Pekka Kuusisto, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra — Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending
Brian McCreath
One of the things I really love about what we call classical music is the way familiar music can suddenly sound completely new in the hands of different musicians. Such is the case with violinist Pekka Kuusisto’s recording of the beautiful piece Ralph Vaughan Williams composed after George Meredith’s poem “The Lark Ascending.” Kuusisto is one of the most unselfconsciously interesting musicians I’ve interviewed. And with the release of his new recording of Vaughan Williams’s miniature masterpiece, I instantly recognized it as a very fresh take on familiar music. But I couldn’t quite figure out why. So, I’ve been listening to it, Instant Replay style, over and over. I still can’t quite put my finger on everything that makes it different from every other recording of the piece I know, but I’m going to keep listening to figure it out. I recommend that you do, too.
Remi Wolf — Soup
Edyn-Mae Stevenson
A song about buying soup for your sick loved one should not slap this hard. And yet somehow it does. The perfect bop to listen to while you wait for all this snow to melt.
James Blake — Meet You In the Maze
Julia Marcus
On Valentine's Day, my friends and I started building a playlist of the most romantic songs ever. There were some fabulous contributions from Elton John, The Chicks, Stevie Wonder, Gustav Mahler, and many, many others. It made me realize that this song by James Blake is my own most-romantic song. My favorite line is: "All those songs that came before you, they were ones of waiting."
Beirut — Postcards from Italy
Katie Ladrigan
Taking it back to a high-school discovery: the band Beirut, headed by multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon. This is the piece that introduced me to the ukulele (outside of Hawaiian kitsch), to the point I bought my own and learned to play it, all in the course of one summer. With the over-abundance of winter Boston's been experiencing of late, hauling out the ol' uke and strumming along to this hazy tune helps bring the summer a little closer.
Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard — Alive Forever
Jamie Kmak
First I need everyone to stop and admire the unrivaled talent, range, and texture brought to you by the incomparable Jennifer Simard. Once you’re as in awe of her voice as I am, you may proceed.
I saw a whopping 10 musicals last summer and "Death Becomes Her" was by far my favorite. While this is not the catchiest song in the show, a few of the lines are thoroughly lodged into my brain right now, like a popcorn kernel stuck in my teeth.
Hopefully this will explain why I’ve been singing “because our hatred escalaaaated into murderrrrr” with a smile on my face these past few weeks.
Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee — Site Unseen
Phillip Jones
No artist is better at singing their way out of a funk than Courtney Barnett. Her song, with tight harmonies from Waxahatchee, is all about getting your act together, getting out of your own way, and making a choice. Barnett tunes are all about the mundane, filled with characters who don't know where to turn, and the title of her upcoming album "Creature of Habit" seems to draw attention to this pattern. "Site Unseen" busts the paradigm. It also rocks.
Augustin Hadelich, Charles Owen — Josef Suk: 4 Pieces, Op. 17: II. Appassionato
Kendall Todd
Who’s doing it like Augustin Hadelich? From his 2020 recording “Bohemian Tales,” Hadelich jumps into Suk’s characterful “4 Pieces” with vivid intensity and expression. This is just awesome playing (and was engineered by GBH Music’s awesome Antonio Oliart Ros!).
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You can enjoy this month's Instant Replay playlist below, or listen to the full list here.