Megan and Murray

And These Old Hopes and Fears, Still At My Side

The music of Paul Simon has been the main soundtrack of my life for as long as I can remember. Simon and Garfunkel was a staple on the turntable when I was growing up. We were a family of singers, and we listened to folk music that you could sing in 3-part harmony. My mom, sister and I can still work out the parts of Peter, Paul and Mary songs like I Have a Song to Sing, O!, and it won't take too much convincing to get us going on Fiddler on the Roof.

I was in fifth grade when my best friend Waverly's dad played Graceland for us on the car stereo, and I remember being struck with something more permanent and profound than I had ever experienced before. It was summer and very humid. We were headed towards a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It's all there, vivid and fresh as any other event that marks you forever. Hearing Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes changed me instantaneously, and the lyric embedded somewhere deep and rooted into a philosophy of living that I still carry with me.

The Ditty Bops

If you haven't fallen in love with The Ditty Bops yet, you're really missing out. The Ditties are two women whose voices are perfectly paired, and whose vocal concoctions harken back to the jitterbug era and the Andrews Sisters by way of rockabilly and a little modern roots music, coupled with a hipster sensibility and lots of good humor. If you enjoyed the music in The Triplets of Bellville (which is a wonderful film, if you haven't seen it), you'll probably like The Ditty Bops. You can listen to their entire album online here.