Select Five

What kind of music motivates Daniel Handler (otherwise known as children's book author Lemony Snicket) to write bestsellers? In our first episode of 2026, the novelist behind A Series of Unfortunate Events talks about his fondness for obscure movie soundtrack cues, classical music, and songs that provide space for the imagination. Daniel's Selections: "Petition Montage" - David Newman (Heathers soundtrack, 1989) "String Quartet # 8 III. Allegretto" - Dmitri Shostakovich "Camaraderie at Arms Length" - The Caretaker (2011) "The Directories" - Howard Shore (Spotlight soundtrack, 2015) "Night Gang" - Tortoise (2025)

Decadent menu + DJ booth = house dinner party vibes every night of the week at Side A, San Francisco's hottest hi-fi bistro. In our latest episode we talk to Side A co-owner Caroline Brown about her transformation from music industry maven to restauranteur, how she still makes time for her own vinyl DJ gigs, and five songs that feed her soul. Caroline's Selections: Prince - 17 Days (Piano & A Microphone 1983 version) Pull Up To The Bumper - Grace Jones (1981) Sight For Sore Eyes - M People (1994) Ode To The Dance Floor - Niki & The Dove (2016) Hold On - Stephane Sévérac (1987)

Meet Zully Adler, the Director of Further Triennial, the founder of Goaty Tapes, and a longtime curator and historian of modern art and music. A consummate digger, Zully is known for unearthing rare musical gems on cassettes he finds in flea markets, garage sales, thrift stores and other odd corners of Northern California. In this episode, he pieces together the story of the Lost Coast's underground musical counterculture through five stylistically diverse, unheard recordings by little known artists--otherwise known as "visionary music." (Photo by Bryson Malone) Zully's Selections: Untitled/Unreleased - Darrell Devore (1980) "Sister Moon" - Lorin Grean (1990) "Electric Piano, Vibraphone, Percussion And Rain" - Craig Kupka (1979) "Song Without Words" - Planetary Peace (1980) "Tahoe" - Rex Johnson & Friends (1975) Purchase the Lost Coast album from Goaty Tapes

Jordan Kurland is a partner in Noise Pop Industries and the co-founder and partner of Brilliant Corners Artist Management. As a band manager, Jordan works with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service, Toro y Moi, The New Pornographers, Perfume Genius, and Soccer Mommy. So he’s played a huge role in ushering in some of the biggest indie rock acts of the day, but he’s also an obsessive jazz fan and record collector. In this episode, Jordan selects five heady, funky, and esoteric jazz recordings that speak to his deep knowledge and the expansiveness of his collection. And along the way, we’ll learn about the nuts and bolts of being a band manager to the stars, the educated guesswork of new artist development, and the joys and challenges of record collecting in the digital age. (Photo by Andrew Paynter) Jordan’s Selections: "Summertime" - Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1963) "Moon Dance" - Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra (1963) "The Minstrel" - Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble (1967) "Prints Tie" - Bobby Hutcherson & Harold Land (1971) "Edges of Illusion" - John Surman (1979)

It’s not often that you get to meet your favorite musicians—unless you’re Walter Thompson. Walter is a San Francisco-based tech journalist, writer, and the host/creator of the Fund/Build/Scale podcast. He’s also had the good fortune to have met many music stars throughout his life. In this episode Walter talks us through five songs that bring to mind his most interesting encounters, and along the way we learn about his childhood love of great pop composers, his brief residence at Burt Bacharach’s Long Island motor lodge, the importance of having a “Cool Aunt” in the family, and what it was really like to work for Thomas Dolby.Walter's Selections:Dionne Warwick - "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (1969)Claude Bolling & Jean-Pierre Rampal - "Baroque and Blue" (1975)Thomas Dolby - "Screen Kiss" (1984)Public Enemy - "Bring The Noise" (1988)Luscious Jackson - "Ladyfingers" (1999)Listen to our previous episode with Walter here

From heavy hitter new releases to quirky under-the-radar selections, we humbly looks back at the music that left the biggest impression on us in 2024. In the final episode of this tumultuous year, Team Select Five waxes on about the songs that marked our moments of personal grief and milestones of professional growth ... or just plain got us singing at the top of our lungs driving solo in the car.Kate's Selections:"Jolene" - Beyonce (2024)"Summer in the City" - Quincy Jones (1973)"Nightclubbing" - Grace Jones (1981)"My Girl" - The Temptations (1965)"Freedom ‘90" - George Michael (1990)Brian’s Selections:"We’re On Our Way" - Common & Pete Rock (2024)"Soul Bossa Nova" - Quincy Jones (1962)"Say" - Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy (2021)"The Dress" - Dijon (2021)"Going Back To VA" - Pharrell Williams (2024)Pam's Selections:"Alone" - The Cure (2024)"On The Beach" - Neil Young (1974)"Que Pasa/Me No Pop I" - Coati Mundi (1981)"The Last Year" - Jessica Pratt (2024)"Raining in Manila" - Lola Amour (2023)Listen to our year-ender playlist with all the songs we talked about in the episode + many more that got us through 2024

