FEATURE:
In My Life
IN THIS PHOTO: Ian Wright appeared on Desert Island Discs in February, in one of the most celebrated and emotional episodes of recent years/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
Desert Island Discs and the Songs of Youth
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THOUGH I have written about nostalgia before…
IN THIS PHOTO: BBC Radio 6’s Lauren Laverne is the current host of Desert Island Discs - she took over from Kirsty Young in 2018/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris McAndrew for The Times
I wanted to approach it from a different angles. Through lockdown, I have been listening to a lot of Desert Island Discs, which is hosted by Lauren Laverne. I have been following the series for a while, but I love how there is an archive of the previous episodes so, amazingly, we can go back years and years and hear these vintage editions! That is quite rare as, for most other shows and radio stations, stuff is only archived for thirty days on BBC Sounds, and then it goes away. Explorer Steve Backshall was last on Desert Island Discs, and he was talking about his life experiences, but how music played into them, and what various songs mean to him. Although a lot of the castaways choose songs from more-recent times to score important memories, there does seem to be this window we all have, where music is formative and plays a much bigger role than it does later in life. I think we have all fantasised about appearing on Desert Island Discs, as we have these special songs that have meant so much. This article explains how Desert Island Discs has been studied, and research has shown that there is this band of time where music plays its biggest role in the lives of the castaways:
“Researchers at the University of Westminster and City University of London analysing the music record choices of guests on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme has found that the music we listen to between the age of 10 and 30 define us for the rest of our lives.
Music from this time which the researchers call 'self-defining period' connects an individual to the people, places, and times that are significant to their identity. The study reveals that people imagining themselves in isolation not only prefer music reminding them of a time when they were aged between 10 and 30, but also they are most likely to choose music that reminds them of an important person playing to the sense that someone is with them, or an important turning point in their life as a powerful way to strengthen their sense of self.
PHOTO CREDIT: @denissadevy/Unsplash
In Britain's longest running radio programme guests are invited to imagine they are being cast away to a desert island and are asked to choose eight records to take with them. The researchers analysed the responses of 80 Desert Island Discs guests to reveal how people choose music that is important to them and whether they are more likely to select music from a particular time in their life if they can choose anything they like.
Half of all musical choices were seen to be important between the ages of 10 and 30, a period that has been commonly known as the 'reminiscence bump'. However, this new study reveals that it is more helpful to think of this period as a 'self-defining period' because it is characterised by enduring memories that support our sense of who we are. They suggest that listening to music is typically a key feature of this age and that music is also intrinsically linked to the developing self.
The power of music in identity formation is well-demonstrated through the reasons why people select certain records on Desert Island Discs. The most frequent reason for choosing a song (17%) was that it reminded the guest of their relationship with a specific person, such as a parent, partner or a friend, followed by a memory of a period of time (16.2%) such as reminding someone of their childhood or "remembering playing this at home over and over again". The third most popular explanation for choosing a record was the song's connection to specific memories relating to the formation of identity through life-changing moments (12.9%). Such reason was given by Bruce Springsteen, who said that the Beatles song "I want to hold your hand" had inspired him to pick up the guitar and start a band.
PHOTO CREDIT: @kpebedko_o/Unsplash
Professor Catherine Loveday, Neuropsychologist at the University of Westminster and Lead Researcher, said: "Guests frequently chose songs because they were related to important memories that occurred during teenage years. This extends previous findings by showing that music from this time has particular meaning, primarily because it relates to memories from this very important developmental period of our life. Unlike previous studies, this study shows that this occurs even in a completely naturalistic setting, where people are not constrained by experimental settings and have a completely free rein on their musical choices.
"Because the premise of the programme is that people imagine themselves in isolation, this research has relevance to anyone who becomes isolated, including during lockdown measures in the current coronavirus pandemic, or who becomes displaced from their everyday environment, such as residents in care homes, refugees or hospital patients".
I am pretty similar when it comes to music: the majority of the most impactful tracks to me occurred after the age of ten and before the age of thirty. I would say that my parameter is probably from the ages of eight to twenty, but it is clear that childhood and adolescence is a very vital period where music helps us through tough times - and it seems to burrow into the mind, whether obviously or subconsciously. One of the great things about Desert Island Discs is hearing how songs many of us love mean different things to very different people. Whether you have an actor or director on the show or an academic or sports personality, these tracks the likes of you and I love have a very special place in their hearts.
IN THIS PHOTO: Ruth Jones was a castaway on Desert Island Discs in 2019/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
It is wonderful to have this sort of bond with the castaways, though thousands of people share it too! I do love the interview part of each Desert Island Discs episode, but I am always extra-curious about the musical choices, and why a particular song resonates. It got me thinking about that study and why music from castaways and, well, everyone matters that much more when we are young or moving through adulthood, rather than later in life or when we are in primary school. Perhaps we are a bit young and inexperienced to attach importance to music when we are very young, and our minds might not work that way. When one reaches middle age, I guess one forms fewer transformative memories, and we often go back to the tracks we grew up with rather than taking to heart new songs. That 'reminiscence bump' is important to me and so many people, because we can look back and think about how music moved and shaped us when we were younger. Maybe most of us are not going to make it onto Desert Island Discs but, secretly, we all have our eight discs, book and luxury lined up, just in case that call ever comes through! Think about the songs that I would select and, yes, they all come from the ages of ten and thirty – maybe there would be one that is a little more recent. I was keen to explore reminiscence and at what ages music really digs deep but, also, I want to salute the ever-brilliant Desert Island Discs which, decades after it started, remains…
IN THIS PHOTO: James Rebanks appeared with Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs in 2019/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC
SUCH an institution.