KPBS Midday Edition

What's Your Favorite California Song?

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published August 28, 2019 at 11:15 AM PDT

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

A 2017 photo of a crowd at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The New York Times has put together a Spotify playlist filled with California-inspired music. New York Times chief pop music critic Jon Pareles will be in San Diego Friday to talk about the project and share some of his favorite tracks.

What’s your favorite California song?

The New York Times has been asking readers that question for a couple of months now and the list they’ve come up with is filled with much more than the usual suspects.

Of course, the Beach Boys and the Eagles made the cut but so did Led Zeppelin, Neko Case, Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett and Kendrick Lamar.

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The resulting California playlist covers songs about California, set in California or that just feel like California.

Jon Pareles, the Times chief pop music critic will be in San Diego Friday sharing his ultimate California playlist. He joined Midday Edition Wednesday to talk about the elements of a California song.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

What do you want to hear host Jade Hindmon talk about on Midday?

Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

See stories by Marissa Cabrera