this old farm looking dude going up the shore of Lake Michigan with a sack on his back, putting it down and starting to build a cabin... And then the way the story progresses, the way the music progresses and builds.” (Keith, 14:01)
  • "From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain / from the anger that lives on the streets with these names / Because I've run every red light on memory lane. I've seen desperation explode into flames and I don't want to see it again." (Keith quoting, 15:47)
  • Janda: "It'll put you back in a place of population... surrounded by, you know, civilization again, which is a cool thing for a desert island pick." (Janda, 17:09)

3. "Down in a Hole" — Alice in Chains

• Why this song?
  • To acknowledge and process inevitable emotional lows; he allows himself the space to “be depressed and pissed off” before returning to his other, uplifting picks.
  • Keith admires the lush arrangements, emotive lyrics, and the cathartic effect of Layne Staley’s honesty: "I've never done heroin, but it must feel like that. It's just that rush through the veins. And it's a whole lot healthier and better for you to listen to it rather than put it in a hole in your arm." (Keith, 23:53)
  • Quotes:
    • “Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved / See my heart I decorate it like a grave...” (Keith quoting, 24:41)
    • “You can't live life and you can't reach emotional highs without knowing what emotional lows are like.” (Keith, 25:49)

4. Reflections on the Power and Magic of Music

• Both participants reflect on the profound spiritual and emotional impact of music—a force as essential as any sense.
  • "If I don't have ears, I can't hear the music, and I don't have a reason to live anymore." (Keith, 27:10)
  • “Music is the only magic we really have in this world.” (Janda quoting Tom Petty, 27:45)
• The episode closes with mutual gratitude for the opportunity to dive deep into classic rock's capacity to carry us through every high and low.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On making the list:
  • "It's incredibly personal for each person." (Keith, 01:25)
• On "Loving Cup":
  • "It's a very rock and roll way to say I love you." (Janda, 03:29)
• On "Starman":
  • "That boogie oogie in this song ... it will make me feel happy anytime I hear that song." (Janda, 10:54)
• On "Echoes":
  • “That is like a television screen in my mind on the desert island.” (Keith, 06:34)
• On "Telegraph Road":
  • "It really is like a movie in your head." (Keith, 14:51)
• On "Keep Your Head to the Sky":
  • “It just fills my entire being with love and peace and goodwill when I hear that final line of this song sung by those two, it's absolutely amazing.” (Janda, 21:42)
• On music’s importance:
  • "Music, music, music." (Janda & Keith, 22:40)
  • “Music is the only magic we really have in this world.” (Janda quoting Tom Petty, 27:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening, The Desert Island Concept – 00:10 to 02:11
• Janda’s Pick #1: "Loving Cup" – 02:11 to 04:42
• Keith’s Pick #1: "Echoes" – 04:55 to 09:00
• Janda’s Pick #2: "Starman" – 09:07 to 12:53
• Keith’s Pick #2: "Telegraph Road" – 13:03 to 17:34
• Janda’s Pick #3: "Keep Your Head to the Sky" – 17:48 to 22:42
• Keith’s Pick #3: "Down in a Hole" – 22:43 to 26:22
• Reflections on music’s magic and necessity – 26:49 to end

Tone and Style

• The episode is warm, candid, and deeply passionate, with the hosts’ mutual respect and love for music shining through. Both deploy humor, vulnerability, and vivid storytelling, providing both reflection and levity.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode is a treat for anyone fascinated by the ways music shapes, heals, and defines us. Janda and Keith's thoughtful, personal selections demonstrate not just encyclopedic knowledge, but music’s profound emotional resonance. Their choices—anchored in classic rock but deeply human—offer comfort, catharsis, and celebration, revealing music as both toolkit and lifeline for life’s loneliest moments.