The next installment in my series “Ten Albums, One Life” is a very personal one. On December 18, 2014, I took my daughter Abby to her first Carbon Leaf concert. It was cold that night, but the temps were no match for what would warm us up inside The Birchmere. What we also didn’t realize was that seeing Carbon Leaf that year would become our annual tradition. Part of what helps with our excitement about going back year after year are the songs off of their fifth album, India

There’s something special about a summer mixtape. It's not just a collection of random songs, it’s a soundtrack for long evenings on the deck, backyard barbecues with friends, open windows on a late-night drive, and those moments when the sun hangs around just a little longer. And with the temperature hitting triple digits, I thought it was the right time to put out a hot playlist, mixing some familiar favorites with overlooked gems that deserve another listen. Maybe these so

It’s July 1999 and I’m on my lunch break in Washington, DC. Just up the road, about a 10 minute walk is a mall. Not THE National Mall, I’m talking about an actual mall. Since it’s in the city, it isn’t huge, but it’s got a nice selection of stores including Tower Records. I’d spend a lot of lunch hours there, discovering new music and spending way more than I should have on my paycheck. However, nearby was a store where I also discovered a ton of new music. The Gap. Yes, whil

One of my favorite parts of working at my college radio station (WVYC in York, Pennsylvania), was serving as music director. It was another level of discovering new music - It meant hours spent digging through new releases, contemplating what would go into our daily rotation, and chasing that rush of discovering an artist or track I knew had to be heard. I felt a real sense of responsibility in helping shape the station’s sound, but honestly, it was just fun. So every week, t

The next installment in my series “Ten Albums, One Life” comes from my college years, when I was discovering new music on a daily basis. I met my friend Lauren (at the time, the station manager) freshman year when she introduced me to the album Talking with the Taxman About Poetry by Billy Bragg. To paraphrase Natalie Portman from the movie Garden State, Lauren told me that “you gotta hear this album, it’ll change your life, I swear”. And so it did. Billy Bragg, a British si

Kicking off the list of “Ten Albums, One Life” is In My Tribe by 10,000 Maniacs. I first heard it when I started being more aware of my community and the world around me - issues that started to matter more to me. The lyrics and mood of this album felt like it understood where I was completely. From the opening notes, there’s an intimacy here that continues to draw me in instead of pushing outward, like sinking into a great book or even better, hearing an angelic voice read

On March 30, 2005 I became a father for the first time when my daughter Abby was born. Today, she turns 21. How did we get here? She’ll always be my little girl. There's been so much we've done and I continue to be amazed and proud at who she was, who she is and I know, who she'll become. Some of my best memories were bedtime. However, I found myself struggling to find the right songs to sing. Regular "lullabies" just didn't do it for me. A study conducted by a doctoral stude

If you’ve ever watched The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, you’ve seen him quiz his guests with the The Colbert Questionnaire. It’s 15 questions that range from “Best Sandwich” to “Describe the Rest of Your Life in 5 Words”. And then there’s the question that brings us to today’s column. “You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life - What is it?”. Most people who know me would predict an R.E.M. song or maybe something from Aimee Mann. However, my answer takes us

Talking on the Rock Solid Podcast about the music I discovered in college made me do a deeper dive into this music that I still love to this day. Because for me, being at WVYC wasn’t just an extracurricular; it was a community and gave me purpose where every song choice mattered to me and every show was an invitation into a new sonic world. Me on the air during alumni weekend at WVYC Week after week, I’d cue up tracks from a carefully crafted playlist and dive into the mix —

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that. Today we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. However we did that - through volunteering or reflection - through listening to some of Dr. King’s most famous speeches or listening to music that was inspired by Dr. King. That’s where I come in - This was a special one to research. There are clearly ones that are written specifically about him. Some are inspir

Lately, I’ve been living with a soundtrack stuck in my head — and honestly, I’m not mad about it. Earworms, those songs that lodge themselves in your brain on repeat, have been hitting me hard. It’s funny how a few well-placed chords and a catchy chorus can grab hold and refuse to let go, following me from the car to the kitchen to late-night scrolling. There’s something kind of magical about the way music can do that — burrow in and brighten up even the most ordinary moments

In 1993, Suede (listed in America as The London Suede) released their self-titled debut album. A glitzy, glam-rock album. Leading up to the release, the band was all over magazine covers and being dubbed “The Best Band in Britain”. There was “more hype than The Smiths or possibly even the Sex Pistols”. This band was destined for greatness. Somewhere along the way, around the early 2000s, their swagger faded. Fast forward to where, while the line-up may have changed a bit from

2025 was a great year for music. And it made me realize how much I missed writing about music. So here are my favorites of 2025! I’ve also created a Spotify playlist, "Best of 2025" . It’s got two songs from each artist so plenty to sink your teeth into - Enjoy! Role Model - Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye) I’m sure you’ve heard the song “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” and seen the videos, but dig deeper into Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye) and you’ll find Role Mod