Here’s what a girl needs if she is 6 and a half, lives in a small apartment and is learning to play the piano. The pedals are potentially superfluous, but I was so happy to unearth them, so I kept them in the picture.

I have spent the better part of today cobbling together a music set-up appropriate for my daughter’s first piano lesson tomorrow evening. It has forced me to uncover all sorts of keyboards and cables and reunite with all sorts of toys from my once and future musical life. (See above for some photographic evidence of the effort.)

The beautiful thing is, pretty much all of the stuff still works, and as I blow the dust off of that part of my brain, I find that the musical part of myself is still alive a kicking as well. Which makes me happy, because to tell you all the truth, I was a bit worried.

So in honor of my own reunion with the world of making music, and my daughter’s continued integration into the same, I give you a whole bunch of links about this nearly universal form of communication that is so central to the way we humans tick.

For starters, there are two (yes, 2!) new brand new Prince albums out for our listening pleasure. Ben Greenman writes an appropriately intelligent review for the New Yorker that is well worth reading. And if you want to skip straight to listening, start out with this one, called U Know, which should warm the hearts of Prince fans everywhere. The Purple One is still very much in charge, Allah Akbar.

Last night I made a rare voyage down the street to the Music Hall of Williamsburg to see my longtime friends The Afghan Whigs play. Their shows are always a treat, and well worth the haze of exhaustion that envelops the following day. As an added bonus, Usher jumped on stage for a surprise and inspired co-performance of Climax… Here’s the video for your viewing pleasure.

Listen to this beautiful recording of and about the eerie songs of the humpback whale published in 1979 for National Geographic. Watching the record spin around is almost as gratifying as listening to what they have to say…

Lisa Jaeggi, a friend from the hood, has a new band and a new CD out… Band is called Darling Din and you can stream their songs on their website, but if you’re smart, you’ll order up one of their limited edition CD’s. Each one has a handmade cover and inner sleeve which reckon back to the days when people used paper, scissors, and glue (instead of computers) to make pretty stuff. However you get it, you should all listen up. We’ve been dancing to it in our house all morning.

And if you like dancing around in your house, try making a real difference in the world by making a video of yourself singing Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation and sending it to my friend Sarah Sophie Flicker. She and some friends are making a PSA to help get out the female vote for this crucial midterm election! Submissions are due on Oct 12… Get all the info you need here.

I don’t know if you guys are familiar with the cultural salad of a website called Here We Go Now, but you should be. If for nothing else, because their playlists never disappoint.

And last but not least, the brilliantly madcap Dr Who tells us a thing or two about the music of the spheres and reminds us that there is music inside of each and every one of us.