First 3 Episodes to be published Tuesday, July 7th:

Ep 1: Graceland

Ep 2: Paint it Black

Ep 3: Only a River

Additional episodes will be published every two to three weeks.
Ep 4: I Got a Name to be published Tuesday, July 21st.
Ep 5: Swimming to be published Tuesday, August 11th.

Thank you for listening,
- Stephen

There are certain albums that feel like slipping on an old worn leather jacket when you play them. The songs remind us of who we are, and where we came from. It's all right here.

"I've reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland."

Album: Graceland (1986)
Artist: Paul Simon

Music carries us through life; sometimes one song can stay with you for the whole ride. Maybe it was the dark psychedelic energy or the raw power of good and true rock and roll, but something about this song kept bringing me back..

"I see a red door, and I want it painted black."

Song: Paint It Black (1966)
Artist: The Rolling Stones

When someone great is gone, there are decisions to be made. Sometimes the answers can be found in the music, or maybe a song can at least help lead us in the right direction.

"Only a river gonna make things right, only a river gonna make things right."

Song: Only a River (2016)
Artists: Josh Ritter, Bob Weir

A story of legacy as told through names, and how we carry them through life. As the youngest of three boys, I started my own tradition, and I had been saving this song.

"Like the pine trees
Lining the winding road
I got a name
I got a name"

Song: I Got a Name (1973)
Artist: Jim Croce

I took in a deep breath, and dove headfirst under the water, the cold shock hitting me like a smack across the face...

The water is a constant; always there, always moving. Sometimes you sink, and sometimes you swim. And sometimes, people keep showing up for you to help you stay afloat. In the end, we’re all just trying to keep our heads above water. 

"And I was drownin’, but now I’m swimmin’

Through stressful waters to relief"

Album: Swimming (2018)
Artist: Mac Miller

The meaning we attach to people, places, and things is all relative. Sometimes a song carries much more than meaning - it carries emotional weight, and a sense that what you are hearing is important for so many different reasons.

These songs we carry, they carry that weight for us.

Song: Song for My Father (1964)
Artist: Horace Silver

Opening the book on a hazy chapter of life from decades ago, unlocking the memories and remembering what it felt like to be young and wild and free in a distant land. The easiest way to get back there is through the music. Headphones on, and we're back in Spain, walking down narrow cobblestone side streets, asking a passing stranger, "tienes cigaro?"

"El viento viene
El viento se va
Por la carretera"

Album: Clandestino (1998)
Artist: Manu Chao

Two brothers. 120 miles on bike over two days. Music and memories and bad jokes intact. Frivolous? Yes indeed - yet absolutely necessary.
Sometimes you have to put life on hold and get out there, and pedal, and breathe. And if you've got a brother to make the journey with you, then that autumn sunlight through the changing leaves might just hit a little sweeter.

"Saw your first ship sink and drown

From rocking of the boat

And all that could not sink or swim

Was just left there to float"

Song: Ship of Fools (1974)
Artist: Grateful Dead