Jonathan Edmonds

A favorite band, a favorite song, a favorite music video, and my favorite song to blast to lovingly annoy my children, Eli and Naomi.

From Requiem. Performed by Judith Blegen, Soprano with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus

A transcendent piece of choral music.  I was introduced to it when I sang in a “town and gown” choir in college, and it became even more meaningful when it was performed at the funerals of both of my maternal grandparents.

Ida  was a terrific NYC indie band in the late 90’s/early 00’s, and they played a show once in my college dorm.  When I met my now-wife Rachel, this cover of a Secret Stars song became one of our songs.  Hearing it always reminds me of those early dates to see films and plays and music, always making time for coffee.

I have seen these Montreal anarchists perform multiple times, but first with Low in a small indie rock venue in Nashville.  I hadn’t heard of them before, but from the opening notes, it was the band I had been waiting for all of my life.    Long, slow, building symphonic soundscapes of despair and hope, alongside film projections of urban decay and righteous political anger.

“Let us go, my beloved, to greet the Sabbath” At the end of each busy week, we slow down for our family Friday night Shabbat dinner.   I often listen to this album, and this track in particular, as I make my way home on the Brooklyn subway and city streets, then cooking and setting the table,  feeling so grateful for all that I have, and looking forward to an evening with my dear family over a candlelit meal, special dessert, and games.   Apparently, this album was also recorded in the choir loft at the synagogue we attend.   This would be the single track I’d save from the waves for all of the joyful memories it brings me of family presence and time.

This is a bit of a cheat, with a track that extends past 40 minutes…It’s a beautiful minimalist layering of patterns and rhythms, and while I don’t quite understand all of how the composer intends it, I do know that it involves 53 little segments that the musicians have some choice in how to perform.   There are many recordings of it, but I especially like this version centered around West African musicians and instruments including kora and balafon.

Last year, Spotify said that I listened to more Belle and Sebastian than any other artist, and I have to believe it.   I have many favorites of those twee-Scottish rockers, so this track is standing in here for whichever song I happen to be listening to most at the time.

Many years ago, I started to pick up the London is the Place for Me compilation albums of Black British calypso, mento, jazz, and highlife music.  Mrebi was a South African jazz leader and alto-saxophonist, and this is the perfect song to end an evening or a playlist.  When I host a radio show again in my twilight years, this will be my sign-off song.