In this deeply personal and beautifully nostalgic episode, Shub from North of Normal sits down with music lover and self-confessed audio nerd Alex Baker — a man with over 2,000 records, a dream of running a “listening bar,” and a lifelong connection to sound.

Alex shares the story behind his song choice: “Have You Heard” by Pat Metheny Group — the tune that first made him cry at ten years old and still moves him decades later. What begins as a simple childhood memory turns into a touching reflection on family, emotion, and the strange power of music to hold us through life’s chaos.

Together, Shub and Alex explore:
🎧 The lost art of listening — from hi-fi systems to headphone rituals
🎵 How a single song can become a comfort blanket through the years
🕊 Why music often says what words can’t — and why that’s enough

It’s a soulful dive into jazz, nostalgia, and the frequencies that make us feel alive.
If you haven’t heard the song yet, pause, listen to “Have You Heard” by Pat Metheny Group, and then come back. You’ll hear this conversation in a whole new way.

00:00 Introduction and Connection Through Music

03:00 Personal Journeys and Reflections on Recovery

05:58 Creativity and the Impact of Parenthood

08:39 The Art of Listening and Audio Quality

11:26 Musical Background and Influences

14:13 Early Musical Memories and Tastes

22:29 Vinyl Culture and Record Collections

24:25 Song Choice and Personal Connection

24:47 The Emotional Connection to Music

29:19 Memories and Music: A Personal Journey

35:06 The Power of Music in Emotional Moments

37:20 Exploring the Impact of a Song

42:17 The Comfort of Familiar Tunes

46:29 Imagining Covers and New Interpretations

50:50 Riverside Intro : Outro.mp4

What does the perfect song sound like?

In this episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with Ivan Costa, a man whose life soundtrack spans gospel, grime, kizomba, dancehall and R&B.
And then he brings the song.

Drake’s Controlla.

What follows is not a breakdown of production or lyrics, but a memory unlocked in real time.
Summer 2016. A house party about to be shut down by the police.
One last song.
The room erupts.

From childhood influences shaped by Portuguese and African heritage, to discovering music through playground freestyles, gospel for the soul, and Drake as a time machine, this conversation is about how certain songs don’t just play in the background…

They hold chapters of our lives.

Ivan shares how music keeps him grounded, how nostalgia creeps in when you least expect it, and why some songs feel like a photograph you can listen to.

This one is about love, youth, chaos, rhythm, faith, and the kind of track that changes a night forever.

00:00 Introduction to Ivan Costa02:54 The Power of Music in Daily Life05:36 Musical Influences and Early Experiences08:24 The Evolution of Music Tastes10:45 Cultural Background and Musical Heritage13:29 The Impact of Music on Emotions16:12 Music's Role in Family Life18:55 The Connection Between Music and Film21:37 Choosing a Song: Drake's 'Controlla'25:29 The Journey of Love and Music29:42 The Impact of Drake's 'Controller' on Memories33:27 The Energy and Vibe of Dancehall and R&B37:16 Nostalgia and Its Role in Music41:37 Lyrics vs. Melody: How We Digest Music46:28 Imagining 'Controller' in Film51:55 The Influence of Covers and Remixes53:49 Riverside Intro : Outro.mp4

In this raw and unexpected episode of One Song, One Story, Shub sits down with Dan Cleland— author, serial entrepreneur, and founder of the world-renowned ayahuasca retreat Soltara Healing Centre — to explore the surprising connection between heavy metal, resilience, and spiritual growth.

Dan brings a fierce and fitting song to the table: “Rooster” by Alice in Chains — a grunge-era anthem about survival, trauma, and defiance. What unfolds is a deeply human conversation about contrast and identity: a man who’s led plant medicine ceremonies in the jungle, toured the world with a metal band, and still finds healing in distortion, sweat, and sound.

Together they explore:
⚡️ The unexpected overlap between ayahuasca and heavy metal
🎸 How music becomes a weapon for survival and self-expression
🌧 What it means to live authentically — even when it doesn’t fit the mold

From Born in the USA to Nirvana to Alice in Chains, this episode tracks Dan’s lifelong journey through sound — from small-town Canada to the Costa Rican jungle — and the songs that carried him through chaos, creation, and change.

Hit play, feel the grit, and remember: healing doesn’t always sound like a flute. Sometimes it screams.

