A Postcard to Nina

On Spotify today I was reminded of this mellow tune by the incomparable Jens Lekman. In it, the Swedish singer-songwriter tells the funny story of unwittingly playing 'beard' for a lesbian friend, at her parents' house. There's a message here, somewhere.

PS This version was lovingly animated by Nathan Heigert. 

Sailing to Philadelphia

Mark Knopfler and James Taylor are two of my favorite voices. Who but they could create such a sublimely beautiful and calming duet about the Mason-Dixon line, of all things.

Seder Song With Hand Motions

Well, it's been over five years since I uploaded my first and still most successful Youtube video. This song was not something I experienced as a child, but it's for children, so here goes.

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Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits)

The first time I ever heard of Mark Knopfler was in the study hall of Hebron Yeshiva. I had just started playing violin again, and a friend of mine had just started playing guitar. He asked in Hebrew, Shamata al Knopfler? (Have you heard of Knopfler?) Back in the dorms, he popped a cassette in the tape deck and I listened for the first time to Romeo and Juliet. I still think it's one of the best ever written.

Busby Berkeley Dreams

Theme song of my life? I might have to go with Busby Berkeley Dreams. There's just something so ephemeral and beautiful about this little song, you'd swear you heard it before in a dream or another life. 

I first heard it at Intermezzo Cafe, a salad bar in Berkeley, California (which by the way has nothing to do with the title or content of the song). I was so taken with it that I asked the girl at the counter who sang it, which was the first time I'd heard of Magnetic Fields. This video mixes in some black-and-white footage from real Busby Berkeley-choreographed production numbers.