Bebe Miller’s Music Playlist

Leonard Cohen, Love Itself
The first line “the light came through the window straight from the stars above” calms me down and lifts me up. The back beat moves like church or a wedding or a ritual we’ve known forever. Leonard takes his time and I slow down and listen.

Bill Withers, Use Me
The best dance beat ever, hands down! I put down whatever I’ve been doing and get up, move. There are two handclaps halfway through and I always wait for them, they are genius.

Marvin Gaye, Got To Give It Up
Take two: The best dance beat ever, hands down! The crowd, the party, the lyrics float in and out, we are shoulder to shoulder in a crowded room and everyone is safe.

The Staple Singers, I’ll Take You There
The opening beat calls me to attention; I slow down and believe in what passes for heaven, for whatever we all need. “Ain’t nobody worried,” written at the height of the civil rights struggle, urging us to keep up the fight.

Aretha Franklin, Ain’t No Way
I feel she’s reminding me to love myself as well. Her voice is healing; I feel her singing it in my own body and I hear her singing it in her own. It’s private, it’s my retreat place.

The Whitefield Brothers, Weiya
The beat! The call and response! For me this cut is all about relationship, community, moving together, fiercely, for the long haul. I don’t know what they’re saying but they do, and it carries them forward.

I find I’m listening to music that calls me back home; I get to shift my attention to rhythms and voices that feel communal and reek of deeply satisfying soul.

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