“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” – Leonard Bernstein
Well, it seems that what I wrote the other day about suggestions for fantastic virtual museum visits was quite appreciated (if you didn’t send me a message on IG, please feel free to introduce yourselves and shoot me an email or a comment below!) I hope you enjoyed your tours! I have an alarm set to listen to today’s Holocaust survivor speak through the Zoom that the Museum of Tolerance is hosting and in a bit, I’ll hop over to check out Mark Twain’s library on their IG Live. What an extraordinary time we live in when this sort of thing is possible.
I know that in these “stay at home” times, I’m personally listening to a lot more music and podcasts then I usually do. Laundry? Podcast playing. Stretching? Music on. How lucky are we that there are so many talents out there who share their work and voices and that there is a podcast or song for every mood and scenario? I thought today I would highlight five audio delights that I’ve been tuning in to. Always looking for new suggestions, so please share yours!
Dani Shapiro’s The Way We Live Now Podcast. I love Dani Shapiro; her works of fiction, her memoirs and her Family Secrets podcasts, so when she announced a timely, new podcast series that features a different person each week and how the pandemic has affected them, I subscribed right away. Truth, vulnerability and authenticity, however they manifest, are something that Shapiro masters so well in her own work, so I knew she’d have a stellar lineup of people who would share their stories in a way that really resonates.
Metropolitan Opera Nightly Streams. A visit to the opera is incomparable. The drama, the stage, the acoustics, the pomp and circumstance of it all. To be enjoying it in the comfort of your own home in sweatpants? A different kind of incomparable. NYC’s iconic Metropolitan Opera is offering different ways to stream their Live in HD series to bring some melodic light into these trying days.
Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. A mix of interviews from when this series aired on TV along with newer, audio interviews; there is always something to resonate with what you “need” at the present moment. I used to watch the series when it aired on TV (it’s how I was introduced to Dani Shapiro!) and have since started it through my headphones and the podcast app on my phone. Maya Angelou was on deck for me this morning and I tuned into an interview with Dr. Edith Eva Eger and now need to get a copy of her book.
Alicia Renée aka Blue Eyes. I was introduced to this amazing jazz singer through The Way We Live Now. I’m a huge fan of Billie Holiday and wow, is Blue Eyes’ incredible voice comparable. In normal times, she performs throughout New Orleans, both in clubs and on the street and I can’t wait to travel down there (something I meant to do before the pandemic hit us) and hopefully can hear her live. Until then, in May, she is doing livestreams over on Instagram on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at noon, central time. I really love that you can PayPal her for her performances; support our artists who keep us uplifted in good times and bad!
Eva.Stories. Anne Frank is a pivotal voice when we think of voices of the Holocaust. But how many teenagers or millennials today have read her diary? I read an article a few years ago and the stark statistic that 22% of millennials had never heard of the Holocaust horrified me. That’s 22% too many people. A father and daughter duo from Israel sought out to introduce another voice of the Holocaust, aimed at reaching a younger demographic through a medium they are all too connected with: Instagram. A series of Instagram stories, Eva.Stories is essentially a movie, with the tagline: “What if a girl in the Holocaust had Instagram.” Obviously not a podcast or concert and the format is anything but traditional and does take some getting used to, but I’m all for anybody who shares real narratives from Holocaust victims and survivors so that we collectively, never forget.
As always, stay curious and stay connected.
-Michaela
p.s. Photo is from the iconic Opéra Garnier in Paris. One day, friends, we’ll safely pack the houses again.
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