Song of the Day: 'Starman' (live) by 10,000 Maniacs

 I'd forgotten about this wonderfully understated cover of the David Bowie classic. The album on which it is included, "Campfire Songs," also includes a cover of "To Sir, With Love" featuring Michael Stipe, which seemed odd until it didn't.

Song of the Day: 'Like the Weather' by 10,000 Maniacs

Another joyous youthful memory courtesy of MTV Classic. I lost track of Natalie Merchant after her (quite good) solo debut, "Tigerlily," yet I can't offer any explanation as to why. Any superfans out there wanna bring me up to date on the past 25 years?

Song of the Day: 'Eat for Two' by 10,000 Maniacs

Damian got me on a bit of a Natalie Merchant the other night, so I looked to see if she was touring. Turns out she'd recently performed at the Beacon Theatre -- only the set list revealed I totally dodged a bullet. It's fine that she doesn't really do 10,000 Maniacs songs. But she also ignores nearly all of her solo hits from the 1990s, straight out of the Morrissey playbook.

Song of the Day: 'These Are Day' by 10,000 Maniacs

These are days to remember, to be sure, like spending the weekend visiting my brother Bill in Washington. He's slowly on the mend from having a rod put in his right femur, installed to reinforce the bone after a tumor caused a hairline fracture. Although he's in considerable pain -- his other leg now hurts even more from all of the compensation -- the surgeon swears he's healing beautifully and that the mass is now necrotic. He'll have five insurance radiation sessions before starting an immunotherapy clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health, assuming everything goes according to plan. His prognosis is daunting. But spending two days with him -- with his wife, Jacqueline, Damian and (backup brother) Terence on Sunday -- was just what my heart needed, and has me cocked and ready for the next phase of his fight. The Arizona family has plans to spend time in D.C. next month, which I'm looking forward to being part of, too. xo

Song of the Day: 'Wonder' by Natalie Merchant

Truly one the finest singles of the '90s.