Happy Monday, folks! It’s the end of the 2nd quarter here in Northern Virginia, which means I’m officially halfway through my 20th school year. Yes, I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to get through high school, too. Here’s a playlist to get us through the week.

1. David Gray, “Singing for the Pharaoh”: New David Gray always makes my heart happy. This time around, there’s an emphasis on electronic beats, swirling keyboards, and fingerpicked acoustic guitar, which is pretty classic David Gray circa White Ladder. Very fun.
2. Bob Dylan, “Boots of Spanish Leather”: One of the absolute saddest songs Dylan ever penned. Just the narrator begging and pleading for his love not to leave, and the eventual resignation to it. Gorgeous and sad.
3. Nanci Griffith, “Across the Great Divide”: A lovely cover of an old Kate Wolf tune that ditches the corny harmonica for fiddle.
4. Tom Petty, “To Find a Friend (Live)”: Already one of my favorite songs on Wildflowers, this version (from the Wildflowers box set) is beautiful and heartfelt and bittersweet.
5. The Rolling Stones, “Let It Bleed”: Classic-era Stones just hits different. You forget that they’re now barely-animated corpses trotting out retreads of their greatest tunes and styles.
6. The Pretenders, “Don’t Get Me Wrong”: I love Chrissy Hinde and the Pretenders. They had such a hard edge to some of their stuff, and then there’s the vulnerable songs like this one that show they’re more than just punky rockers.
7. Nouvelle Vague, “Ever Fallen In Love”: Who doesn’t love punk songs covered as though they were actually bossa nova songs?
8. Dolly Parton, “Seven Bridges Road”: Dolly’s read on this old song is absolutely gorgeous and actually brought Jason Isbell to tears when he listened to her sing it live once.
9. Cat Stevens, “Father and Son”: Okay, I have a soft spot for Cat Stevens songs. He’s a good sad sack songwriter, and I’m a sucker for that.
10. America, “Ventura Highway”: If you’re listening to this song while driving, don’t be surprised when you look down at your speedometer and realize you’re doing at least twenty over the speed limit. It’s good cruising music.