00:00 Introduction to Daniel Cleland02:52 Musical Journey: From Childhood to Heavy Metal05:07 The Impact of Environment on Music Appreciation07:35 The Evolution of Musical Tastes10:25 The Intersection of Plant Medicine and Heavy Metal12:56 Current Musical Influences and Preferences17:03 The Power of Music in Daily Life22:00 The Significance of Full Albums26:31 Personal Connections to Music30:43 Resilience and Survival Themes in Music34:57 Final Thoughts and Recommendations37:14 Riverside Intro : Outro.mp4

What if one song could hold an entire people’s hope, grief, identity, and resilience?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with Zeina El Khaldi — movement artist, coach, and someone whose relationship to music runs through her bones — to explore the iconic Arabic masterpiece “Zahrat Al-Maidan” by Fayruz.

This isn’t just a song.
It’s a portal — into ancestry, displacement, resistance, collective pain, and the unbreakable hope carried across generations.

Zeina opens up about:

🌿 Her childhood memories in Syria and the first time this song entered her life
🔥 Why she once rejected her Palestinian identity
💔 How helplessness turned into resistance
🌕 Using music as somatic therapy
⚡ How one 9-minute track can feel like an ayahuasca ceremony
🌺 Why this song is a flower that keeps blooming despite everything
✨ How Arabic music holds layers of story, spirit, and revolution

She also shares the moment she listened to the song during the recent years of intense violence in Palestine and felt her entire body release what words could not carry.

This episode isn’t just heard.
It’s felt — deeply, viscerally, and across time.

Whether you understand Arabic or not, this song will move you.
And Zeina’s story will stay with you long after the episode ends.

🎧 Listen, breathe, feel. This one is special.

00:00 – Welcome & setting the scene
01:07 – Zeina joins from snowy Montreal
02:02 – If today was a song… Christmas energy
03:40 – The song that connects us: Lemonade Lake
04:53 – Movement, sensuality, and the Soltara video
06:56 – Dance, silence, and listening to the music already around us
09:25 – Zeina’s early years: dance, yoga, Budokan, erotic dancing
11:27 – Childhood music memories: Majda Rumi and falling in love with voice
13:04 – How music moves her emotionally today
15:40 – Music as vibration, therapy, and emotional release
16:50 – Introducing today’s song: “Zahrat Al-Maidan” by Fayruz
18:41 – Why Zeina chose this song: identity, Palestine, and truth
21:10 – Hearing the song as a child vs. resisting it in adulthood
23:51 – The song at home: her mother’s awe and family history
25:07 – Arabic music’s long, poetic tradition
26:15 – What the song does to her today: power, pain, memory
28:44 – Processing collective grief through music
30:49 – Why she once pushed her Palestinian identity away
33:03 – Using the song as somatic release during the last two years
35:16 – Universality, metaphor, and why the lyrics still matter
37:04 – Karma, cycles, and the song’s emotional shifts
38:01 – Meaning of the title: the flower of the courtyard
39:46 – Why the song feels timeless — as relevant today as in 1967
41:20 – Her mother’s hope and generational resilience
43:42 – Fayruz, revolution, and the weight of her legacy
45:19 – What the song brings up now: nostalgia and story
46:51 – Zeina’s hope for listeners
48:37 – Closing thoughts & where to find Zeina

What if one song could help you survive being a teenager in a world that had no language for who you were becoming?

In this deeply personal and moving episode of One Song One Story, I sit down with author and storyteller Jim Farfaglia to explore the song that changed everything for him. A song that arrived at exactly the right moment in 1969, when Jim was a 14 year old boy trying to make sense of his identity, his sexuality, and a future that felt frighteningly unclear.

That song was “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”.

Jim shares how hearing those words for the first time didn’t just comfort him.
They gave him permission to imagine a life where he belonged.
A life where he wasn’t broken.
A life where he could be something other than what the world expected.

We talk about:

• Exploring sexuality in an era with no roadmap
• Music as a lifeline during adolescence
• How one song can save you without ever knowing your name
• The emotional difference between Neil Diamond and The Hollies
• Music as destiny rather than coincidence
• What it means to “carry your brother” in real life

This episode is honest. Vulnerable. Healing. And quietly powerful.

If music has ever met you in your darkest hour, this one will stay with you.

🎶 Song discussed: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”
🎙 Guest: Jim Farfaglia
📚 Author of the upcoming book One Song, One Story

Listen now and let the song speak again.

