I can’t promise any sort of through-line when it comes to my five posts.  Instead, I simply offer five selections that have stayed in my heart, and coursed through my veins, over my years in music.

In my 9th grade English class, all of the students had to memorize a Shakespearean sonnet.  I chose “Like as the waves make towards the pebbl’d shores,” but only because another student had already chosen “My mistress’ eyes.”  Alan Rickman—whom I first encountered in Galaxy Quest—delivers his stirring rendition with gravitas and subtle passion.