Share a song that sounds like your favorite childhood memory.

Sigur Rós captures something of the innocence of childhood in this song.

This song came up on a random playlist last night and Anna and I listened to it 5 times in a row. The harmonies are so strange and wonderful.

Share a song that captures the feeling of being homesick.

In capturing the feeling of homesickness in song, you could do a lot worse than the title track of Death Cab’s (in my humble opinion) best record, Transatlanticism. Simple, straightforward, slow-build that somehow manages to remain somewhat restrained, even when the gang vocals come in—the ache that never quite goes away.

I need you so much closer.

What song makes you feel like you're part of something bigger?

Music makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger, so I could post almost any song I love here and it would fulfill the prompt. Today, I choose this one. Alan & Mimi were always tapped into the magic.

What's your favorite song about friendship?

This song makes Guy Garvey the de facto Poet Laureate of Nights Out with the Lads.

What song do you associate with your favorite book or movie?

One of my favorite films of 2024 was Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, and I’ll never hear Nina Simone’s version of “Feeling Good” without thinking of the final long shot of Hirayama’s face while he drives through Tokyo at sunrise… listening.

What's a song that makes you want to learn an instrument?

This song always makes me wish I played cello and/or violin.

Watched this film this weekend and all I can really say about it right now is that I will be thinking about it for a long while. Daniel Day-Lewis was, unsurprisingly, excellent. And Bobby Krlic’s (formerly The Haxan Cloak) score was stunning.

What song makes you feel nostalgic for a time you never lived through?

Anything by Jacques Brel makes me wish I lived in Brussels or Paris in the fifties and sixties.

What's your go-to song for getting ready in the morning?

As good as a triple espresso for getting me going.