Select Five

By Select Five

Hosted by Oakland music enthusiast Pam Torno, every episode of Select Five features a special guest talking about five songs and why they matter. Subscribe to the podcast now and get to know artist

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FAQs about Select Five:

How many episodes does Select Five have?

The podcast currently has 49 episodes available.

Select Five episodes:

February 25, 2026 Ep. 45: Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, Shares His Writing Soundtrack
What kind of music motivates Daniel Handler (otherwise known as children's book author Lemony Snicket) to write bestsellers? In our first episode of 2026, the novelist behind A Series of Unfortunate Events talks about his fondness for obscure movie soundtrack cues, classical music, and songs that provide space for the imagination.
Daniel's Selections:
"Petition Montage" - David Newman (Heathers soundtrack, 1989)
"String Quartet # 8 III. Allegretto" - Dmitri Shostakovich
"Camaraderie at Arms Length" - The Caretaker (2011)
"The Directories" - Howard Shore (Spotlight soundtrack, 2015)
"Night Gang" - Tortoise (2025)
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50min
December 28, 2025 Ep. 44: 2025 Year-Ender With The Select Five Crew
Our annual end-of-year post-mortem episode is here, and boy do we have feelings about this past year! Hear Kate, Pam, and Brian try to make sense of life in 2025 with their singular song selections. Plus, we talk about Bay happenings that gave us hope, and in honor of Select Five's fifth anniversary, we shout out some of the amazing things our past guests have accomplished this year.
Select Five 2025 Selections:
Little Simz - Free/2025 (Brian's pick)
Natural Information Society - Perseverance Flow/2025 (Pam's pick)
Grateful Dead - Touch of Gray/1987 (Kate's Selection)
Jwalt - Ballers Ballad/2025
Tower of Power - So Very Hard To Go/1973
Listen to our playlist to hear the songs we talked about plus many others we loved in 2025
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54min
November 25, 2025 Ep. 43: Side A Co-Owner & Vinyl DJ Caroline Brown’s Five Songs
Decadent menu + DJ booth = house dinner party vibes every night of the week at Side A, San Francisco's hottest hi-fi bistro. In our latest episode we talk to Side A co-owner Caroline Brown about her transformation from music industry maven to restauranteur, how she still makes time for her own vinyl DJ gigs, and five songs that feed her soul.
Caroline's Selections:
Prince - 17 Days (Piano & A Microphone 1983 version)
Pull Up To The Bumper - Grace Jones (1981)
Sight For Sore Eyes - M People (1994)
Ode To The Dance Floor - Niki & The Dove (2016)
Hold On - Stephane Sévérac (1987)
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59min
October 30, 2025 Ep 42: MicahTron Amplifying Queer Voices in Five Songs
The multi-talented MicahTron is a rapper, producer, writer and DJ who has performed around the globe. But she still stays grounded in the Bay Area LGBTQ+ community and uses her superpowers to amplify queer voices. In this episode, Micah highlights five of her favorite queer artists of the moment, while reflecting on her own journey as a queer hip-hop performer born and raised in San Francisco. BONUS: we'll get an exclusive first listen of her latest track, "Blood Suckers", coming out in November!
Micah's Selections:
Wifey Riddim - Shygirl, ft. Jorja Smith & Sadboi (2025)
KFC Santeria - Cain Culto (2025)
Introvert - Cat Burns (2024)
Soft Spot - JMSN (2023)
Am I Ok? - Hugo de la Lune (2025)
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38min
September 30, 2025 Ep. 41: Zully Adler’s Five Visionary Songs from California
Meet Zully Adler, the Director of Further Triennial, the founder of Goaty Tapes, and a longtime curator and historian of modern art and music. A consummate digger, Zully is known for unearthing rare musical gems on cassettes he finds in flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and other odd corners of Northern California. In this episode, he pieces together the story of the Lost Coast's underground musical counterculture through five stylistically diverse, unheard recordings by little known artists--otherwise known as "visionary music."
(Photo by Bryson Malone)
Zully's Selections:
Untitled/Unreleased - Darrell Devore (1980)
"Sister Moon" - Lorin Grean (1990)
"Electric Piano, Vibraphone, Percussion And Rain" - Craig Kupka (1979)
"Song Without Words" - Planetary Peace (1980)
"Tahoe" - Rex Johnson & Friends (1975)
Purchase the Lost Coast album from Goaty Tapes
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49min
August 18, 2025 Ep. 40: Five Books We Read This Summer
This summer we took a little break from our normal routine to hit the music books! In this episode, Pam, Brian, and Kate reconvene to report back on their summer reading and whether these stories are worth your time.
