July 24, 2023 (Song #2032): T-10*: “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel.

This song has always killed me. I first heard it in college when a classmate suggested we add it to our Senior end-of-the-year slideshow. In the ~40 years since then, it continues to bring me intense brain joy whenever I hear it. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Happy Birthday to Suzann Redding, Aleda Santos-Warren, Laura Nigris Anderson, Christine Theiss & Katherine Bruan (with love to you all from England). xoxoxoxo

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July 23, 2023 (Song #2031): T-11*: “Mirror of Life” and “Hand Me Back Down” written by Judy Shore Stone, my camp counselor and singer/songwriter/guitar hero and performed by JoJo, Jud and me. xoxo

P.S. Camp Pembroke figures strongly in my past with respect to music, plus I love and adore my friends.  My mom, Ruthie, and her sister, my Auntie Dee and Caroline and Natascha and Rose and Maya and Sadie have all experienced Camp Pembroke and we’re all forever changed by the impact it’s had on our lives. Thanks to the Eli & Bessie Cohen Foundation. 

July 22, 2023 (Song #2030): T-12*:  Celebrating The Roches (No lyric videos today, but click on “more” in the description below or this link to their website and you can sing along)

Listen to some of our faves….

“Hammond Song”, “Hallelujah Chorus”, “Losing True”, “Mr. Sellack”, “The Troubles” and everything else by The Roches.

P.S.  As some of you know, we have fallen in love with Ireland over the past 10 days; the beautiful scenery (the ragged, rolling hills, the jutting cliffs, the Wild Atlantic Way, the flora, the fauna and the brightly painted “tidy” towns), the warm, welcoming lodging and delicious food, the fun (and sometimes challenging) driving, the Guinness and Jameson, the music, the pubs, and,  even, the weather (cool and rainy with bursts of blue sky and sunshine).

We love to plug in our phones, enter our destination and turn on the music; the Roches’ “The Troubles”,“ led us into a fabulous Spotify playlist that accompanied us on our journey.

If you loved yesterday’s www.singdaily.com Song of the Daywww.singdaily.com Song of the Day as much as I do, then you’ll love hearing our friends Suzanne Sheridan and Bob Cooper (with their friend Joe Meo) sing the songs of Leonard Cohen on Sunday, August 6th at the VFW in Westport. Doors open at 12:00 for brunch and the music starts at 12:30.  (I won’t be singing along with them, but I’ll be there in spirit!). Check it out & purchase tickets

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July 21, 2023 (Song #2029): T-13*: “Famous Blue Raincoat” by Leonard Cohen and sung by Jennifer Warnes.  This is from another incredibly impactful and beautiful CD given to me circa 1988 by Craig Sussman at Cypress Records; click here to read about the other one.   Shout-out to my new old friend Michele Rubin, a fellow Leonard Bernstein appreciator. xoxo ALBUM HISTORY APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

July 20, 2023 (Song #2028): T-14*: It’s a two-song day! ”Extraordinary Machine” by Fiona Apple and “I Like Giants” by Kimya Dawson.  Happy Birthday to Malinda Johnson! xoxo

At some point during my teaching career, I realized that, no matter what school you visit, the oldest kids think they’re the coolest; elementary school is no exception.  Kids love music class in K, 1st, 2nd and 3rd (of course they love it – I give them recorders!), but starting in 4th grade, some kids start to realize that loving a teacher, publicly, is not the road to popularity (which is why, as I reflected in T-44 SOTD, I hid in the closet in 6th grade). By the time most kids get to 5th grade, I’ve lost them. It’s sad.

So…In an effort to make music class super duper fun (haha; a girl can try, can’t she?), I started “DJ of the Week”, a unit I created to teach “expression” in music (i.e. dynamics, tempo, timbre and articulation,  the theoretical aspects of music that affect our emotional responses).  Each 5th grader is assigned a date to bring in their own music (no songs with “clean versions” and no super-popular songs; students are encouraged to ask their family to come up with a favorite song that is new to their classmates).  All students have a “DJ of the Week” journal and they start each lesson by writing down how they feel (using the Mood Meter from the R.U.L.E.R  program developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence as a guidline), then, while they are listening to the songs, students write down words to describe the  Dynamics, Tempo and Articulations.  At the end, they jot down their mood and discuss how the elements of music can affect a person’s mood.  It’s turned into one of my very favorite activities.

Today’s songs are two songs that I’ve never heard before 5th graders introduced me to them (thanks to Henry Koskoff for the Fiona Apple song; I can’t remember who shared “I Like Giants”, but it must’ve been a pretty cool kid.).

July 19, 2023 (Song #2027): T-15* (there’s something about those oohs… “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Steve Winwood with Blind Faith.   LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

July 18, 2023 (Song #2026): T-16*:  “Amie/Falling In & Out Of Love” (1972) by Pure Prairie League No lyric video today, but you can click here and read along: LYRICS & CHORDS T-16* falls on my college roommate and bridesmaid,  Amy Freedman Jurkowitz’s birthday. I was and am still jealous that there was a song this beautiful with Amy’s (albeit misspelled) name in it; when I first heard these harmonies and the amazing guitar lick, I was hooked.  (My sister, Caroline, is equally blessed; she’s the hit of every party when “Sweet Caroline” comes on and she once wrote a medley of songs with her name in it – every one a hit!). Happy Birthday to Amy Jurkowitz, JB Rodgers & Lauran Addario! xoxoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

July 17, 2023 (Song #2025): T-17*: “Circle” (1988) by Edie Brickell and New Bohemians.  This opening guitar lick sent me back to my bedroom (a la “Freight Train” circa 1972).  Happy Birthday to Tim Lewis; I’m so that you’re part of our circle of friends. xoxoxo OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

July 16, 2023 (Song #2024): “Luckiest” (2001) by Ben Folds.  Happy Birthday to Julie Lyon Borden & Morgan Morse. xoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS APPLE MUSIC SPOTIFY

T-18* Today I want to celebrate one of my favorite families, besides my own: The Bordens.  This whole T-60 thing was inspired by Tom Borden, who, last spring, sent us a playlist with his 60 favorite songs when he turned 60.  I meant to just copy his idea, but then blabber-mouth here couldn’t stop typing. 

Tom and I met at Colgate.  He is a year older than I and a Colgate 13er; I was a Swinging ‘Gate, and I loved watching him perform and hearing him sing and scat (this guy’s got chops). Peter knew Julie Lyon as “that cool upperclassman, er woman” at Kenyon.  Though neither Tom and I, nor Peter and Julie ever remember talking in college, we did share many close mutual friends.

Fast forward to a Princeton/Colgate football game years later and a post-game party on Hodge Road.  Somehow, the subject of live music came up; we were both fans.

A few years later, the Bordens moved to Newport, where Julie grew up, and generously invited us to the Newport Folk Festival (the first year, they only had Friday tickets available, other people were using the Saturday & Sunday tickets).  We went, had a blast, must’ve been half-way decent guests, and were invited back the next year for two days!

Fast-forward, again, to the present: now we go to NFF for three full, glorious days (once for SIX DAYS!) and our kids and their kids have become friends. 

If you know me at all, you know that I feel lucky about many, many things, and our friendship with the Bordens is among “the luckiest”.

P.S. Please sing along with “Annie Waits” and “Zak & Sara” (click on “More” beneath the video for the lyrics), two more Ben Folds’ songs that we loved to sing on every car ride with our kids; get your clapping hands ready.

P.P.S. Today is also Morgan Morse’s birthday. Morgan is the son of my work-wife, Ellen Hardy, another friend I am so lucky to have made. xoxo