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By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Isn’t it funny how a song can sound completely different depending on your mood, life stage, and views on love? Take “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees, for example.The first time it played, I was a starry-eyed preteen with dreams of Monkee-love. The...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I was taking a shower, basking in the scent of my green tea shampoo when — poof! — a phrase popped into my mind like a gift from the muses. “Words, like pixie dust, falling down.”

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I was running errands, stuck in one of my still-missing-Fred funks, when suddenly — BAM! — I heard it.

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Life is like a washing machine – complete with cycles and plenty of agitating to get at the messy stuff. If I were a songwriter (spoiler alert: I’m not), I’d pen a catchy tune about that simile, weaving together verses and a killer refrain set to the...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Taylor Swift’s song “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” has turned me into a full-on Swiftie. Yes, you read that right: This 60-something widow is now belting out lyrics about pain and power with a vigor that could rival any teenage girl wrapped in...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

My sweet tooth has a sensory cousin: ear candy.And nothing tickles my ears when they’re screaming for delicious choruses and yummy hooks like the song “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies, Billboard’s top hit of 1969. This feel-good alternative to songs of...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

True confessions: I constantly struggle with the notion of living in the present, a mindset The Grass Roots embraced in their classic-rock hit “Let’s Live for Today.”As much as sage after sage has touted such advice, I’ve always had a soft spot for...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I was happily relishing my new state of singledom when “Human Touch” by Bruce Springsteen sounded on my Amazon Alexa.The song stirred something in me. Something I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear. Something confusing (especially given my public...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Songs that combine a good metaphor with a bouncy beat rocket me into my word-nerd, ear-worm stratosphere. “Everyday I Write the Book” by Elvis Costello tops my list.How cool to think of our lives as books that we’re writing! Costello frames the song...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Linda Ronstadt’s 1967 song “Different Drum” came out during a time of changing gender roles in our country.While the commitment-phobic Peter Pan had long garnered praise as a ladies’ man, the woman who bucked expectations of domesticity got saddled...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Every time I hear “One Tribe” by the Black Eyed Peas my idealistic and dance-happy sides unite in sonic bliss.I picture everyone coming together in some magic club beaming the feel-good vibes of the boundary-busting band, washing away all our...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Anyone who’s ever kept a journal can relate to the song “Dear Diary” by the Moody Blues.The tune came out in 1969 at the height of my adolescent angst. I poured my misery into a pocket-sized pink diary with a lock to keep away prying eyes. Like the...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I heard the song “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones on the radio early in my late husband Fred’s illness.Never before had I listened to the lyrics carefully enough to know they were about grief. I’d always taken it as a song about generalized...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

Every time I hear the classic song “Money” by Pink Floyd, I think about my complicated relationship with the almighty dollar.Who hasn’t felt pushed and pulled between the seductive power of our currency and its ability to crush us? Not surprisingly,...

By JOAN AXELROD-CONTRADA

I recently found myself singing along to the chorus of “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan.Written as a lullaby for one of his sons, the song takes the form of an ancient prayer. Dylan’s verses directly address the child as “you” and lay out hopes for his...