When your sense of home is divided between two countries, it can have a profound effect on how you relate to the world and everything you create. Such is the case with nic feliciano. nic is an artist-performer-writer-musician-cook who was born in the Philippines but is now based in Berkeley. Whether it’s feeding people in the streets with her food hustle, Sup Streetfood, or making plays at her beloved home theater, Bindlestiff Studios, nic’s art is always inspired and informed by her experiences in both the Filipino diaspora and the homeland. In this episode nic and Pam have a deep discussion about progressive youth culture in Manila and beyond, and the new(ish) bangers from younger-gen Filipino artists that nic is really feeling. nic’s five selections: 1. “Sige” - Sliz 2. “Sayang You Wasted My Time” - Nouvul, Baby Freeze 3. “Neneng B” - Nik Makino 4. “Kultura” - Kanta Kanta 5. “Tiw Tiw - Budots” - DJ Love Photo by Been Milky Listen to nic's full playlist featuring the above songs + many more! Catch nic on stage in "Thirty Six" (a play by Leah Nanako Winkler, directed by Michelle Talgarow) at Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage, running November 22 - December 22

What does it take to make a living as a dancer? Just ask Paymaneh "Bibi" Khalili. A stalwart of the Bay Area hip-hop dance community, Bibi is the founder of DAM Events, a mixed arts showcase that gives up-and-coming talent the opportunity to strut their stuff. She's also a choreographer in her own right, having taught performance workshops, directed dance teams, and served as a judge for local hip-hop dance competitions. In this episode we talk about some of the legendary choreographers who influenced Bibi, the struggles of being a career dancer, and the songs that helped kick off her lifelong love of performing. Bibi's Selections: Fatima Robinson (Choreographer) - Michael Jackson/"Remember the Time" Tina Landon (Choreographer) - Janet Jackson/"If" Jay-Z (feat. Amil & Ja Rule) - "Can I Get A ..." Basement Jaxx - "Breakaway" Pharrell feat. Gwen Stefani - "Can I Have It Like That? (Remix)" Listen to Bibi's playlist Find out about the next DAM Event

As the co-host of "Forum" on KQED Public Radio and a writer for the Atlantic, journalist Alexis Madrigal often reports on big ideas and urgent stories that affect the Bay Area and the world. But in his spare time, he loves running, gardening, and 70’s funk and disco. In our latest episode, Alexis talks about a wide-ranging selection of five tunes he holds dear from his past and present—from P-Funk, to Norwegian Jazz, to Latin Hip-Hop. Along the way, we’ll learn about how his Dad’s record collection got him through his post-college malaise, the song that gets him in a book-writing mood, and his deep appreciation of music and art borne out of colonial occupation and resistance. Alexis's Selections: Funkadelic - "One Nation Under a Groove" Gato Barbieri - "Encuentros" Daniel Herskedal - "The Mistral Noir" La Dame Blanche - "Veneno" Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - "Temple" Catch Alexis on KQED’s Forum Listen to his Containers podcast series Learn more about his forthcoming book

We're honored to kick off 2024 with the esteemed Cheryl Dunye, a world-renowned filmmaker and director of episodic television. Cheryl's work includes the groundbreaking 1996 film The Watermelon Woman, which is part of the permanent cinema collection at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and was added to the Criterion Collection in 2023. She's also directed episodes of The Umbrella Academy, Bridgerton, and Queen Sugar, among many other shows. Born in Liberia and raised in Philly, Cheryl is now rooted in the Town’s vibrant filmmaking community, having founded Jingletown Films, an Oakland-based production company. Hear her talk about five of her favorite tunes of the moment, the emotional places they take her, and the big wide cinematic possibilities that music can open up.

How do you turn a song into a scent? And what does music teach us about scent-making and its history? We take a deep dive into these questions with Saskia Wilson-Brown, whose mission is to disrupt, decolonize, and democratize perfumery. Saskia, who is Bay Area-bred, is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles, a nonprofit art studio that makes perfumery accessible to all. Listen as she takes us on an aromatic journey through five songs that relate to fragrance-making and its global origins, modern scent practies, and the complex world of naturals versus synthetics. Saskia's Selections: 1.) Omar Souleyman- "Warni Warni" 2.) Charles Trenet - "La Mer" 3.) MC Solaar - "Nouveau Western" 4.) Otis Redding - "Cigarettes and Coffee" 5.) Mort Garson - “Symphony for a Spider Plant"/Mother Earth's Plantasia For further listening, check out Saskia's playlist. Check out Saskia's podcast, Perfume On The Radio

It's time to deepen your disco knowledge with Patrick Lotilla, aka DJ Patrick. As a resident DJ at Bar Part Time in San Francisco, a key team member of Bar Shiru, where he curates records a couple of nights a week, and a co-founder of the Brouhaha party series that brought world class DJ talent to the Bay Area, Patrick is a big presence in the local nightlife scene. And his taste in dance music is vast and eclectic. In this episode we focus on five of his favorite rare grooves from the late 70s to early 80s. Hear Patrick talk about some of his producer/DJ heros, the threads between Philly Soul, disco & house music, and the importance of weaving humor and fun into his sets.Editor’s Note: In the episode introduction, Pam states that Brouhaha has been around “for the past 10 years.” It actually ran from 2013 - 2018. Apologies for this error!DJ Patrick's Selections: 1.) The Boyfriends – Sumayaw Sumonod (1978) 2.) Bumblebee Unlimited – Everybody Dance (1977) 3.) Nightlife Unlimited – Peaches & Prunes (Ron Hardy Edit) (1980) 4.) Melita – I Love Music (1984) 5.) Bad Banana – Dancing In San Francisco (1982) Listen to those selections & more, curated by Patrick here Subscribe to Patrick's Bop 40 YouTube channel where he shares rips of rare dance music from his collection Stream Patrick's DJ sets on Soundcloud Follow him on Instagram @pqtrjk