Hi !Thanks for reading the Friday 5 🙂 Here are 5 things I’m digging that I think you will dig, too. Have a great weekend!Podcast I’m Listening ToNurse Papa: The PodcastDavid Metzger is a pediatric oncology nurse at UCSF, which means he’s a smart dude and my friend and my colleague. He has a book coming out soon called Nurse Papa: 16 Meditations on Parenthood from a Pediatric Oncology Nurse. His poignant reflections on parenting, sweetened with humor and wit, bring me such comfort and delight. And people - I don’t even have kids.…

Hey!Here is another edition the Friday 5 to kick off your weekend. If live music is happening in your area - go find it!!What I’m ReadingDigital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. Highly recommend.What I’ve Been EnjoyingTake Away Shows by La Blogotheque. This French endeavor loves filming music. In this series, the crew films live sessions with artists/bands in unusual places: bars, gardens, random apartments…What I’m Listening ToThe new Black Keys record: Delta Kream (Spotify link)Quarantine CreationsWe put this out a little over a year ago, when there…

Happy Friday, I’m watching the steam roll off my cup of coffee, believing (hoping) that inspiration for today’s Friday Five might also drift up and into my brain. It’s been a busy week, however, and the muse is elusive. Live to fight another day. Here’s the Friday 5! Cheers,Matt Why the first time you hear a song is special“...experts say that songs with a recognizable structure but innovative flourishes will deliver the most euphoria during a first listen.” I use this all the time to sustain engagement in music therapy…

Happy Friday, my friends. It’s early morning and I am in a cloud. It’s been like this the last several days - waking to fog so thick that I can’t see the bay while I type this. In the other direction, Twin Peaks disappears into the heavens. A cat in the neighbor’s kitchen sink is winking at me and wishing me good luck with this Friday 5. (The buildings are close together here.) I hope something in this edition helps carry you lightly into the weekend! Cheers!What I’m Listening ToWindswept Adan…

Thursday, May 6th, 7pm:I’m sitting at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. We have the row to ourselves. In fact, the nearest stranger is two rows down and at least 6 seats over. Baton in hand, Esa-Pekka Salonen darts onstage to applause - not “roaring”, because Davies is only 5-10% full at most. This is the first time this hall has felt pre-concert anticipation since everything was shut down more than a year ago. The audience includes a couple music therapists, a bunch of healthcare workers, and even the Speaker of the…

Hello,Happy weekend to you. May it be filled with good music and adequate sleep 🙂 Here is the Friday 5!What I’m ReadingEffortless by Greg McKeown. This is the follow-up to Essentialism, a book I go back to and continue to recommend. Essentialism was about doing the right things. Effortless is about doing them the right way.What I’m Listening To¡Guajira! playlist on Spotify. In the context of this playlist, guajira refers to Cuban dance music with folk influences. Settle in for some tasty rhythms, exciting brass, and trance-like ostinati. GratitudeHealth benefits of gratitudeArticle…

What a week. I don’t need to do a rundown - you know it was intense. Please take care of yourselves and of each other. Do one kind thing for a stranger (or more for extra credit). Put out good vibes and good vibes will find you.Here is the Friday 5: What I’m Listening To:Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin. This song. Is so. GOOD. Songwriting TipsNot from me. From Paul McCartney. Learn how one of the greats approaches songwriting - you won’t be disappointed.Tech I’m WearingFor the last year or so, I’ve been…

Greetings, nerds. And of course I mean that in the cool way. You are in good company 🙂 I’m a little behind, currently writing this on Thursday night while sipping a glass of wine that is definitely NOT FROM A BOX… Don’t judge me. Here is this week’s Friday 5 - a curated list of things that I think are neat, swell, and thought-provoking. What I’m ReadingThinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke Quarantine CreationsHere’s another collaboration that came out of quarantine,…

Hello,Here we go, launching into another weekend. I don’t know about you, but this week flew by for me. I feel like I did a lot of things, and yet still have much to do. Isn’t that the way it goes? At least I got the Friday 5 done 🙂 Enjoy, and let me know if you have discovered any resources I should share.Without further ado, here’s that Friday 5.Book I’m ReadingBreath by James Nestor. Just finished it and it’s very interesting. Two different friends (shout out to An-Nhien and…

Greetings , Happy Friday! I hope you are peering into the weekend with excitement and curiosity 🙂 It’s a joy to be writing these again, and I once again want to thank those of you who have reached out with kind words. It makes my day. Here is the first Friday 5 email for April, 2021. What I’m Listening ToWest African guitarist Ali Farka Touré (Spotify link) App I’m UsingHeadspace for guided meditations What I’m WatchingThe Distracted Mind with Adam Gazzaley, MD PHD What I’m ReadingMan and His Symbols (C.G. Jung) Audiobook on Constant RotationGreat…