Our Summer Book Selections:
The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond by Chris Blackwell
I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel Levitin
The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are by Tariq Trotter (Black Thought)
A Chance to Harmonize: How FDR's Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression―One Song at a Time by Sheryl Kaskowitz
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir by Sly Stone
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1h 10min
May 23, 2025 Ep. 39: Jordan Kurland's Jazz Obsession in Five Songs
Jordan Kurland is a partner in Noise Pop Industries and the co-founder and partner of Brilliant Corners Artist Management. As a band manager, Jordan works with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service, Toro y Moi, The New Pornographers, Perfume Genius, and Soccer Mommy. So he’s played a huge role in ushering in some of the biggest indie rock acts of the day, but he’s also an obsessive jazz fan and record collector. In this episode, Jordan selects five heady, funky, and esoteric jazz recordings that speak to his deep knowledge and the expansiveness of his collection. And along the way, we’ll learn about the nuts and bolts of being a band manager to the stars, the educated guesswork of new artist development, and the joys and challenges of record collecting in the digital age.
(Photo by Andrew Paynter)
Jordan’s Selections:
"Summertime" - Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1963)
"Moon Dance" - Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra (1963)
"The Minstrel" - Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble (1967)
"Prints Tie" - Bobby Hutcherson & Harold Land (1971)
"Edges of Illusion" - John Surman (1979)
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1h 9min
April 29, 2025 Ep. 38: Five Songs With The Catman of West Oakland
Cats may dominate his life, but Adam Myatt -- aka The Catman of West Oakland -- is also a working audio engineer and a longtime musician who somehow makes time for it all. Meowzers, it's a lot! In this special episode, we visit the Catman in his personal studio and mixing space, Hand Me Down Recording, to find out about his wild journey to becoming the Bay Area's most famous cat rescuer, how his musical projects play a role in his cat-centric life, and the local community of musicians he actively supports.
Adam's Selections:
"Living The Dream" - James & Evander (2012)
"One Pacifico Swing" - Hoodcats (2012)
"Swaying in Debris" - Professor Mum (2024)
"Sandwiches" - Daniel Lee Diemidio (2025)
"Chariots of Fur" - Ambient Mewsic (from the album Music for Cats to Nap To/2025)
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1h 4min
March 27, 2025 Ep. 37: Journalist Walter Thompson's Many Brushes With Musical Fame
It’s not often that you get to meet your favorite musicians—unless you’re Walter Thompson. Walter is a San Francisco-based tech journalist, writer, and the host/creator of the Fund/Build/Scale podcast. He’s also had the good fortune to have met many music stars throughout his life. In this episode Walter talks us through five songs that bring to mind his most interesting encounters, and along the way we learn about his childhood love of great pop composers, his brief residence at Burt Bacharach’s Long Island motor lodge, the importance of having a “Cool Aunt” in the family, and what it was really like to work for Thomas Dolby.
Walter's Selections:
Dionne Warwick - "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (1969)
Claude Bolling & Jean-Pierre Rampal - "Baroque and Blue" (1975)
Thomas Dolby - "Screen Kiss" (1984)
Public Enemy - "Bring The Noise" (1988)
Luscious Jackson - "Ladyfingers" (1999)
Listen to our previous episode with Walter here
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1h 3min
February 18, 2025 Ep. 36: Five Cosmic Songs with Astrologer Isa Nakazawa
In our first offering of 2025, we’re honored to travel the proverbial spaceways with astrologer Isa Nakazawa, host of the podcast Stars and Stars with Isa. Every week Isa sits down with an interesting celebrity to read their birth chart, and a fascinating discussion about their life's purpose ensues. In this episode, she discusses music as a gateway to her astrology practice and five songs that fuel her passion for cosmic exploration and interpretation.
Isa's Selections:
"Door of the Cosmos" - Sun Ra (1979)
"Virgo" - Meshell Ndegeocello (2023)
"Venus As a Boy" - Björk (1993)
"Scorpio" - Nat Adderly Sextet/Rick Holmes/Cannonball Adderly (1972)
"Space 8" - Nala Sinephro (2021)
Listen to new episodes of Stars and Stars with Isa every week
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1h 9min

FAQs about Select Five:

How many episodes does Select Five have?

The podcast currently has 49 episodes available.