What kind of music do you like?

Lately this question has been kind of a stumper.

When I was thirteen I could have told you I liked hard rock, metal (and the guys in leather jackets who sang it). When I was twenty I would have answered by taking you to a Phish concert (and when you came out, you'd no longer remember asking the question).

But now? Now I just wave my hand and say, "Oh, lots of things…" Vague? Yup. But the alternative "uh, well, you know, stuff with pianos and cascading guitar riffs, and this nutty band from New Orleans with the world's sweatiest drummer, who by the way also happens to be their amazing lead singer…and harmonies, oh man I love a good four-part harmony…" See what I mean?

The map of my musical soul is no longer just a confined to one genre, or focused obsessively on one band. It best resembles the view from a plane traveling across the Midwest at night. Long stretches of darkness, punctuated by a twinkling outpost here (Dolly Parton); there (Joe Strummer post-Clash); and over there (Alejandro Sanz abandoning his usual heartthrob Spanish pop for the raw-throated flamenco of his childhood). Sometimes it's an album, sometime a single, sometimes a random b-side from a band no one will ever hear from again. And every once in a while it's someone you didn't even know could sing at all, knocking your socks off....

I tried to find a more scientific way to describe what I loved (gotta love Pandora) but descriptions like "mellow rock instrumentation, mild rhythmic syncopation, a prominent rhythm piano part, thru composed melodic style, major key tonality, a dynamic male vocalist and the subtle use of a horn section" while being incredibly thorough, didn't quite get to the heart of it either.

So what am I searching for? It's that song. Everyone in the world has tried to describe what 'that song' means to them, and since I'm pretty sure no one can do it better than Nick Hornby anyway, I'll share a family anecdote instead.

Well before I was born, my father hosted a morning show on the ever so slightly left-leaning NY radio station WBAI. It was one of the earliest examples of free form radio, which meant he played what he wanted, talked to whomever he wanted, and if he wanted to eat a bagel or two on the air, so be it. In March of 1970, the Beatles released 'Let It Be.' My father introduced the new single, and played it for his audience. Then he played it again. And again. Then he introduced different song, by Pete Seeger , but again he played 'Let it Be." Then it was to be a Gilbert & Sullivan overture, and still he played "Let it Be.' This went on for the whole show. That song had such an impact on my dad, and his audience, that they didn't want to stop hearing it.

That's the song I'm searching for.