I just came from Dr. Billington?s office, where he conducted a media interview in advance of the fast-approaching Gershwin Prize and all-star concert. (I hope to link to the news story within the next few days.)

What was especially interesting to me before the interview was that a few other staff members were there, each of us representing different ages, backgrounds and interests. Yet when each Paul Simon song title was thrown out, it turned into an impromptu sing-along among us all ? a “barbershop quartet,” as Dr. Billington called it.

I related how it is still impossible for me to go to a train station ? or on almost any long trip, for that matter ? without the song “Homeward Bound” playing in my head, or how “The 59th Street Bridge Song” was my daily soundtrack when I lived in New York City, as I passed under the song’s namesake edifice twice a day on my commute. And not that I am by any stretch a pugilist, but don’t even get me started on how often “The Boxer” gets lodged in my brain!

It’s fascinating to think how deeply popular music has become ingrained in our everyday lives, with some artists ” like Paul Simon ” more embedded than others.

What other artists and songs provide the internal soundtrack for this blog’s readers?

ADDENDUM: Links to the song lyrics have been deleted on advice of colleagues.