On this episode, I go into my personal music vault and break down all of the Hanukkah songs I listen to every year to get in the spirit! I put all of my Hanukkah songs into four categories, and then break down my two favorite songs that I could listen to all year round! I hope this brings some festivity to a dreary year. 

All of the songs I mention can be found on this Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7IxWTZ2xlN1oovhRKYOMUO?si=CQLJ1zHXRmKG5o3G5Etztg

"Put your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae is one of my favorite songs of the 2000's. Hearing it always puts a smile on my face. When I heard that a cover of the song was taking over TikTok by a musician named Ritt Momney, I had to check it out. And... feeling disappointed is an understatement. Hear my take on everything that Ritt Momney did wrong when covering this near-perfect song. 

After hearing the news of Alex Trebek's passing this past week, I started reminiscing about all things Jeopardy! Aside from the host, the most iconic part of Jeopardy! is the 30-second song that is played during the final Jeopardy question, "Think!" by Merv Griffin. The song is so catchy yet calming, invigorating yet soothing, and still gives listeners a tangible way to measure time passing. I decided to take a deep dive from both a music theory and music therapy perspective into why this song stands the test of time and why it makes us feel the way it does. 

What songs really encapsulate the spirit of Halloween? I feel like there aren't many, but as a music therapist, it's part of my job to find them. I took the top 10 songs that I think sound the most "Halloween" to me, and ranked them based on the measurement tool I created - the "Spooky Scale". Listen to see where your favorite Halloween song ranked!

Spotify playlist of all the songs I discuss: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tPGRNH5V1D5KvUA99q8ZY?si=iDzBmPNaTiKdvq7EEZBfxw

Before this past year, I was a casual fan of the Bachelor franchise. However, during this very serious year, I have been using the show, the news about the show, and podcasts about the show as my main form of escapism and entertainment. So, I was so excited about The Bachelorette finally premiering, that I'm dedicating an episode to its music! Hear about my take on why they use certain elements of music during certain parts,  and why they use certain music with certain people! SPOILERS after the break, but the first 17 or so minutes are spoiler-free! 

There are few artists that have inspired me as much as Demi Lovato. In this episode, I explore her career and her personal life, as well as why I've always been a huge fan! Then, I take a deep dive into her 2020 discography and analyze the song "Still Have Me," which may be the best song she's released in a long time. I hope you enjoy my analysis! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had politics on the brain 24/7 lately. So, given the political times that we're in, I decided to do a deep dive into a surprisingly political album that was released last year - "Closer than Together" by The Avett Brothers. In this episode, I explore why this Americana Rock band decided to go political, and the main takeaways from each song. Then, I talk about what I think is the most important song on the record, "We Americans." Hope you enjoy! 

The world, the United States, and individual communities are grieving in so many ways for so many different reasons right now. So, I decided to write an episode about how music might help with the grief process! I talk about a few client examples and do a deep dive into my own "transition" song. Hope this episode might help someone going through a loss of their own. 

I am and have always been a huge Pixar fan! I am also a music therapist. So, when Coco came out and had a scene that reminded me of my own line of work, I was so happy. On this episode, I talk about how music and memory are depicted in Coco, and how it looks compared to real life music therapy sessions I've had. I also talk about music and the brain in an evolutionary sense, and wonder what music therapy memory groups will look like in the future.