November’s been a rough month! Fortunately Team Select Five was able to take a field trip to Sierra Meadows, a cool glamping resort near Yosemite National Park, where we found a little peace of mind. Pam, Kate, and Brian joined about 50 other people at a private retreat focused on creativity and community, in which every attendee contributed to the weekend programming by sharing knowledge, teaching a craft, putting on a performance, or volunteering for the event. It was the perfect opportunity to do a live podcast taping with a group of bright, open-minded folks! So instead of doing our usual thing of talking to one guest about five songs, we decided to be as inclusive as possible by talking to as many people as we could. What resulted was five discussions with five volunteer guests: college English professor Tara Lockhart, tech journalist Walter Thompson, composer Stacy Fahrion, musician Scott Manke, and Ty, an ad tech exec. Whether it was a personal anthem or a tune that helped them through their grief, each one of our guests shared one life-affirming song of their choosing, taking the conversation to wildly different places and reminding us of the power of music to create meaningful human connections. Photo courtesy of Eric Slomanson Selector 1: Tara Lockhart Tinariwen - “Iswegh Attay” Selector 2: Walter Thompson Paul Weller - “Hung Up” Selector 3: Stacy Fahrion Michael Harrison - “Vision in the Desert” Selector 4: Ty Diddy & Faith Hill - “I’ll Be Missing You” Selector 5: Scott Manke Boston - “Peace of Mind”