Share a song that captures the feeling of being homesick.

Josh Ritter has a lot of songs that are evocative of very specific histories in specific places. The spare, opening notes of this live version of Best for the Best simply appeared in my head when I read this prompt. It’s a song about being lonely and remembering a time that may or may not have been better.

This track instantly transports me back to hearing Calexico the first time in Tucson. This reissued album sounds just incredible.

I’m always in the tank for a new Big Thief, and really like the flow and vibe of this track

Sonny sits by the window and thinks to himself How it’s strange that some roots are like cages Sonny’s yearbook from high school Is down on the shelf And he idle thumbs through the pages Some have died Some have fled from themselves Or struggled from here to get there Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls Runs his hands through his thinning brown hair

This track RIPS

Good track from a great album for a Friday

Share a song that makes you want to call an old friend.

What's a song you initially disliked but now love?

Someone recommended No Word From Tom and on first listen that album didn’t click for me. I don’t know what I was looking for, but I wasn’t expecting whatever Hem was doing when I first listened to them. Then I listened some more, and sort of got lost in it. This song represents that transported sense I got from these albums. What beautiful records these are.

What’s your favorite track one on a debut album?

Astounding opening track on a debut album.

Though I don’t live in Los Angeles, this is the song that wedges into my brain every time I observe that it’s a little rainy out. Everything about this song is a lovely small hook.