Music That Moves Me, Episode 13: Plain White T’s — Hey There Delilah, or How One Acoustic Guitar Conquered the World
One acoustic guitar. One imaginary romance. One enormous hit. But the true story behind “Hey There Delilah” takes a surprising turn…
Music
Music That Moves Me: Episode 12 — Billy Joel’s Turn the Lights Back On, or How a Song I Did Not Love Kept Winning Anyway
I heard Billy Joel’s comeback song live and thought he had waited too long. Forty listens later, I was wondering if…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 11 — Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” or How Chevy Chase, Saturday Night Live, and One Impossible Bass Solo Hijacked My Memory
One song, one absurd Chevy Chase video, one bass line that should not be physically possible, and one memory rabbit hole that…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 10 — Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now, or How a Breakup Song Became Four Minutes of Peace
Chicago turned heartbreak into one of the calmest songs ever. Why does If You Leave Me Now feel like peace when the words say…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 9 — Louane’s Je vole, or The Song That Makes Gravity Feel Negotiable
Louane’s Je vole sounds simple until you learn what it was before the film, and why her version hits so differently when…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 8 — Louise Attaque’s J’t’emmène au vent, or How One Farewell Gift Changed My Musical Taste
My boss handed me one album as I left Paris. One violin, one chorus, and my musical taste was never going to…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 7 — Noir Désir’s Tostaky, or How One Guitar Riff Reopened a Paris Student Party
One guitar riff drops me back into a Paris student party in the 1990s, when the room shook and everything felt possible until…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 6 — Radiohead’s Creep, or the Anthem for Everyone Who Has Ever Felt Like the Wrong Puzzle Piece
Radiohead’s Creep became an anthem for anyone who ever felt out of place, but the story behind its emotional explosion…
Music That Moves Me: Episode 5 — Nirvana — Smells Like Teen Spirit, or How College Got a Distortion Pedal
One song hit college like a cracked-open window, and suddenly the room, the year, and the volume knob…
Music That Moves Me Episode 4: Fleetwood Mac — Landslide, or How One Acoustic Guitar Turns Into Inner Weather
One acoustic song, one quiet moment, and suddenly your whole life starts looking back at you like…