#musicstory #behindthesong #onesongonestory

00:00 — Welcome to One Song One Story
02:15 — How Jim Fell in Love with Music
05:40 — Being 14 in 1969 and Feeling Different
09:30 — When Every Song Feels Like It Is Not For You
12:10 — Hearing “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” for the First Time
15:40 — Realising “I Could Be That Person”
19:10 — How Music Gave Him a Future
22:50 — Discovering Music Before Streaming and Playlists
27:30 — How This Song Has Changed Over Time
33:10 — The Difference Between the Neil Diamond and Hollies Versions
38:45 — Do Songs Find Us When We Need Them
43:30 — Writing One Song One Story
48:20 — What Jim Hopes People Take From His Work
52:40 — Where to Find Jim and His Book
54:00 — Final Reflections

In this bonus episode of One Song One Story, Shub sits down with author and storyteller Jim Farfaglia, the man behind a beautiful project that shares its name with this podcast.

Jim has spent years collecting more than 350 musical memories from people across the world, all built around one simple idea. One song. One story.

This conversation goes deep into Jim’s creative journey, his lifelong connection to music, and the surprising moment when he discovered that someone across the ocean had launched a project with the exact same title. Instead of competition, it turned into connection, curiosity and a shared love for the way music shapes our lives.

Jim talks about the power of memory, why music stays with us when everything else fades, the beauty of ordinary people telling extraordinary stories, and how this entire project has changed the way he sees the world.

He also shares the behind the scenes of his upcoming book, how he gathered hundreds of postcards filled with personal stories, and why music might be one of the oldest forms of human connection we have.

It is warm, thoughtful and full of heart. If you love music and you love the stories that sit behind the songs, this one is for you.

🎧 What happens when a song becomes the soundtrack to your life?

In this heartfelt conversation, Simon and Shub dive deep into the music that shaped them — from the first tracks that cracked open their hearts to the songs that still move them today. They explore how sound becomes memory, how melody becomes meaning, and why some songs stay with us forever.

At the centre of it all is “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship — a timeless anthem of love, resilience, and togetherness. Simon and Shub unpack its emotional pull and reflect on how trusting your instincts (in music and in life) can lead to magic.

Tune in for nostalgia, laughter, and a reminder of why music never really leaves us — it just changes shape as we do.

00:00 Introduction and Connection Through Music03:39 Musical Foundations and Early Influences05:57 Evolution of Musical Tastes08:40 The Impact of Music on Life10:58 Exploring New Genres and Eclecticism13:41 The Role of Music in Daily Life16:13 The Song That Connects Us19:03 Choosing the Right Song: Starship's Anthem21:48 Lyrics and Emotional Connections24:34 The 1975 and Modern Music Appreciation25:48 The Emotional Connection to Lyrics27:22 First Impressions of Music29:54 Personal Relationships and Music32:33 The Significance of a Playlist36:13 Songwriting Simplicity vs. Complexity38:48 Imagery and Music41:01 Personal Reflections on Song Choice47:24 Closing Thoughts and Instincts49:02 Riverside Intro : Outro.mp4

In this deeply reflective episode of One Song, One Story, Shub sits down with breathwork teacher, Reiki practitioner and creative soul Rebecca Baker to explore the song that’s followed her across decades — Groove Armada’s At the River.

Rebecca shares how this timeless track became her “siren song,” calling her home from city life back to the wide-open skies and sea of Devon. Together they dive into themes of nostalgia, stillness, and the healing power of music, tracing how a few simple notes can carry the feeling of an ocean breeze, a childhood memory, or a deep sense of belonging.

They unpack the connection between breath, rhythm, and emotion — and how music can move us not just in our heads, but in our bodies and hearts. Along the way, they revisit the original sample from Patti Page’s Old Cape Cod and reflect on how music lives in the quantum field of memory and meaning.

A beautifully spacious conversation about creativity, homecoming, and the songs that shape who we are.

0:00 Introduction and Connection Through Music03:19 The Role of Creativity in Life05:34 Early Musical Memories and Influences11:06 The Impact of Live Music Experiences31:51 Exploring the Song: At the River by Groove Armada39:59 The Sound of Nostalgia44:17 Personal Connections to Music48:15 The Siren Song of Home52:26 Spaciousness in Music59:42 The Evolution of a Song01:03:29 Reflections on Music and Memory01:07:38 Riverside Intro : Outro.mp4