#MorningMusic with Jamie Moses

With this #MorningMusic playlist, our Assistant Director of Development Jamie Moses shares the songs that have helped her to reflect during these challenging times. You can listen to her playlist here and read her thoughts on her selections below. 

Listen

Song: “Adventures on Earth - From E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (John Williams)

Performer: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel

Album: Celebrating John Williams (Live at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles)

“I'm a huge John Williams fan. I was heartbroken when The New York Pops’ John Williams concert in March was canceled. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Williams conduct his film scores in person years ago. And while all his scores no doubt elicit an emotional response, it was E.T. that brought me to tears. This piece captures love, sorrow, danger, and magic in a way only John Williams can!”

Song: “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”

Performer: Talking Heads

Album: Speaking in Tongues

“This song brings me peace. I think we are all relating to the idea of home in new ways now since we’re spending so much time there. Since mid-March, I’ve spent quarantine with my family in Florida - in the town I grew up in, the house my mother has lived in for 25 years. I’m feeling isolated from my home in New York and missing it terribly, but I’m grateful to have this time with my family.”

Song: “Darkness on the Edge of Town”

Performer: Bruce Springsteen

Album: Darkness on the Edge of Town

“I was never a huge Springsteen fan until I heard this album. It is perfection. He reflects on lost loves, broken dreams, his small town and the people there he left behind. I haven’t spent this much time in my hometown since I moved across the country 16 years ago. And here I find myself in a period of reflection - clouded in a haze of memories and wondering how I got here.”

Song: “Morning in America”

Performer: Durand Jones & the Indications

Album: American Love Call

“I heard this song on Seattle’s KEXP just as racial justice protests were heating up in June. It invokes comparisons to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, but takes a more state-of-the-nation stance. Its retro groovy soul and warm vocal harmonies are a welcome counterpoint to modern pop music’s staccato anti-melodies. We are living in historic times - a global pandemic during an election year with ongoing protests and civil unrest…I hear it’s going to be quite a year for hurricanes too. It’s hard to see our future right now. But we must remain positive and stick together, while remaining apart.”

Song: “I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free” (Billy Taylor)

Performer: Nina Simone

Album: Silk & Soul

“This is one of my top 5 all-time favorite songs. Miss Simone said in an interview that to her, freedom meant ‘no fear’. It was her fearless rendition of this song that made it an anthem for the civil rights movement in the ‘60s. Here’s hoping we can move forward and create a world where all people can feel free and have no fear. #BlackLivesMatter”

Header photo by Richard Termine.